LOOKING BACK AT HISTORY

The Match Seller by Otto Dix The Weimar Republic is hands down one of my favourite periods of history, which makes sense since I researched the period for my undergraduate dissertation. One of my favourite things about the Weimar Republic is the culture that it produced, particularly in terms of art. There was an increased freedom of expression during this era including a freedom to criticise society. The art was produced during this period often gave a broad view of Weimar culture as a whole and the new modern features it developed. End of Censorship The strict cultural censorship implemented under Kaiser Wilhelm had been lifted and Article 118 of the Weimar Constitution explicitly stated, "Every German has the right, within the limits of the general laws, to express his opinion freely by word, in writing, in print, in picture form, or in any other way. [ . . . ] Censorship is forbidden. [ . . . ]" - The Constitution of the German Empire 1919 (via GHI) Metr...

Anton von Werner, The Proclamation of the German Empire (January 18, 1871) – Palace Version (1877) © Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz  When we think of German history, we often think of the First and Second World Wars and its division after 1945. This is all for good reason as they are some of the most major events over the last 100 years but what was Germany like before the war? Today we're going to be looking at what was going on with Germany from 1800-1871. Please bear in mind that this is a brief history and if you are looking for more details, I'd recommend checking out the Further Reading section at the end of the post. The Final Moments of the Battle of Waterloo (La Belle Alliance) on June 18, 1815 (19th Century) © Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz  Pre-Unification Before 1871 Germany wasn't much more than a collection of states who all spoke the same language. Each state had a different type of ruler, system of rule as well as differing cultures and c...