Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist.[1][2][3] His best-known works include Goodbye to Berlin (1939), a semi-autobiographical novel which inspired the musical Cabaret (1966)
The Weimar government's lifting of censorship saw German cabarets transform and flourish. Stories, jokes, songs and dancing were laced with sexual innuendo.
Weimar cabaret was a feature of late 1920s Germany, which has become known for its high living, vibrant urban life and the popularisation of new styles of music and dance. Having previously lived under an authoritarian government, where entertainment and social activities were tightly regulated, many Germans thrived on the relaxed social attitudes of Weimar.
WEIMAR CABARET ARTISTS
Hans Söhnker
Kate Kühl
Eugen Wolff
Lea Seidl
Der Blaue Vogel
Kirsten Heiberg
Trude Hesterberg
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 humourists’, who ridiculed all points along the political spectrum.
Their mockery, parody and satire were “anything goes”; no leader, party, policy or idea was spared. Some of this was more personal than political: Friedrich Ebert was mocked for his weight, while Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s appearance and mannerisms were ridiculed in the late 1920s
Key points
1. After decades of restrictive, authoritarian rule, Weimar saw a period of social liberalization.
2. After 1924, economic recovery led many to seek new forms of leisure and entertainment, such as cabaret.
Key points
3. The cabarets followed no political line: any party or leader was subject to criticism or mockery. 4. Many feared the impact the ‘cabaret culture’ was having on German society and public morality
Criticism
Weimar music, dance and entertainment were criticised by radicals on both sides of politics. The socialists believed it represented the wastefulness of capitalism; right-wing groups and reactionaries claimed it was evidence of weak government, resulting in moral decay and corruption.
Kabarett to cabaret
So what is a “Kabarett” – a real phenomenon – in Berlin in the 1920s? Its roots go back to Paris in the 1880s, the birthplace of artistic cabarets. The artistic element is important, as such places stood out from the mass entertainment variety shows.
