Babylon Berlin is a cultural term which alludes to the decadent and often violent period of post WW1 Germany under the unstable Weimar Republic. Explore the chaos of rampant inflation post Treaty of Versailles and from the Great Depression, the violence with the rising Nazi party and the decadence of the avant-garde cultural scene prevalent in the 1920s.
- Weimar Germany, Promise and Tragedy (Princeton, 2018). Eric D Weitz, ISBN: 0691183068
- A Short History of the Weimar Republic (Bloomsbury, 2024). Colin Storer, ISBN: 1350172367
- Vertigo, The Rise and Fall of Weimar Germany 1918-1933 (W H Allen, 22024). Harald Jahner, ISBN: 0753559978
- Collapse of the German monarchy 1918 and the establishment of the Weimar Republic 1919
- Impact of the Treaty of Versailles 1919
- Failure of revolutions and uprisings by extremist groups on the left (Spartakists) and the right (Frei Korps) as well as the failure of the Munich Putsch 1923 by the fledging Nazi Party.
- Economic developments, rampant inflation and the impact of the Great Depression from 1929
- Cultural experimentation in film, art, music, literature, theatre and cabaret and the concept of “decadence” captured in the term "Babylon Berlin"
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Discuss the chaotic nature of German politics 1918-1933 and the factors involved in the treaty of Versailles 1919 which exacerbated the chaos
- Understand the main events in the 14 years of the Weimar republic and its eventual collapse in 1933
- Discuss the origin of the term Babylon Berlin and how it relates to the perception of “ decadence” regarding film, music, cabaret, literature, art and photography in Berlin in particular and across western Europe in the 1920s
