Deborah Ascher Barnstone

The connection between Weimar Germany and cultural modernity has been axiomatic since Walter Laqueur, Peter Gay, and, more recently, scholars like Detlev Peukert and Eric Weitz penned their influential studies. 

Despite a recent explosion of scholarship on Weimar cultural history, however, much remains to be explored. What were the different paths to ‘cultural modernity?’ How did modern German cultural expression vary? Was that variety consistent throughout Germany, or were there differences between Berlin, the capital, and regional cities like Breslau? What was the relationship between Berlin and other German cities in the realm of cultural production? 

To answer these questions and more, this book explores the polyvalent and contradictory nature of cultural production in Breslau in order to expand the cultural and geographic scope of Weimar history.