Why a Berlin blog?

Why a Berlin blog? No explanation, needed, I think. Berlin is one of the most dynamic and vibrant cities in Europe. Many young people dream of moving there.

But Weimar? Why on earth ? Weimar is one city, Berlin another. Three hundred kilometers separate them. Why then Weimar? What’s this talk about Weimar-Berlin? Well, because it was in Weimar that the Constituent Assembly met in 1918, after the defeat of the German Empire, to promulgate a constitution for what would be the first German republic.

When we speak of Germany in Weimar, or, as here, of Weimar Berlin, we speak not so much of a form of government, but above all of an epoch: the period 1918 -1933. The twenties, which some think "golden". And so they were, but they were also years of conflict, often bloody. And, in the German case, they were the time of great misery, inflation which added zeros every day to the price of bread. The Weimar years begin with defeat, which soon turns into turmoil. A Communist revolution met with pitiless repression, para-military bands that kidnapped, killed political enemies. But at the same time, an abundance of artistic creativity, painting, literature, theater and cinema. And a lifestyle, carefree for some, a gaiety of life that was expressed mostly at night. The Berlin-nights. The cabarets. We think of Marlene Dietrich and her blue angel. And also, closer to us, to Liza Minnelli, in the 70s film. I will share with the readers of this blog, not my memories, I am not old enough to have experienced this time but my readings, my conversations. As well as photos, links to movies, songs.

Auf wiedersehen, then!