New Opportunities for the Weimar Republic - Essay Example

Student Name: Instructor name: Unit Name: Date Introduction The German Empire existed between the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany in 1871-to the period when Wilhelm I was declared the German Emperor in 1918. After this period it became a federal republic after being defeated in the First World War.1 The Weimar Republic existed between the periods of 1919-1933 in the history of Germany. Weimar Republic is said to have come into existence of the after the fall of the monarchy in November 1918 and the January 1919 elections to the German National Assembly which was charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the new constitution was in place. The town Weimar was considered to be the most peaceful in relation to other towns hence explaining why it was selected to hold the constituent assembly. In addition it was to act as a signal to the Allied peacemakers in Paris with a belief that the allies would view the new republic as a new republic that did not condone violence.2 A new era in the history of German came into being after the collapse of Imperial Germany giving rise to a more democratic Weimar republic. The Weimar Republic was characterised by a poor economy and a weak political arrangement. However this era was largely characterised by improved scientific inventions and modern art. The Weimar republic was characterized by cultural creativity and inventions that included in areas such as architecture and contemporary art such as the great imagination portrayed in the Bauhaus art.3 This was in contrary to the traditions of the Germany Empire that was characterised by inflation and depression. Weimar Germany was a great period that was characterised by the people embracing scientific development. However, as indicated by Weitz in his book, ‘Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy,’ this did not last long because many of these employees who were regarded as ‘outsiders’, of the various scientific institutions were sacked from office due to the discriminative Nazi anti-Jewish policies. The sacked employees then moved to foreign countries where they continued with their scientific inventions a move that affected Germany both economically and scientifically.4 The emergence of the Weimar Empire resulted in cultural freedom .The republic of Weimar experienced sexual equality and women rose to power and occupied bigger positions in the government. The notion that women were mothers of the nation was no longer applicable. The book on ‘Women in German History: from Bourgeois Emancipation to Sexual Liberation,’ by Frevert notes that women were now aware of their democratic rights and most of them exercised their rights by taking part in the election process. She further asserts that the era in which women were not supposed to dress like men and go to work was long gone and the modern woman in the Weimar era dressed like she pleased and went to work. The modern woman was now a symbol of hope in Germany and played a major role in promoting the advertising and marketing industries.5 The new woman was supposed to look pretty and was permitted to undergo plastic surgery in order to change her looks. The sexual immorality that was practised in the preceding era especially by women was no longer in existence. The era was therefore characterised by a lot of sexual freedom. However, not everyone embraced the new cultural freedom in Weimar. Some critics claimed that Weimar Culture set a negative image about the society especially among the women who had now taken into roles that regarded to be performed by men. In addition, many critics believed that women were not supposed to engage in sporting activities that encouraged loss of femininity by gaining muscles that made them look masculine.6 In this era Jews played a major role in governance, art and science. This was contrary to the previous era where they were sidelined in government. However, Jews were most popular in the political and public arena and this was particularly evident in the first cabinet formed. Years after, Jews held major political positions mainly they were charged with the responsibilities taking leadership positions in the various political parties such as in democratic and socialist parties. The Jews’ actively and widely took part in the activities of the Germany society a move that largely contributed to the change in Jewish customs. Some of the Jewish embraced Christianity while others opted for Judaism. On the other hand, others practised intermarriages with other non Jewish communities. In addition, in the Weimar era the activities of the Jewish political, religious, and social organizations were maintained. The key economic achievements that were observed in the Weimar era were attributed to the role played by the Jews community. Most Jews were involved in business, banking, commerce, trade and even in other area such as in medicine. However, the role played by the Jews in the economic growth of Germany has been exaggerated. Some authors claim that the accomplishments experienced in that period were entirely a result of the hard work of the Jews. A view that has been contested by other authors who believe that the development was as a result of the efforts made by both the Jewish and non Jewish community. They claim that non-Jewish people also held key positions in the country and also engaged in business as the Jews people.7 New organizations were established that were affiliated to the Jewish community. The main new organizations that were established included the Reichsbund Judischer Frontsoldated that was affiliated to the popular Reich Union or Jewish Frontline Soldiers; left-and-right Zionist parties such as the Judische Volkspartie. The Jewish People’s Party and the youth and sports organizations; student groups; and so forth. The Jewish communities retained the officially acknowledged legal status they had acquired under the Kaiser. However, the innovations in the Weimar era were the establishment of Landesverbande Judischer Gemeinden (State Unions of Jewish communities) and efforts to arrange all of German Jewry into a national body8 Great film companies produced high ranking films internationally making German cinema one of the best globally. Music composed by the best composers in Germany had their music performed for the first time in history. In the academic department, the Weimar Republic had the best ever academic institutions especially in the science section Towns such as Berlin embraced modern contemporary art. The Bauhaus school near Weimar adopted and embraced modern architecture. The era of Weimar encouraged people to embrace art. In Weimar Germany, the body was an important symbol. The body of both male and female athletes was used to symbolize the various roles played by both men and women. It symbolised the ideal sportsmen and sportswomen of the 1920s .The body of the modern woman or man was a symbol of modernity gender, modernity, and modern sports that was characteristic of the daily experience of the majority of Germans who had about the sportsmen and athletes from the print or watched them in movies. Most people admired the athletes and viewed them as their role models especially in their day -to-day activities in areas such as fashion. For the famous German addressees, it was seen as an