Although this section of the website does not offer a thorough, comprehensive collection of primary source documents from the Weimar Republic, nevertheless we hope that the few we have chosen will help paint a rich portrait of the time period.
The primary source documents are divided into four main categories:
- Culture (Bauhaus, Cabaret Song, Film, Painting/Drawing/Etching, Sculpture)
- Economics (1919-1924: Inflation, 1924-1929: Golden Years, 1929-1933: Depression)
- Politics & War (General, Political Party Platforms, Political Party Posters, World War I, Treaty of Versailles)
- Society (Antisemitism, Gender, Homophobia, Racism, Religion)
Each category page has a short description. Many of the documents also have descriptions, questions to help stimulate classroom discussions, and links to Facing History and Ourselves lessons or other resources which may be useful.
Below is a full list of the primary source documents contained in this online module:
The Weimar Republic: Primary Source Documents
|
Bauhaus |
- Bauhaus Building, Dessau, designed by Walter Gropius (1924)
- Glass Tea Service, designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld (1930-1934)
- Nest of Tables, designed by Marcel Breuer (1926-1930)
- Side Chair, designed by Mies Van Der Rohe (c. 1932)
- Table Lamp, designed by Christian Dell (1928)
| Cabaret Song |
- "It's All a Swindle" (Alles Schwindel), by Mischa Spoliansky and Marcellus Schiffer (1931)
- "Mir ist heut so nach Tamerlan!", music by Rudolf Nelson, lyrics by Kurt Tucholsky (1922)
- "Night Ghost" (Nachtgespenst), music by Rudolf Nelson, lyrics by Friedrich Hollaender (1930)
- "No Time" (Keine Zeit), music by Rudolf Nelson, lyrics by Herbert Nelson
- "The Lavender Song" (Das Lila Lied), music by Mischa Spoliansky, lyrics by Kurt Schwabach (1920)
- "Throw Out the Men" (Raus mit den Männern), by Friedrich Hollaender (1926)
| Film |
- "Blue Angel," starring Marlene Dietrich (1930)
- "Metropolis," directed by Fritz Lang (1926)
- "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," directed by Robert Wiene (1919)
- "The Sacred Mountain" (Der heilige Berg), directed by Leni Riefenstahl (1924)
| Painting/Drawing/Etching |
- "Eldorado," Otto Dix
- "Kitchen Knife," Hannah Hoch (1919)
- "Memorial for Karl Liebknecht," Käthe Kollwitz (1921)
- "Metamorphose." by John Heartfield
- "Metropolis" (Gross Stadt), Otto Dix (1928)
- "Never Again War," Käthe Kollwitz (1924)
- "Pillars of Society," George Grosz (1926)
- "Self-Portrait in Tuxedo," Max Beckman (1927)
- "Synagogue," Max Beckman (1919)
- "The Agitator," George Grosz (1928)
- "The White General," George Grosz (1919)
- "Wounded," Otto Dix (1916)
| Sculpture |
- "Seated Youth" (Sitzender Jungling), Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1916-1917)
- "The Fallen Man" (Der Gesturzte), Wilhelm Lehmbruck (1915-1916)
|
1919-1924: Inflation |
- Five Million Mark (1923)
- German Inflation Chart, 1919-1923
- Inflated Weimar Currency (1923)
- Personal Accounts of the Inflation Years
- School Meal (1921)
- Women Waiting in Line to Buy Sub-standard Meat (1923)
| 1924-1929: Golden-Age |
| 1929-1933: Depression |
- Depression: Overview
- Homeless Men's Shelter (date unknown)
- Homeless Women's Shelter (date unknown)
- Soup Kitchen for the Unemployed (c. 1930)
- Unemployed Woman Wearing Sign (c. 1928)
|
General |
- 1932 Election Ballot
- Communist Artists
- Communist Party Anti-Nazi Demonstration
- Hitler's Final Speech at his Trial for Treason, March 27, 1924
- Horst Wessel Song Lyrics
- Nazi Election Flyer (1932)
- Ruth Fischer on the Demise of German Communism (excerpt)
- Social Democratic Party Proclamation of the Republic, November 9, 1918
- Socialist Newspaper, November 9, 1918
- Soldiers During the German Revolution of 1918
- Spartacists Proclamation of the Republic, November 9, 1918
- Unemployment in Germany, 1924-1932
- Weimar Constitution (excerpts)
- Workers Demonstration
| Political Party Platforms |
| Political Party Posters |
- Communist Party (KPD)
- German Democratic Party (DDP)
- National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP-Nazi)
- Social Democratic Party (SPD)
| Treaty of Versailles |
- Limits on German Rearmament Post-WWI
- Map of Germany after Treaty of Versailles (1919)
- Treaty of Versailles, summaries of specific articles
- Treaty of Versailles, text of Article 231, the "War Guilt Clause"
| World War I |
- Casualties of World War I, by country
- "Never Again War," Käthe Kollwitz (1924)
- "The White General," George Grosz (1919)
- Winston Churchill on the Casualties of World War I
- World War I Effect on German Population
- "Wounded," Otto Dix (1916)
|
Antisemitism |
- Antisemitism - Overview
- Bertha Pappenheim's Letter on Antisemitism (1923)
- Der Stürmer Antisemitic Cartoon - "Jewish Culture"
- Der Stürmer Antisemitic Cartoon - "Nothing the November Republic Promised...,"
- Der Stürmer Antisemitic Cartoon - "When the Vermin are Dead...,"
- The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1927)
| Education |
| Gender |
- Exhibition on the Role of German Women (1933)
- German Women Voting (1919)
- Jewish Women Asked for ID Cards (Berlin, 1920)
| Homophobia |
- Cartoon of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld
- Paragraph 175
- "The Lavender Song" (Das Lila Lied), music by Mischa Spoliansky, lyrics by Kurt Schwabach (1920)
| Racism |
| Religion |