Background Information 1920s Germany (The Weimar Republic)

Germany was in a state of international disgrace following WW1. 

 The German people were torn apart by right wing and left wing bickering and there was an overall feeling of agitation and bitterness towards the government 

The nation was facing a massive national debt and recession.  

German people saw a lot of crime and attempts to overthrow the government.

During the time of German Expressionism, the dada movement was growing in Europe and there was a general feeling of change and a willingness to experiment with new and avant-garde styles.   

Most of this experimentation and liberalism centered in Berlin which was understood at the time as the intellectual capital of Europe

• Bauhaus (Walter Gropius, Mies Van Der Rohe)
• Humboldt University of Berlin
  
• Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics (Albert Einstein was its director until 1933)
• Literature (Berthold Brecht, Arnold Zweig, Kurt Tucholsky)
• Art (George Grosz, Oskar Schlemmer, Paul Klee, Theo van Doesburg)