Weimar Republic Research Articles

Women in Politics and the Public Sphere: Munich 1918/1919

Women have never been passive bystanders to the history being made around them and they have always found ways to contribute to shaping their world. Munich in 1918/1919 provides a useful site to examine women's experiences and roles due to the long-standing involvement of women in the peace movement and welfare work, as well as the foundation of the Bavarian Soviet Republic after the First World War. However, Munich in the early years of the Weimar Republic is most commonly associated with Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, an attempt by right-wing men to seize political power. Moreover, the 1918 revolution is also often told through the lens of male political figures. As a result, politics in the early twentieth century is easy to view as a male-dominated affair with women merely experiencing the effects of male political power. This era, particularly from the perspective of Munich, also becomes viewed through the lens of the rise of fascism, which obscures and distorts the alternative political visions many women held and worked towards. This article centres on women's experiences and roles in politics and the public sphere in revolutionary Munich to ask what opportunities the revolution and its immediate aftermath presented for women and how they were able to influence political decision-making despite huge barriers. Through an understanding of how their world was gendered, their role as political agents comes to the fore.

CARL SCHMITT AND FRIEDRICH HAYEK ON DEMOCRACY: ELECTIVE AFFINITIES?

The aim of the present paper is to disclose the structural affinities between Carl Schmitt and Friedrich Hayek regarding the concept of parliamentary democracy. Identifying Hayek’s neoliberal thinking with Schmitt’s theoretical justification of fascism would apparently be an a-historical overgeneralization. While Schmitt develops a model of absolute sovereignty relying on the sovereign’s decision on the state of exception, Hayek envisages the historical realization of those conditions allowing the market competition to flourish. Schmitt’s model subjugates market to an omnipotent state whereas Hayek views the latter as an engine abetting the free market competition.   
 A closer reading, however, could discern affinities behind the seemingly opposed models of the two thinkers. 
 Schmitt’s model of an emergency dictatorship and Hayek’s nomocracy are two different responses and attacks to the Left’s attempt to construct a democratic welfare state in the Weimar Republic and postwar Europe. Schmitt advocates the concentration of political power in a totalitarian state as the sole “remedy” to the democratic contamination of liberalism induced by the politicization of civil society. Similarly, Hayek castigates any state intervention taking the form of the welfare state but endorses a powerful state entrusted with the role of securing the conditions of market competition. 

Learning from the Past: Urban Landscape Transformation Praxis on the Example of Interwar German Housing Estates

In this paper, the incorporation of formerly existing built environment and natural elements was studied in eight housing estates from the interwar period in the Weimar Republic as a part of broader research on landscape transformations. The data on the original state of land development were collected using the comparative cartographic analysis method. The analysis was supplemented by a comparison with iconography, such as aerial photographs, orthoimagery, and, in some cases, manually drafted plans. The results suggest that pre-existing conditions significantly influenced the functional dispositions and urban layout of the estates. These findings add to our understanding of the development of housing estates of the interwar period in the Weimar Republic and the posture of designers and urban planners towards the natural conditions of the respective project sites. This work can be valuable for adding to existing guidelines or principles of urban planning.

Sergei Chakhotin against the Swastika: Mass Psychology and Scientific Organization in the Iron Front's Three Arrows Campaign

Abstract This article details the influence of Russian psychologist Sergei Chakhotin on the propaganda of the Iron Front, an antifascist organization that resisted the rise of the Nazis in the dying days of the Weimar Republic. Notably the creator of the Three Arrows symbol, Chakhotin espoused theories and methods that used Ivan Pavlov's notion of the conditioned reflex and Fredrick Taylor's theory of scientific management to transform socialist propaganda to better combat the rise of fascism. By scrutinizing Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) periodicals and Iron Front propaganda, I argue that Chakhotin's ideas played a crucial role in catalyzing changes in the form and content of street campaigning throughout 1932. Chakhotin provided a scientific lens through which his allies in the SPD could view and understand the mass appeal of the Nazis, as well as the necessary changes in party tactics that were required in the age of mass media, popular spectacle, and emotional struggle.

