The late Weimar era, or what is referred
to as the ‘Golden Age of Weimar’, was particularly known for its cabarets. Most
cabarets were restaurants or nightclubs where patrons sat at tables and were
entertained by a procession of singers, dancers and comedians atop a small
stage. Cabaret was, in fact, a French invention that dated back to the 1880s.
Perhaps the most famous of all French cabarets, the Moulin Rouge, was notorious
for allowing lewd dancing and employing prostitutes as dancers and waitresses.
The German form, Kabarett, was, at first, more conservative and
low-key. Berlin’s first cabaret nightclub dated back to 1901, however during
the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II, German cabarets were not permitted to perform
or promote bawdy humor, provocative dancing or political satire.
After World War I cabarets became very
popular across Europe. The Weimar government’s lifting of censorship saw German
cabarets transform and flourish. Entertainment in the cabaret’s of Berlin,
Munich and other cities were dominated by two themes, namely: sex and politics.
Stories, jokes, songs and dancing were peppered with sexual innuendo. As the
1920s progressed this gave way to open displays of nudity, to the point where
most German cabarets had at least some topless dancers. Some cabarets were patronized
by gay men, lesbians and transvestites. A population once forced to conceal
their sexuality, now basked in the liberal cabaret scene to openly display and
discuss it their sexuality.
The cabarets also provided Germans
with an outlet for political views and criticism. A good deal of the stand-up
comedy on cabaret stages was done by ‘political humorists’, who ridiculed all
points along the political spectrum. Their mockery, parody and satire was
‘anything goes’; no leader, party, policy or idea was spared. Cabaret songs
often contained a political subtext. Mischa Spoliansky’s popular tune, “It’s
All a Swindle” of 1931, was a typical example:
“Politicians are magicians
Who make swindles disappear
The bribes they are taking
The deals they are making
Never reach the public’s ear
The left betrays, the right dismays
The country’s broke – and guess who pays?
But tax each swindle in the making
Profits will be record breaking
Everyone swindles some
So vote for who will steal for you.”
Who make swindles disappear
The bribes they are taking
The deals they are making
Never reach the public’s ear
The left betrays, the right dismays
The country’s broke – and guess who pays?
But tax each swindle in the making
Profits will be record breaking
Everyone swindles some
So vote for who will steal for you.”
The Evolution of Cabaret
Cabaret during World War I:
1914-1919
Cabaret during the First World War in Germany did not thrive on social
criticism or political commentary; instead, it was heavily regulated by
Germany’s Imperial government. The head of state and government was Kaiser
Wilhelm II who ran the empire until 1918 when military fighting ceased in WWI
and a democratic German republic, A.K.A, the Weimar Republic, was later formed.
Though cabaret first came to Germany in 1901, approximately twenty years after
its inception in France, it took nearly two decades for Germany to find their
own particular style. Cabaret found an outlet in pre-war Munich, a city much
smaller than Berlin, filled with artists and intellectuals--one that provided
an overall welcoming environment for café culture; but because of censorship in
Germany at the time, Germans were unable to use their creative talents to alter
the art form to appropriately reflect its new German context and the movement
as a whole was not unified or exceptional in any way. The cabaret of pre 1919
was heavily influenced by the war, spouting extreme nationalism and very little
else.
Controversies over entertainment’s place in wartime Germany were abundant.
During the first few weeks of the war, cabarets closed all across Germany, only
to reopen later when it became apparent that taking France would be more
difficult than originally imagined. Two camps of thought existed: those who
believed the times were too serious to warrant entertainment and venues of
amusement and drink, and those who maintained that it was specifically because
of the seriousness of the times that such amusements and distractions were
needed. Either way, most agree that the cabarets of World War I Germany were
primarily for entertainment purposes only. Lacking any practical political
element, except as a podium of government encouraged, nationalist propaganda. Cabarets
of this period did not provide serious outlets for political expression,
despite being highly influenced by wartime politics.
The real politics of the cabarets in this time period rested in their
actual existence: the fact that cabarets were localities of amusement where
alcohol: a symbol of prosperity, good times and excess thrived and stood in
contrast to the dismal life of most German citizens.
The existence of cabarets was politically controversial and they
provided an outlet for nationalist rhetoric, Germany would have to wait until
the proclamation of a Democratic Republic before cabaret truly became a venue
for political commentary.
