Cultural Changes: developments in architecture, art,cinema

• The restrictions of the imperial regime had been thrown off, and the Weimar constitution enshrined freedoms (e.g., freedom of speech) in law
• Economic recovery after 1924 created wealth to finance the arts
• The Weimar government gave grants to art galleries, theatres, orchestras, museums and libraries
• New Objectivism said art should show life as it really is, including poverty and squalor, not a romanticised view
• Modernism said art should embrace the future and see beauty in technology, industry and cities, not romanticise the past. An example is the Bauhaus movement
• The Bauhaus architect Erich Mendelsohn created the Einstein Tower, which was designed futuristically to look like a rocket
• Expressionism said art should reflect the thoughts and feelings of the artist rather than show things how they really look. Otto Dix was an expressionist painter who criticised the harsh life for veterans
• Some German films were very innovative, like the sci fi film Metropolis made in 1926. Germany’s first sound film was made in 1930, and by 1932 there were 3,800 German cinemas showing films with sound.
• Cultural innovations were criticised by the left-wing as they said funding was spent on extravagance instead of helping working people.
• It was criticised by the right-wing as they said changes to the arts undermined traditional German culture