Charlotte Meentzen – Einblicke in ein Dresdner Naturkosmetik-Unternehmen der 30er und 40er Jahre

Abstract In the early 1930s, the trained beautician Charlotte Meentzen founded a company in Dresden based on naturopathy with the three pillars of a cosmetics institute, production and school. The foundation, financed by her father Theodor Meentzen, a professional speaker and publicist as well as trade union and SPD member, took place at a time of upheaval that affected the prevailing image of women as well as economic and political conditions. Charlotte Meentzen and her sister Gertrud, who joined the company early on, belonged to a close circle of professional women who ventured into self-employment in an industry that was still controversial at the time. The essay focuses on Charlotte Meentzen as a person, the circumstances surrounding the founding of the company in terms of female entrepreneurship, the cosmetics industry in general and natural cosmetics in particular against the backdrop of the final years of the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era in the Saxon metropolis. At the time, Dresden was considered a stronghold of naturopathy and was proclaimed the «Stadt der Volksgesundheit» («City of Public Health») under the Nazi regime. Using (advertising) examples such as the guide published by Meentzen in 1941, «Heilkräfte im Dienste der Schönheit» («Healing powers in the service of beauty»), the actions of the company management between adaptation and self-assertion become clear. This applied not least to the years of reconstruction in the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR, whereby the sisters always remained true to their convictions regarding individual health and beauty on the basis of natural remedies.

[Urology in Upper Palatinate-what archeology, historical research, and historiography reveal : Part1: from Roman Antiquity to the late Middle Ages].

Since 1924, it has been possible to qualify as aspecialist in urology in Germany. The first hospital departments for the treatment of urological conditions were established as early as the end of the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. However, the beginning of specialist medical care in the Bavarian administrative district of Upper Palatinate, often known as the "poorhouse" of Germany until the second half of the last century, was much later. Nevertheless, the lineage of "urological" activity here can be traced back to much earlier eras. Of course, it must be accepted that the evidence from times long past is weak. This is especially applicable when it comes to atopic such as the treatment of the sick and the preservation of health, which is not only considered ascience but also often acentral focus of life for us today, because in history it was often only mentioned in the fight against epidemics and in anecdotal descriptions. This is acircumstance which, when looking at the history of urology, gives rise to the hope of finding one or two interesting sources. This article not only aims to trace the history of the development of urology in arural area from contemporary history to the present day, but also to explore the treatment of urological diseases in this region since late antiquity. Furthermore, we invite readers to look at other places of urological remembrance in asimilar way.

Urbanization, Bourgeois Culture, and the Institutionalization of the Frankfurt Neurological Institute by Ludwig Edinger (1855–1918)

Ludwig Edinger (1855–1918) is often perceived as a functional neuroanatomist who primarily followed traditional lines of microscopic research. That he was a rather fascinating innovator in the history of neurology at the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth century has, however, gone quite unnoticed. Edinger’s career and his pronounced hopes for future investigative progress in neurological work mark an important shift, one away from traditional research styles connected to department-based approaches towards a multi-perspective and quite advanced form of interdisciplinary scientific work. Being conceptually influenced by the Austrian neuroanatomist Heinrich Obersteiner (1847–1922) and his foundation of the Neurological Institute in Vienna in 1882, Edinger established a multi-faceted brain research program. It was linked to an institutional setting of laboratory analysis and clinical research that paved the way for a new type of interdisciplinarity. After completion of his medical training, which brought him in working relationships with illustrious clinicians such as Friedrich von Recklinghausen (1810–1879) and Adolf Kussmaul (1822–1902), Edinger settled in 1883 as one of the first clinically working neurologists in the German city of Frankfurt/Main. Here, he began to collaborate with the neuropathologist Carl Weigert (1845–1904), who worked at the independent research institute of the Senckenbergische Anatomie. Since 1902, Edinger came to organize the anatomical collections and equipment for a new brain research laboratory in the recently constructed Senckenbergische Pathologie. It was later renamed the “Neurological Institute”, and became an early interdisciplinary working place for the study of the human nervous system in its comparative, morphological, experimental, and clinical dimensions. Even after Edinger’s death and under the austere circumstances of the Weimar Period, altogether three serviceable divisions continued with fruitful research activities in close alignment: the unit of comparative neurology, the unit of neuropsychology and neuropathology (headed by holist neurologist Kurt Goldstein, 1865–1965), and an associated unit of paleoneurology (chaired by Ludwig Edinger’s daughter Tilly, 1897–1967, who later became a pioneering neuropaleontologist at Harvard University). It was especially the close vicinity of the clinic that attracted Edinger’s attention and led him to conceive a successful model of neurological research, joining together different scientific perspectives in a unique and visibly modern form.