The Weimar Republic is perhaps, the most interesting time period for
cabaret in 20th century history. The fact that cabaret thrived in Weimar
Germany is well documented. In Laurence Senelick’s book, “Cabaret
Performance: Volume II: Europe 1920-1940: Sketches, Songs, Monologues, Memoirs.”,
we find Austrian writer Stefan Zweig providing a description of the
cultural capital of the Weimar Republic:
“Berlin transformed itself into the Babel of the world. Bars, amusement
parks, pubs shot up like mushrooms. It was a veritable witches’ Sabbath, for
the Germans brought to perversion all their vehemence and love of system…Amid
the general collapse of values, a kind of insanity took hold of precisely those
middle-class circles which has hitherto been unwavering in their orderliness.’
Amid this breakdown, the cabaret, once regarded as the haunt of a certain type
of liberated individual, now lured a bourgeois as well as a bohemian audience.”
Due to the newly formed, far
more liberal government, censorship became relaxed and cabaretists found
themselves with a great deal more freedom to discuss any topic relevant to life
in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. As before, their favorites were sex and
politics. Some performances were so unwholesome that a second word became
necessary to distinguish between performances catering to lustful interests
(Cabaret), and those performances primarily centered on political discourse
(Kabarett) and both types were prominent in interwar Germany.
The extreme nationalism left over from imperial times did not
immediately disappear. Many cabarets spent the first half of the 1920s
attempting to throw off the nationalist rhetoric encouraged by the previous
war. The severe nationalist rhetoric was heightened by a fear that something
similar to the Bolshevik revolution in Russia might occur in Germany. As the
economy spun out of control and hyperinflation took effect, German politics
became increasingly more divided. Both left and right parties used the medium
of cabaret to present their conflicting political views.
The result of such ideological conflicts was the production of an
extremely rich pool of material that cabarets drew from. Dialogue became
increasingly more politicized and performers were given free rein to critique
and satirize with censorship restrictions being removed and public opinion
supporting open discussion. Common questions posed were those surrounding the
concept of just how socialist were the Social Democrats or whether or not Germany
was really a Republic.
Not all performances were deeply political as most
reflected on current events and satirized public figures while the audience
maintained an active role in the performance. Closely tied with audience
participation is the issue of public opinion. Gone with the war were feelings
that the only way to be politically supportive was by biting one’s tongue instead,
the interwar chaos helped encourage German citizens to examine, criticize and
attempt to find a better way of life.
The popularity of cabaret was twofold: A) citizens viewed it as a
medium for examining the state and B) depressed from the instability of the
interwar years, people were in desperate need of distraction, amusement and all
the other benefits that the cabaret provided. The key as to why German cabaret
thrived during the Weimar Republic is the above two factors combined with a
guilt-free and allowing environment. People could go to a cabaret, have a beer,
some laughs and critique the state without the feeling that they were undermining
Germany. It was this transformation in public opinion that allowed cabaret to
go from existing only in a technical sense in World War I to the powerful
cultural, intellectual and political force it became in the Weimar Republic.
As expected, Nazi Germany was not the most supportive environment for
cabaret. German Cabaret suffered on many different levels. Firstly, most
cabaret performers as well as those responsible for running the day-to-day
operations of cabarets were either Jewish or liberal and as such, were Nazi
targets. The majority fled the country in the first couple weeks after the
National Socialist takeover. Those who chose to stay were forced into agreeing
to produce apolitical pieces and were later forced into performing “positive
cabaret”. Positive cabaret was a term coined by the Nazis, and it was intended
to provide only positive responses to Nazi activities, while mocking the
actions of their enemies.
This lasted until 1937 when Joseph Goebbels outlawed all forms of
political expression on the German stage. Long before the ultimate demise of
cabaret in the German state, (as versions of cabaret were still being performed
in concentration camps) Nazi dominance had destroyed an art form that required
freedom of expression to survive. Public opinion no longer backed cabaret as, once
again, was seen as frivolous in comparison to events of the time, as well as
lacking any substantive value due to Nazi reforms. Many famous performers,
choreographers and composers committed suicide and died in concentration camps.
Basic Dynamics of Cabaret
According to Peter Jelavich, in his book Berlin Cabaret, the
“ideal type” of cabaret consists of a small stage in a relatively small hall,
where the audience sat around tables. The intimacy of the setting allowed
direct, Eye to eye contact between performers and spectators. The show consists
of short, five or 10 minute numbers from several different genres, usually
songs, and comic monologues, dialogues and skits, less frequently dances,
pantomimes, puppet shows, or even short films. They dealt in a satirical manner
with topical issues such as, sex (being the most popular), commercial fashions,
cultural fads and least of all, politics. These numbers were usually presented
by professional singers and actors, but often writers, composers, or dancers
would perform their own works. The presentations were linked together by a
conferencier, a type of MC who interacted with the audience, made witty remarks
about the events of the day, and introduced the performances.
