Weimar Germany
Please read this before beginning "B" & "A" stuff.
By Professor Paul Bookbinder, University of Massachusetts Boston
THE LEGACY OF WORLD WAR I
World War I, which was, to the generation of the 1920s and ‘30s, “the overwhelming catastrophe that dominated their epoch,” gave birth to the first German democracy, called the Weimar Republic. In the words of H. Stuart Hughes, this war “stacked the cards for the future.” Germans, who were suffering from the humiliation and loss of honor of unexpected defeat, cried out for vengeance. The Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended the war, contributed to the humiliation Germans felt. All Germans, no matter their political beliefs, regarded the treaty as unjust. It would remain a festering sore on the body of the new Republic. Yet, the anger, passion, hatred, and violence of the Weimar years were mixed with tremendous creativity and cultural excitement. In that dynamic environment, the viability of democracy was tested and failed. The struggles and even the failures of the Weimar Republic stand as warning signs and guides for future democracies.
WHY STUDY THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC?
You must read the above quote before doing the "B" work, I'll be asking you about this!
THE LEGACY OF WORLD WAR I
World War I, which was, to the generation of the 1920s and ‘30s, “the overwhelming catastrophe that dominated their epoch,” gave birth to the first German democracy, called the Weimar Republic. In the words of H. Stuart Hughes, this war “stacked the cards for the future.” Germans, who were suffering from the humiliation and loss of honor of unexpected defeat, cried out for vengeance. The Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended the war, contributed to the humiliation Germans felt. All Germans, no matter their political beliefs, regarded the treaty as unjust. It would remain a festering sore on the body of the new Republic. Yet, the anger, passion, hatred, and violence of the Weimar years were mixed with tremendous creativity and cultural excitement. In that dynamic environment, the viability of democracy was tested and failed. The struggles and even the failures of the Weimar Republic stand as warning signs and guides for future democracies.
WHY STUDY THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC?
- The history of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933) illuminates one of the most creative and crucial periods in the twentieth century and serves as a significant case study of the critical issues of our own time. Many of the questions asked about the Weimar Republic are relevant to problems that individuals and societies face in the twenty-first century.
- Citizens and leaders of the Weimar Republic had to wrestle with the problems of a newly developing democracy: the creation of a new constitution and political culture and the need for institutional reform particularly of the judiciary, the police, and the educational system.
- The Weimar Republic experienced hyper-inflation and depression, gender and generational conflict, political violence and terrorism, conflicts dealing with the relationship between church and state, and racist antisemitism.
- The fourteen years of the Weimar Republic were a way station on the road to genocide, and yet they also witnessed the struggle of many decent, sincere people to create a just and humane society in a time of great artistic creativity.
You must read the above quote before doing the "B" work, I'll be asking you about this!
"B" Work - Politics & Culture
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Politics
Read Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (the Treaty that ended WWI.)
Culture
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View The Blue Angel and listen to "It's all a Swindle" here. Listen to "No Time" here.
Use SOAPS Tone to analyze "The Agitator" Your SOAPS Tone Chart must be completed in your comp book for review. |
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This is the end of the "B" work. Come to Bingham or a TA for assessment.
"A" work - Economics & Society
German children with stacks of inflated currency, virtually worthless in 1923.
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Consider the implications of this rate of inflation.
View a German school meal in 1921. A homeless men's shelter. Woman looking for work. |
Social Collapse
Anti-Semitic Cartoon
Popular reactions to homophobia.
Eugenics in Action.
The Right to be Jewish.
This is the end of the "A" work. Come to Bingham or a TA for assessment.
Popular reactions to homophobia.
Eugenics in Action.
The Right to be Jewish.
This is the end of the "A" work. Come to Bingham or a TA for assessment.