Hidden in plain sight: advertisements for Jewish ritual objects in Germany, 1871–1933

ABSTRACT Jewish ritual objects are rather niche products and yet, the advertisements, as well as other factors, indicate an industrial scale production during the German Second Empire (1871–1918) and the Weimar Republic (1918–1933). As I will argue, these advertisements provide us with intriguing insights into the Jewish community, and how German Jewry was perceived by the non-Jewish population. Especially when companies used methods of ethnic marketing, I surveyed how they addressed the different strata of the Jewish community. In addition, some company advertisements bear traces of an understanding of Judaism on equal footing with Christian denominations. Yet, I also find hints of industrial overproduction which, as I argue, might have been stimulated by stereotypes of Jews. Perhaps in response to the overproduction, some retailers advertised Jewish ritual objects as “decorative” rather than religious items, and therefore veiled their link to Judaism. While this might have been a protective measure against anti-Semitic slurs, it ties in well with the observation that producers and retailers might have expected higher sales. Overall, analysing advertisements for Jewish ritual objects helps us to develop a more nuanced understanding of the positioning of Jewish consumers within the market in Germany before the Shoah.

Afterlives of Anders als die Andern and of Weimar

Abstract This article uses reconstructions of the 1919 German LGBTQ+ rights film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others) to consider the meaning of the Weimar Republic. It surveys Weimar's historiography, memorialization efforts, public commemorations, museums, and film reconstruction, drawing connections between these fields. The film as an incomplete document becomes a metaphor for incomplete histories. As such, it offers suggestions for engaging with fragmentary pasts.

Art and Politics: The Migration of Images and Ideas between Weimar Republic and Interwar Lithuania

Art and Politics: The Migration of Images and Ideas between Weimar Republic and Interwar Lithuania

Changes in the form and structure of Catholic peace-making

This contribution outlines catholic peace work in Weimar Republic and after the Second World War. It analyses how spirituality and political engagement connect and how the conviction that peace includes more than cease-fire — but requires a commitment to social justice — becomes a leitmotif.

Personal enemies, conceptual friends. Karl Loewenstein and Carl Schmitt on self-destructive legalism

ABSTRACT The paper aims to discuss the rarely acknowledged conceptual affinities between legal-political thinking of Carl Schmitt and Karl Loewenstein. It may sound surprising given their different political leanings, as well as the concept of democracy inherent in the legal and political thought of the two thinkers, especially in their constitutional theories. For Schmitt democracy signifies identity between the rulers and the ruled, while for Loewenstein it is the very will of the people that has to be checked and tamed through the institution of representation. But when it comes to the defence of the existing political regime against the assault of its enemies and the understanding of the reasons of Weimar Republic’s failure, they strongly agree. Schmitt identified and elaborated on the possibility of the Weimar Republic’s enemies entering through the gate of legality and shutting its doors behind them. Loewenstein clearly sides with Schmitt that defending the constitution means defending its core or substance. The concept of militant democracy bears striking similarities with the conceptual world of Carl Schmitt: critique of the legalistic blindness, rejection of neutrality in public life, friend-enemy distinctions, legitimacy versus legality and the state of emergency.