Pure type of cabaret was rare, and when it appeared, it was short
lived. All aspects of cabaret were subject to change. With increasing
popularity, a troupe might move to larger quarters: the stage would expand and,
more important, the auditorium would be enlarged to be filled no longer with
tables, but with rows of chairs facing the performance. The intimacy of the
ideal type cabaret, and intimacy between actors and audience (and among the
spectators themselves), would be lost. The content of performances likewise
might be changed. It could become more literary and dramatic.
When mainly
professional actors were involved or there was an influx of good cabaret
material, or when the audience preferred more conventional dramatic forms, one-act
skits would come to dominate the program This would lead to a total conversion
to drama. In effect, the cabaret would become a regular theater. In contrast, a
cabaret might become less literary, or decidedly nonliterary. If censorship
hindered parody or satire, or if an audience wanted more show and less tell,
then the stage would be left with variety acts, and the cabaret would end up as
just another vaudeville show. If the truth felt commercially compelled to
appeal to the absolutely lowest common denominator of public taste, it would
mutate into a purveyor of what Germans in the 20s called “nude dancing.” That
is precisely what most stages calling themselves “cabarets” are today.
By tracking the development of German cabaret during World War I, the
Weimar Republic and National Socialist Germany it is evident that the level of
political discourse contained within cabaret depended on the level of state
involvement and general public opinion of the time. Meaningful cabaret thrived
in the interwar period when social problems were widespread, but were equally
matched by freedom of expression.
In conclusion,
there are five major points in regards to cabaret
1. After decades of
restrictive, authoritarian government, Weimar was a period of social
liberalization.
2. In post-1924
economic revival saw many seek new forms of leisure and entertainment, like
Kabarett.
3. German cabaret
entertainment revolved around themes of sexual liberation and political
criticism.
4. The cabarets
followed no political line: any party or leader was subject to criticism or
mockery.
5. Many feared the
impact the ‘cabaret culture’ was having on German society and public morality.
Notes:
All forms of public
criticism were banned by a censor on theatres in the German Empire, however.
This was lifted at the end of the First World War, allowing the kabarett
artists to deal with social themes and political developments of the time. This
meant that German kabarett really began to blossom in the 1920s and 1930s,
bringing forth all kinds of new cabaret artists, such as Werner Finck at the
Katakombe, Karl Valentin (died 1948) at the Wien-München, Fritz Grünbaum and
Karl Farkas at the Kabarett Simpl in Vienna, and Claire Waldoff. Some of their
texts were written by great literary figures such as Kurt Tucholsky, Erich
Kästner, and Klaus Mann.
When the Nazi party
came to power in 1933, they started to repress this intellectual criticism of
the times. Kabarett in Germany was hit badly. (Kander and Ebb's Broadway
musical, Cabaret, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, Goodbye to Berlin,
deals with this period.) In 1935 Werner Finck was briefly imprisoned and sent
to a concentration camp; at the end of that year Kurt Tucholsky committed
suicide; and nearly all German-speaking kabarett artists fled into exile in
Switzerland, France, Scandinavia, or the USA.
Agitprop (/ˈædʒᵻtprɒp/; from Russian: агитпроп [ɐɡʲɪtˈprop], derived from
agitation and propaganda)[1] is stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and
other art forms with an explicitly political message.
The term agitprop
originated in the Russian SFSR (which later joined the Soviet Union), as a
shortened form of отдел агитации и пропаганды (otdel agitatsii i propagandy),
i.e., Department for Agitation and Propaganda, which was part of the central
and regional committees of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The
department was later renamed Ideological Department.
In the case of
agitprop, the ideas to be disseminated were those of communism, including
explanations of the policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet state. In
other contexts, propaganda could mean dissemination of any kind of beneficial
knowledge, e.g., of new methods in agriculture.
The term agitprop
gave rise to agitprop theatre, a highly politicized left-wing theatre
originated in 1920s Europe and spread to America; the plays of Bertolt Brecht
are a notable example.[2] Russian agitprop theater was noted for its cardboard
characters of perfect virtue and complete evil, and its coarse ridicule.[3]
Gradually the term agitprop came to describe any kind of highly politicized
art. After the October Revolution of 1917, an agitprop train toured the
country, with artists and actors performing simple plays and broadcasting
propaganda.[4] It had a printing press on board the train to allow posters to
be reproduced and thrown out of the windows if it passed through villages.[5]
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