Title WWI was one of the deadliest wars in history; a global war between the Allies and Central Powers. This world war was the innovator for new technology advances, and political revolutions. Following WWI, the Weimar Republic underwent economic depression as well as political pressures due to the amounts of political parties trying to take power; insecurity of the people is reflected in the culture through music and visual art movements. High unemployment and war debt contributed to the immense economic depression of the Weimar republic. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that imposed Germany to pay for the damages made to the Allied Powers which accumulated to 33 billion dollars (“Versailles”). The Weimar Republic achieved economic
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For instance, in “It’s all a Swindle” by Mischa Spolansky addresses economy by writing “The country is broke and guess who pays?” The currency of the republic was worthless. Savings that the people had accumulated all their life were valueless. These lyrics show the stress caused by the inflation, and raise of taxes and prices on the people. In Otto Dix’s painting “ The Match Seller” a homeless blind mutilated man sitting on a sidewalk selling matches and people of high class passing him by with no concern. Among the people affected were war veterans that were unable to make a living due to their disabilities. The depression caused by unemployment is clearer in “Unemployed” by Ernest Neuschul and “Unemployed” by George Grosz. The gloomy paintings show men standing and sitting with worried faces looking down in shame. The paintings represent the despair caused by unemployment in the Weimar …show more content…
The song “It’s all a Swindle” by Mischa Spoliansky comments on the crisis of politics. The song mentions “Politicians are magicians … never reach the public’s ear.” Spoliansky introduces politicians as corrupt men who do not inform the republic about the deals they are making. Similarly, George Grosz like many other artists, painted what he thought was corrupt. His painting “The Pillars of Society is a deeply sarcastic portrait of the German elite classes who controlled the society. (“The Pillars”). In the painting one of the characters is a Social Democrat who is holding a flag and has dung coming out of his head. George Grosz portrays the message that the politician has a lack of intelligence. In the painting “Eclipse of the Sun” George Grosz makes another political satire about the President Hindenburg. The sun is being covered by a dollar sign which represents greed and corruptness and the president’s bared teeth depict evil. (“Experiencing”). On the table there is a donkey with blind folds and headless men sitting around which represent that people are blindly following the leaders. In the bottom right of the picture seems to be a person in a cage that represents how the people cannot escape their
For instance, in “It’s all a Swindle” by Mischa Spolansky addresses economy by writing “The country is broke and guess who pays?” The currency of the republic was worthless. Savings that the people had accumulated all their life were valueless. These lyrics show the stress caused by the inflation, and raise of taxes and prices on the people. In Otto Dix’s painting “ The Match Seller” a homeless blind mutilated man sitting on a sidewalk selling matches and people of high class passing him by with no concern. Among the people affected were war veterans that were unable to make a living due to their disabilities. The depression caused by unemployment is clearer in “Unemployed” by Ernest Neuschul and “Unemployed” by George Grosz. The gloomy paintings show men standing and sitting with worried faces looking down in shame. The paintings represent the despair caused by unemployment in the Weimar …show more content…
The song “It’s all a Swindle” by Mischa Spoliansky comments on the crisis of politics. The song mentions “Politicians are magicians … never reach the public’s ear.” Spoliansky introduces politicians as corrupt men who do not inform the republic about the deals they are making. Similarly, George Grosz like many other artists, painted what he thought was corrupt. His painting “The Pillars of Society is a deeply sarcastic portrait of the German elite classes who controlled the society. (“The Pillars”). In the painting one of the characters is a Social Democrat who is holding a flag and has dung coming out of his head. George Grosz portrays the message that the politician has a lack of intelligence. In the painting “Eclipse of the Sun” George Grosz makes another political satire about the President Hindenburg. The sun is being covered by a dollar sign which represents greed and corruptness and the president’s bared teeth depict evil. (“Experiencing”). On the table there is a donkey with blind folds and headless men sitting around which represent that people are blindly following the leaders. In the bottom right of the picture seems to be a person in a cage that represents how the people cannot escape their