[The stomatological care of schoolchildren in the Soviet Russia in 1920s: Succession of ideas].

The article considers historical interaction between the Soviet Russia and the Weimar Republic related to prevention of caries in children in 1920s and the role of P. G. Dauge in it. The methodology of German Professor A. Kantorovich with minor alterations was adopted to be applied in organization of dental care of schoolchildren in the RSFSR. In the Soviet Russia, the practical implementation of planned oral cavity sanation in children started on a national scale only in second half of the 1920s. It was caused by skeptical attitude of dentists to methodology of "planned sanation" in conditions of the Soviet Russia.

Leo Strauss and Edith Stein in the Grip of the Theopolitical

Abstract What connection with institutional religion ought modern political states promote? As they developed their political thinking in the early years of the Weimar Republic, Leo Strauss and Edith Stein came up with opposite answers to this question. While Strauss discerned in Carl Schmitt’s maximalist concept of the theopolitical a possible remedy against the flaws of liberal democracy, Stein ascribed democracy’s chance of survival to a renewed distinction between the political and religious spheres. Here, Strauss can be viewed as an heir to the ancient and medieval Jewish understanding of the ideal state, whereas Stein appears rooted in the critical legacy of the German Haskalah. At a fundamental level, the contrast between the two thinkers has to do with a difference in their respective philosophical epistemé. While Strauss, walking in the footsteps of Heidegger, thinks in terms of Geschichlichkeit (“historiality”), Stein applies a phenomenological method based on the intuition of essences and very much indebted to Adolph Reinach’s philosophy of law. That Stein's essentialism succeeds where the 'historial' thinking of the young Strauss fails; that is, in diagnosing the nature of the political threat that would soon engulf European Jewry, is the main conclusion of the present paper.

Indicator analysis as a way for the Second Department of Polish General Staff to counter the risk of chemical warfare being unleashed by Germany in the 1920s

After regaining its independence in 1918, Poland faced a number of security challenges. The most important of these was survival in the face of revisionist steps taken by aggressive neighbours, including Germany and the USSR. One important aspect of this threat was to determine the risk of the Weimar Republic unleashing chemical warfare against the Second Republic. In order to cope with this intelligence task, the Second Department of Polish General Staff developed a number of instructions whose structure and internal logic is comparable to the indicator analysis technique developed only 60 years later by the American Intelligence Community. On the basis of material preserved in the State Archive in Gdańsk and contemporary textbooks on information analysis techniques, it is shown how officers of Polish military intelligence, decades before the method of indicator analysis was formalised, developed their own way, which is essentially identical to it. This demonstrates the remarkable innovation and organisational capacity of the newly forming intelligence service of the reborn state.

From Crisis to Consolidation: Hyperinflation’s Role in Hitler’s Rise and Germany’s Economic Resurgence

The economic trajectory of Germany, transitioning from the Weimar Republic to Nazi dominance, starkly highlights the intimate nexus between political events and economic paradigms. The Weimar Republic, once a beacon of post-war resurgence, grappled with a storm of hyperinflation, misguided economic choices, and the crippling Treaty of Versailles, creating an environment rife with unemployment, social discord, and dwindling trust in governance. This tumultuous backdrop paved the way for Adolf Hitler, whose ascent wasn’t solely a product of charisma but also his pledges of economic rejuvenation and nationalistic fervor. Hitler’s economic overhaul was immediate and transformative: Hjalmar Schacht’s innovative MEFO bills, designed to invigorate the economy without triggering inflation, and the Four-Year Plan, underscoring German autarky, showcased a nation intent on self-sustenance and industrial fortification. Yet, the crux of Hitler’s economic vision lay in a robust rearmament program. While ostensibly an avenue for job creation and industrial revival, this program was unmistakably a blueprint for Hitler’s expansive European ambitions. This narrative encapsulates a rollercoaster journey from the Weimar’s chaotic economic downfall, through Hitler’s opportunistic rise amidst despair, to the Nazi regime’s intricate economic strategies, culminating in a rearmament policy that, while promising prosperity, ominously heralded global conflict. Through this lens, we gain insights into the complex economic machinations that influenced one of history’s most defining epochs.

