What were the Achievements of the Weimar Period? (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)
Revision Note
Was 1924-1929 a ‘Golden Age’ for the Weimar Republic? - Summary
Historians debate the extent to which the lives of citizens improved under the Weimar Republic.
Weimar Germany in the 1920s experienced a ‘cultural explosion’. The Weimar government gave grants to artists and cultural organisations like theatres and libraries. The government supported, rather than censored, new approaches to the arts. New technologies such as radio and film provided German artists with new mediums to explore. The experimental nature of Weimar culture upset many right-wing and extremist groups. The arts of the Weimar Republic clashed with these groups’ traditional values.
The establishment of the Weimar Republic marked the beginning of the German welfare state. A welfare state is the concept that the government supports and improves the well-being of its citizens. While the government succeeded in some areas, there was a divide between the industrial and agricultural working classes. Workers in towns and cities benefitted the most from the reforms. High debt, low prices and increasing taxes damaged the standard of living in farming communities. By 1929, the income of agricultural workers was 44% below the national average.
Weimar Germany became one of the most advanced societies for women’s rights. The Weimar Constitution created universal suffrage. This was rare for European countries. The right to vote and opportunity to work led to the development of the ‘New Woman’ of the 1920s. A ‘New Woman’ was independent, career-minded and reluctant to become a wife or mother. They enjoyed freedoms that women of previous centuries had never experienced before.
Germany’s progressive approach to women’s rights created many enemies within the Weimar Republic. The right-wing vilified the ‘New Woman’ for destroying the traditional family unit. Extremist parties like the Nazi Party campaigned to return women to their traditional role of wives and mothers.
The 'Golden Age' of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Art
Expressionism in Weimar Germany used grotesque or exaggerated figures in violent scenes
This aimed to make the audience uncomfortable. In doing so, the artist hoped people would begin to question the society in which they lived
Otto Dix was a famous New Objectivist artist in Weimar Germany. One of his paintings highlighted the issues war veterans had once they returned to Germany
George Grosz painted ‘Grey Day’, which used expressionism to represent the boredom of day-to-day life
Weimar art horrified the conservative upper classes and the extreme right-wing
Traditionally, the more educated upper classes controlled and produced Germany’s cultural output. In the Weimar Republic, the upper classes no longer held this power
The meanings of the artworks were unclear. The pictures had many interpretations
These pieces could have undermined the authority of the upper classes
Many artists had strong left-wing beliefs. This challenged the traditional ways of life valued by the right
Weimar Architecture
In 1919, a new form of design called ‘Bauhaus’ emerged
Walter Gropius founded the movement in Weimar Germany in 1919. He aimed to create a unified style that connected all types of art forms
The Bauhaus design school existed in three German cities between 1919 and 1933, Weimar, Berlin and Dessau
Lecturers at Bauhaus College included the artist Paul Klee and the sculptor Oskar Schlemmer
‘Bauhaus’ architecture uses geometric shapes to create practical buildings. The movement saw the beauty of technology and the use of familiar materials in different ways. For example, they constructed entire buildings using only concrete
The ‘Bauhaus’ movement inspired Weimar architects such as Erich Mendelsohn
He designed the Einstein Tower, an observatory in Potsdam, to look like a rocket
Weimar Cinema
The popularity of cinema exploded in the 1920s
By 1929, there were roughly 500 cinemas across Germany
Germany began to compete with American film production
The expressionist film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920) was one of the first horror films. The director, Robert Wiene, created the first ‘plot twist’ ending in cinema history
F. W. Murnau directed the film Nosferatu (1922)
It was the world’s first vampire film
Many films today use the tension methods Murnau created while filming Nosferatu
The Weimar government funded Metropolis (1926) through an organisation called UFA
It cost 5 million Reichsmarks
Fritz Lang created a modernist science-fiction film that centred on the impact of technology on 20th-century life
It was unsuccessful at the time but has influenced many modern-day films such as Star Wars
Germany produced its first talking film, or 'talkie' in 1930
The capability to play films with sound was available in 3,800 German cinemas by 1932
Weimar Nightlife
Weimar Germany had a thriving nightlife. Common activities in cities like Berlin included
Watching cabaret
Going to the theatre
Dancing in nightclubs
These activities encouraged liberal behaviour