interesting part that saw most people both women and men regularly compete in major sporting events and they usually dominated popular competitions such as in Olympics globally.9 Body by Weimar argues that male and female athletes essentially reversed gender roles during Germany's turbulent post-World War I years and recognised the foundation for a modern body and modern responsiveness that is present today in that exist in the present day. Athletes in the 1920s emulated similar techniques that were reformist factories and offices and put them into practice so as to ensure that effectiveness of their bodies and bones were utilised properly and cautiously. Sportswomen and men personified modernity in a more factual manner. This competitively played a role in making their activities at the same time justifying their actions by emphasising that it was logical that a successful economy was necessitated by their personal success stories. Enthroned by the media as the new cultural icons, athletes radiated sexual empowerment, social mobility, and self-determination. Those who were considered in sporting activities such as in tennis and boxing are reported to have showcased their talents to their supporters and funs a move that was not received well by critics and it sparked intense debates. The critics argued that there should restrictions on how people used their bodies and they argued that as citizens of Germany they were obliged to ensure that a dignified relationship existed between both genders.10 The last years of the Weimar Republic, during which Germany was badly affected by the world wide economic crises, were characterised by the rise of the National Socialist party. Just before the crisis broke out, in 1928, the Nazis won only 3 percent of the vote; however, in the first elections that took place during the crisis, in September 1930, the vote increased 18 percent, and in July 1932 to 37 % of the vote. During those years, anti-Semitism came to have a deep consequence on the lives of most Jews. It was one of the vital fundamentals in the Nazi party’s brutal and vicious struggle for power, and its impact on the Jews was not restricted to physical brutality but resulted in destruction of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, and even waged physical attacks on individual Jews. Nazi political lies succeeded in making the “Jewish Question” into a major issue in the Nazi struggle against the democratic regime. As a result, not only was the status of the Jews in German society affected negatively but the Jews themselves experienced a crisis of Jewish realisation and began to reconsider their Jewish identity. 11 When the Nazis came to power immediately after the great depression, most of the leading figures of Weimar culture in areas such as arts, science including chemistry were forced to move from Germany to abroad. This was because when Nazi came into power led by the unpopular dictator Adolf Hitler in January 1933 they had a major impact upon the German society. The new Nazi rule wanted to form a unified community, whose members were considered to be racially pure, had a social responsibility, trustworthy politically and of perfect health. This move clearly indicated that the Jews were social and cultural outsiders hence they were considered racially inferior and hence were excluded and isolated from the community and were forbidden from taking part in the communities activities especially politically.12 Those who fell victims to the Nazi rule were the gypsies, homosexuals and those who were perceived not to be social. These groups faced political persecution. They were then left with no choice other than immigrating to countries such as United States where they were allowed to practise their culture without being discriminated against. In turn they introduced their talents especially in arts and science in those countries. Dr, Lisa Pine asserts that even after German Empire era had come to an end this did not mark the end of the exclusion and isolation of some groups of people who were labelled as social and cultural outsiders. The discrimination against other people on cultural and social grounds ended only during the Weimar Empire but was back after the Nazi came into power13 Conclusion As historian Peter Gay has argued, the Weimar Republic opened up new opportunities for people who had been social and cultural outsiders during the preceding period of the German Empire. The German empire was characterised by authoritative governance and discriminative policies that sidelined particular groups of people such as the Jewish community and women and treated them as social and cultural outsiders. This was in complete contrast with the Weimar Empire who embraced democracy and accepted diversity in culture. It was considered poetic, soothing and inspirational. The era embraced art, music and other cultural aspects. The Jewish people were sidelined from government and political leadership. They were rarely seen in public and did not hold key leadership positions. However, this view changed with the emergence of the Weimar Empire. Most Jews were given key positions in the government especially in leadership. The Jews also dominated the art and science industries resulting in major developments and inventions. Women were also sidelined in that they were considered inferior and they were only supposed to run roles at homes as mothers. However, this changed later when the Weimar Empire came into being. Women were now aware of their rights and they boldly took key positions in leadership. They also took part in the democratic processes such as voting for their leaders. The Weimar era paved way for a society free of immorality and inequality that was not the case in the preceding German Empire. The modern woman was now a symbol of good value and hard-work as they were engaged in various activities such as in the marketing industry. References Abraham, David, ‘the Collapse of the Weimar Republic: Political Economy and Crisis,’ 2nd Ed. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1986. Allen, William Sheridan, ‘The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German town,’1922-1945 Toronto: F. Watts, 1984. Craig, Gordon A. Germany 1866-1945 (Oxford History of Modern Europe). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. Frevert, Ute, ‘Women in German History: from Bourgeois Emancipation to Sexual Liberation,’ (Oxford: Berg, 1997, 1990), Part III, chapter 14, "The Weimar Republic", pp. 168-204.   Kaes, Anton Kaes, Martin Jay, Edward Dimendberg (Eds.). The Weimar Republic Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994. Niewyk, Daniel L., ‘The Jews in Weimar Germany,’ 2nd Ed. New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 2001, chapter 2, "The role of the Jews in the economic, political and cultural life of Weimar Germany." pp. 11-42.  Norman Jensen, Erik, Body by Weimar: Athletes, Gender, and German Modernity, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 50-98. Peter Gay, ‘Weimar Culture: the Outsider as Insider,’ (London: Penguin, 1992, 1974), chapter.  1, “The Trauma of Birth: from Weimar to Weimar”, pp. 1-23. Peukert, Detlev J. ‘Inside Nazi Germany: Conformity, Opposition, and Racism in Everyday Life,’ 1989. Pine, Lisa, ‘Outsiders in Nazi Germany.’ Rosenberg, Arthur, ‘A History of the German Republic,’ London: Methuen, 1936. Read More