Das Wagnis der Interpretation zwischen Geistesgeschichte und Werkimmanenz

Abstract Work-immanent interpretation (Werkimmanentes Interpretieren) is a theoretically, methodologically and practically interesting topic with a colorful history. By using Paul Kluckhohn, Fritz Martini, and Heinz Otto Burger as examples, the article traces the lines of development of interpretation in German studies from the Weimar Republic, under Nazism, and to the 1950s. I demonstrate that the didactic and propaedeutic practice of work-immanent interpretation in schools was complementary to the university curriculum from an early stage, balancing, for example, the abstract programs of Geistesgeschichte. The praxeology of German studies has to take these entanglements of school and academic practices into account.

Hildegard von Bingen’s Scivias in Weimar Germany: Media Theory by Hand

Abstract Between 1929 and 1930 a feud over the legitimacy of reproductions of works of art erupted in the pages of the culture periodical Der Kreis. Later dubbed the Hamburg Facsimile Debate, the dispute involved many of the day’s most eminent curators and academics in art and art history and became a focal point for emerging ideas about authenticity and the educative impact of the replica in the Weimar Republic. Even as the intelligentsia were publicly quarreling over the epistemological stakes of the facsimile, four nuns at Eibingen Abbey were meticulously hand-copying the most renowned illuminated twelfth-century manuscript of Hildegard von Bingen’s visionary summa, Scivias. This essay pits the Facsimile Debate against the facsimile craft of the Eibingen nuns, situating both within the context of new reproductive technologies devised specifically for representing medieval artifacts. It argues for a historicizing approach to the notion of authenticity, which bears on how we think about mediation and the surrogate in our research and teaching today.

Frieda Wunderlich: Feminist research and activism in Berlin

In this article, we map the idiosyncratic social research career of Frieda Wunderlich during her years in Berlin (1884–1963). We recover elements of Wunderlich’s unique deployment of social data and her analyses that are emblematic of contributions she made and that have been previously overlooked. We highlight Wunderlich as she lived and worked alongside other women in Berlin who shaped discourse and practice on social protections during a unique moment in the Weimar era. As a scholar and practitioner, Wunderlich helped transform the significance of the relationship between economy and society by insisting on the primacy of humane labor conditions. Our research explores two elements of Wunderlich’s contributions in this context: (1) her efforts to integrate academic social research into public policy and (2) her participation in active, feminist spaces for new policy practices, politics and education. To analyze Wunderlich’s career in Berlin, we refer to three interrelated arenas where she made significant contributions: the German Association of Female Civil Servants of Welfare (1919–1933), the German Democratic Party (1925–1933), the German Academy for Women’s Social and Educational Work (1925–1933). In our exploration of Wunderlich’s scholarship and policy practice within these arenas, we situate her contributions alongside other women including Dorothea Hirschfeld, Hedwig Wachenheim, Cora Berliner, Gertrud Bäumer, Helene Lange, Marianne Weber, Hanna Meuter, Alice Salomon, and Hilde Lion. Recovering and bringing into conversation several figures, we find that theory and praxis concurrently informed Wunderlich’s career, as it did for many of the women around her.

Berlin i Niemcy w dwóch adaptacjach filmowych powieści Alfreda Döblina Berlin Alexanderplatz

The subject of this paper is the image of Berlin and Germany that emerges from two film adaptations of the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. The first one, a 1980 TV series by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, closely follows the letter and spirit of the original 1929 novel; we see a faithful recreation of the material world and the mindset of German society in the final years of the Weimar Republic. In the second one, a 2021 cinema production by Burhan Qurbani, the plot is modernised. The main context of the film is the plight of refugees and economic migrants in contemporary Germany and the problems portrayed are linked to issues of race and post-colonialism.