Women and men drank, smoked and had sex
Young Germans were very open about their sexuality
Gay communities formed in big cities
Changes to Living Standards
To improve standards of living, the Weimar government:
Passed the Unemployment Insurance Act in 1927
This money funded insurance that covered unemployment and sickness
16.4 million workers had 3% of their wages diverted to the government
If an insured German did not have a job or was unable to work due to poor health, the scheme paid them 60 Reichsmarks per week
Created better working conditions
They lowered the hours in a working week from 50 in 1925 to 46 in 1927
Workers’ ‘real’ wages rose 25% from 1925 to 1928. This measurement considers the cost of living and inflation to calculate the actual value of a worker's wages
Focused on housing
The Länder utilised foreign loans to fund building projects
The government introduced a rent tax of 15% to create building associations
Private companies created 37,000 new homes from 1925 to 1929. In the same period, building associations constructed 64,000 homes
Passed the Reich Pension Law
Over 1.3 million people (widows and ex-soldiers) received a war-related pension
Weimar Germany spent roughly 40% of its GDP on this scheme
Changes to Women
The Weimar Republic focused on improving the life of women
The Weimar Constitution placed women’s right to vote into law
All women over the age of 21 could vote in elections. This was the same access to voting that German men had
Article 109 stated that marriage was an equal legal partnership between men and women
German women were active in politics
Elections usually had a 90% turnout of women voters
In 1920, there were 111 women elected as party representatives in the Reichstag
The Weimar government had good intentions to improve women’s employment
Progress in women’s employment | Regression in women’s employment |
|---|---|
By 1918, the percentage of women with employment was 75% | By 1925, the employment rate of women had fallen to 36%. This was roughly the same as before the First World War |
Article 109 in the Weimar Constitution gave women the right to access all professions on an equal standing to men | Many employers ignored Article 109 and chose male candidates over women Women in employment were paid 33% less than men doing the equivalent job |
The retail sector employed lots of women on a part-time basis | As soon as a woman became married, society expected her to leave her job to focus on the household and become a mother |
There was an increase in women employed as teachers and doctors | Women struggled to reach high-respected professions. For example, Germany only had 36 female judges in 1933 |
The right to vote and increased working opportunities allowed women the freedom to express themselves
These ‘New Women’ could:
Buy more revealing clothes
Cut their hair short
Wear more makeup
Smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol
Be focused more on their careers than on becoming wives and mothers
Companies used the image of the ‘New Woman’ to sell their products
This was a tactic used by cosmetic companies
Criticism of the 'Golden Age'
Extremists used people’s hatred of the ‘New Woman’ to increase support for their ideals
Hitler blamed the ‘New Woman’ for increasing unemployment rates among the working class
He campaigned against the ‘New Woman’ and encouraged a return to women’s traditional role in the household
Trade unions had a negative reaction to the presence of women in the workplace
Men dominated the trade unions
They believed that equality for women in the workplace would negatively affect male workers
They resented ‘double earners’. This term referred to households where the husband and wife both worked
Many extremist parties opposed Weimar culture
Extreme left-wing parties like the KPD saw the government's funding of culture as a waste of money. They believed it took resources away from the people who needed financial help, for example, the workers
Extreme right-wing parties like the NSDAP believed that Weimar culture was destroying German traditions. They argued that Weimar culture was responsible for the moral decline of German society
The Wandervögel movement protested against the progression of Weimar society
They wanted a return to traditional values
Worked Example
Describe cultural developments in Weimar Germany
4 marks
Answers:
Weimar government gave grants to artists, which allowed the arts to grow (1). New painting styles emerged like that of George Grosz (1). In architecture, the Bauhaus style used geometric shapes to create practical buildings (1). The Weimar government funded cinema projects such as the film Metropolis (1).
Examiner Tip
This style of question does not require you to explain your answer. The Cambridge IGCSE gives you a point for each relevant piece of information that you write in your answer. Therefore, do not spend any additional time trying to describe or explain each reason. You should aim to complete the question in four minutes, one minute per point. This will give you one minute to read through your answer.
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