Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils undergo a period study that provides an unfolding narrative which tells a story about a period that shaped the world we live in today. They look at the key events, developments, people and stories that defined the chosen period.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe changing culture in Weimar Germany between 1924 and 1929.

Key Notes

• Weimar Germany's 'Golden Age' saw a cultural flourishing and a culture war between modernism and traditionalism.
• Bauhaus movement revolutionised architecture but critics saw it as an attack on German identity with links to communism.
• Artists like Otto Dix and George Grosz challenged idealised traditions and depicted social decay.
• Berlin's cabarets and daring nightlife defied authority and social norms, but fuelled a reputation of moral decline.
• Weimar cinema pioneered expressionist film, but was later condemned by the Nazis as "degenerate" art.

Vocabulary To Learn

• culturewar: disagreements about cultural and social beliefs between groups, especially between people supporting social change and those against the change
• modernist: describes a style or movement, particularly in the arts, that rejects traditional forms in favour of new ways of expression that reflect modern life and ideas
• degenerate: having lost the physical, mental or moral qualities considered normal and desirable; showing evidence of decline
• cabaret: a performance of music, singing, dancing or political satire, often held in a bar or nightclub, known for its provocative acts, defiance of social and political norms and embrace of sexual freedom

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Weimar Germany was a completely free and modernist society.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• 1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation Study Guide
• Early unrest and the Treaty of Versailles Study Guide
• Economic recovery under Stresemann Study Guide
• Employment in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Germany before the First World War Study Guide
• Germany's naval ambitions before the First World War Study Guide
• Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Hitler's creation of a dictatorship Study Guide
• How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany Study Guide
• Industrialisation, social reform and the growth of socialism Study Guide
• Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities Study Guide
• Opposition and resistance to Hitler and the Nazi Party Study Guide
• Stresemann's international achievements Study Guide
• The Final Solution Study Guide
• The First World War and the German Revolution Study Guide
• The growth in support for the Nazi Party Study Guide
• The growth of unemployment and rise in support for the Communist Party Study Guide
• The Nazi economy and WW2 Study Guide
• The Nazi Party and religion Study Guide
• The Nazi police state Study Guide
• The persecution of Jews Study Guide
• The putsches of 1919-23 Study Guide
• The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act Study Guide
• The Weimar Republic Study Guide
• Women in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Work and life in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Young people in Nazi Germany Study Guide