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Coping with Catastrophe: German Culture, Literature and Politics in the Interwar Years

Module description

How does a nation – and for that matter: a continent – respond to an all-consuming catastrophe like the First World War? How does this experience feed into contemporary politics and culture? This module begins with a discussion of the impact of War and then considers the history of Germany within the wider European context between 1919 and 1939 in view of the pre-eminence of the new ideologies, Communism and Fascism/National Socialism.

Within this framework we then discuss cultural responses in the widest sense – the new architecture of the Bauhaus movement; the changing role of women; literary engagements with the time such as anti-war novels (Remarque) and the popular hotel-genre (Baum); films that are still considered ground breaking today (Metropolis, Nosferatu); socially aware artists such as Grosz, Kollwitz and Dix; new preoccupations such as ‘city-culture’; and the appeal of mass-media.

In conclusion we will assess why the German interwar years – and in particular the period between 1919 and 1932 (the Weimar Republic) has been compared with a ‘dance on the volcano’ (Stresemann) and is, nevertheless, still perceived as one of the most creative periods in Germany in the 20th century.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module provides an overview of the historical and political background that shaped the interwar years; provides detailed insight into a range of cultural developments (e.g. in art, film and architecture) that gave the Twenties their reputation as a boom period of the arts; acquaints you with literary responses to the period between the First and Second World War and illustrates the complex reasons that led first to the success of the National Socialists and eventually the Second World War.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the historical and cultural developments in the period
• 2. Demonstrate an understanding how politics and culture may become interdependent

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. After initial input from the course tutor, apply and evaluate critical approaches to the material
• 4. Analyse texts, films, paintings and documents in a variety of genres and styles
• 5. Argue in detail aspects of the topic on both, a subject-specific and a synoptic level
• 6. Demonstrate familiarity and ability to draw on a range of research literature
• 7. Use a range of critical terminology

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 8. Present a cogent and sustained argument in writing, in discussions and in presentations; as part of a group or on your own
• 9. Adopt a critical approach to the complex body of material covered

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The First World War;
• The history of Germany between 1914 and 1939 (within the European context);
• Party Politics, Fascism/National Socialism and Communism;
• Daily Life – Change and Continuity; the Lost Generation;
• Literature: Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front ;
• Art and Architecture: Bauhaus School of Design, Photomontage, Caricature and Painting; Weimar Film;
• Mass Media and journalism; the Twenties Myth.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Peter Gay, Weimar Culture, London: Penguin, 1998. (Select chapters)
• Matthew Stibbe, Germany 1914-1933, Harlow: Langman 2010
• Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, London: Vintage, 1996.
• Eric D. Weitz, Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy, Princeton / NJ: Princeton UP, 2018. (Select chapters)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11646

Key words search

Intercultural competence, identity, pragmatics, miscommunication