Changes in Culture

• Stressman's economic and foreign policy changes of the 1920s led to important changes in politics, culture, and living standards for German people
• As the German economy improved, people found they had more disposable income and work conditions were improved
• Many women also benefited from the changes, especially in the political structure
• Financial hardships retreated, allowing people more time to focus on art, cinema, and architecture
• President Ebert met with trade unions to gain their support for the new Weimar Republic
• Changes in working and living conditions between 1925 and 27


  1. The average working week dropped from 50 hours to 46

  2. Wages rose by around 25%
• New unemployment insurance was introduced in 1927 where workers were charged three percent of their wages to provide insurance against unemployment or sickness
• Housing improvements

  • 37,000 new homes built by private companies
  • 64,000 homes built by a government scheme
• Veteran's pension was introduced in 1920 to support veterans, widows, and children
• Education system offered more opportunities to young people, with the number in higher education increasing by nearly 60% by 1928
• Big business and lower middle classes were not happy with the changes, feeling government interference and neglect, respectively
• Women benefited greatly from the Weimar constitution, being allowed to vote, stand for election, and have equal rights to men
• By 1932, 10% of the Reichstag was female and around 90% of women voted in the new elections
• Women were allowed to enter all professions, and new part-time jobs in retail and service were created
• Women in professional jobs such as doctors and teachers doubled in the 1920s
• Women were paid on average 33% less than men and were still expected to give up work when they got married
• Young women living in cities had more disposable income, allowing them to buy clothes, makeup, and jewelry
• The fashion trend included cutting hair short and having shorter hemlines
• Changes for women in the 1920s

  • More disposable income
  • Ability to buy clothes, makeup, and jewelry
  • Fashion trend of cutting hair short and rising hemlines
  • Freedom to smoke, drink, and go out unaccompanied
• Changes for women in the 1920s


  Some women felt free and embraced the new opportunities
• Changes for women in the 1920s


  Not popular with everyone due to falling birth rate and increasing divorce rate
• Changes for women in the 1920s

  Some men saw new jobs and financial freedom for women as a threat to their own role in society
• Changes for women in the 1920s

  Some blamed economic problems of the 1920s on women for upsetting the economic balance
• Final big change of the 1920s

  Cultural change due to freedom of speech in the Weimar constitution and economic recovery funding the arts
• Cultural change in the 1920s


  Rejection of old ideas of romanticism in favor of an objective view in art
• Cultural change in the 1920s

  Arts began to look forward instead of back, with modernist arts, cinema, and architecture being more futuristic
• Cultural change in the 1920s

  School of expressionism focused on the feelings and interpretations of the artist
• Cultural change in the 1920s

  Government grants to artists, directors, and musicians funded new ideas in art
• Painters in the 1920s

  • otto dix, george grosh
• Architectural influence in the 1920s

  • Bauhaus movement
• Architects in the 1920s

  • eric mendelson
• German movies in the 1920s


  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Metropolis
• By 1932, 3800 German cinemas could show talkies movies with sound
• Reception of changes in the 1920s

  Left-wing parties criticized the spending while people were still hungry, while those on the right saw the changes as an insult to German traditions