Starter: Looking back… 5 Mins

In the starter section of your booklets, complete the table with quick
notes on what each of the policies Stresemann was involved in did and
what effect they had on Germany.
 Title:
What were the ‘Golden Years?’

Lesson Objective

Identify the features of the Golden Years, explain the major changes for society, women
in particular, and evaluate the reasons for this shift in culture.
Why Had Germans Suffered Between 1918-23

Try to remember at
least 3 reasons why
the German people
had suffered.

Task 1: Complete 3
reasons for this
suffering in your
Workbooks.
 Let’s Study a Historian’s View

“The years 1925-29 were the heyday of

Task 2: Study this Weimar Germany. Prosperity was restored
interpretation by and the parliamentary institutions seemed
Francis L. Carston, to be accepted by the majority of the
written in 1982. voting public. The Nazi’s had nearly two
million votes in May 1924 but by May 1928
Summarise the view this was reduced to 800,000 votes. The
he takes about the voting strength of the communists equally
changes to Weimar declined. Increased prosperity allowed the
Germany between Weimar government to introduce ground
1924-29. breaking social policies, where people
from multiple spectrums of society could
benefit from a better, happier life.”
 How Did Living Standards Change?
Between 1923 and 1929, the Weimar Republic saw many changes and gradual
social improvements began to form. Many of these changes were funded by the
government itself in an effort to make people’s lives better.

Task 3:
Study these
changes and
colour-code
as either:
- Work
- Housing
- Other
 Let’s Study Another Historian’s View

“Working people actually improved their situation with better

real wages, unemployment insurance and lower working hours.
What this did, however, was to alienate other groups such as big
business, who resented their loss of pow-er and profit, and the
lower middle class, who saw their own position threatened by a
system which seemed to favour the working class.”

Task 4: Study this interpretation mentioned in the

HTA Modern History Study Guide (2007).

What is the main difference between this view

and the view expressed by Francis L. Carston? Use
details from both interpretations to explain.
 Changes to the Lives of Women
Perhaps one of the biggest
changes happened to the lives of
women.

Task 5: Read the page on women

in your workbooks and highlight
the key changes.

Then, colour-code the table on

‘work’ to show positives and
negatives for Golden Years
women.
 Cultural Changes – Art and Sculpture

Art became dominated by the ‘Grotesque’ movement. Painters like Otto Dix and
George Grosz painted versions of German life which were critical of German
society. Artists returned to a more realistic way of painting, reflecting the harsh
reality of war and the failing morality of society.
 Cultural Changes – Art and Sculpture

Band playing Rich not

Immoral Rich obsessed
Begging American Jazz Homeless interested in the
rich with having
wounded music. Black ex-soldiers suffering of the
fun
war veteran musician. poor
Cultural Changes - Architecture
The new style emerged called ‘Bauhaus’
noted for its refined functionalist
approach to architecture and industrial
design with less colour and less
‘ornament’ used.
Cultural Changes – Furniture and Design

The founders intended to

fuse the arts and crafts
with the practical
demands of industrial
design, to “adapt to our
world of machines, radios
and fast cars."
Cultural Changes - Theatre

Theatre changed and followed the

‘grotesque’ movement of cabaret with
stories of misadventure.

It also added elements of public

protest (agitation) and persuasive
politics (propaganda) to the theatre.
Cultural Changes - Cinema

Films became popular.

Horror films and
futuristic films like
Metropolis merged life
and technology. Sound
came to cinema in 1930
and there were around
3,800 cinemas by 1932.
 So Why Did This Happen?
So, as the political situation of late 1920’s started to settle down, a period of
experimentation and creativity began. By why?

- Restrictions of the old Kaiser and imperial regime had been

lifted.

- The new constitution established freedoms such as speech and

expression, under law.

- The economy started to recover after 1924, so the government

financed art galleries, museums, theatres and libraries.
You’re
- ‘New Objectivism’ stressed showing life as it really was, not a welcome!
romanticised version.