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Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism #18
In a Cold Crater: Cultural and Intellectual Life in Berlin, 1945-1948
Although the three conspicuous cultures of Berlin in the twentieth century—Weimar, Nazi, and Cold War—are well documented, little is known about the years between the fall of the Third Reich and the beginning of the Cold War. In a Cold Crater is the history of this volatile postwar moment, when the capital of the world's recently defeated public enemy assumed great emotional and symbolic meaning.
This is a story not of major intellectual and cultural achievements (for there were none in those years), but of enormous hopes and plans that failed. It is the story of members of the once famous volcano-dancing Berlin intelligentsia, torn apart by Nazism and exile, now re-encountering one another. Those who had stayed in Berlin in 1933 crawled out of the rubble, while many of the exiles returned with the Allied armies as members of the various cultural and re-educational units. All of them were eager to rebuild a neo-Weimar republic of letters, arts, and thought. Some were highly qualified and serious. Many were classic opportunists. A few came close to being clowns. After three years of "carnival," recreated by Schivelbusch in all its sound and fury, they were driven from the stage by the Cold War.
As Berlin once again becomes the German capital, Schivelbusch's masterful cultural history is certain to captivate historians and general readers alike.
This is a story not of major intellectual and cultural achievements (for there were none in those years), but of enormous hopes and plans that failed. It is the story of members of the once famous volcano-dancing Berlin intelligentsia, torn apart by Nazism and exile, now re-encountering one another. Those who had stayed in Berlin in 1933 crawled out of the rubble, while many of the exiles returned with the Allied armies as members of the various cultural and re-educational units. All of them were eager to rebuild a neo-Weimar republic of letters, arts, and thought. Some were highly qualified and serious. Many were classic opportunists. A few came close to being clowns. After three years of "carnival," recreated by Schivelbusch in all its sound and fury, they were driven from the stage by the Cold War.
As Berlin once again becomes the German capital, Schivelbusch's masterful cultural history is certain to captivate historians and general readers alike.
- GenresHistory
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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April 3, 2019
The scene the author evokes of bomb-blasted, rubble-filled Berlin, "The Prize," after the Second World War is composed of his own moving words and those drawn from observers writing at the time. The effect on the reader is transporting and transforming; you are there, ready to share in JFK's famed proclamation:" Ich bin ein Berliner." This somber chapter brings history to life.
The Cold Crater of his title is indeed chilling in this opening of In a Cold Crater: Cultural and Intellectual Life in Berlin, 1945-1948.
Schivelbusch then shifts from enchanter to historian in presenting a heavily researched account of the literary and cultural rebuilding of post-war Berlin. What complicated that rebuilding was the replacement of a military war with a political struggle. The conflicting ideologies of the Soviets and the Western Allies sorted and divided local cultural figures into competing camps. This happened over the span of three years, from 1945 to 1948, before being replaced with the Cold War. In that three-year period, the city was not yet divided into the four separately administered zones of occupation. An attempt was made to govern the city as a whole, a detail I had not known.
There are two chapters detailing the personalities and events centered on bookish culture. Three other chapters provide copious detail on theater, radio, and film. Another chapter traces the reestablishment of newspapers in Berlin. Each of these renderings shows the growing competition between the Soviet and Western powers to "reeducate" the German people to their respective points of view. Part of that competition was economically based, as American film producers angled to move their wartime films into Germany. At the same time, they were interested in keeping a restored German film industry from being a strong competitor. There are many, many names, much very specific information, and a good showing of how each side sought advantage in selling its viewpoint to the Germans. Those readers who protest "too many facts," can skip these internal chapters; they will be annoyed. This pointillist technique, however, reveals to the reader the patterns of the conflict at hand.
His closing epilog is an interesting reflection on the several time -based Berlins: 1933, 1945. 1989, and 2000. He offers glimmers of Berlin in 1918-1919, following WWI, as well. He writes:
"When the Third Reich collapsed in the spring of 1945 and the historical clock was set back to an assumed 'hour Zero,' there was an optimistic feeling in Germany of being faced with a tabula rasa, an empty field inviting a totally new beginning. The fall of an empire, everybody seemed top be convinced, is like the collapse of a building: the old structure ruined, the lot becomes empty and ready for a new construction."
"As all the stories told in this book show, the recycling of materials followed the simple twofold design--avoiding what was bad in the previous building, and cultivating and fostering what was good."
General readers may draw satisfaction from the opening chapter and the epilog, skimming the internal chapters for what interests them most: film, theater, radio, or literature. More specialized readers will appreciate the detailed research and many references. Many of the references are to German language sources, disappointing to single language readers like myself.
The Cold Crater of his title is indeed chilling in this opening of In a Cold Crater: Cultural and Intellectual Life in Berlin, 1945-1948.
Schivelbusch then shifts from enchanter to historian in presenting a heavily researched account of the literary and cultural rebuilding of post-war Berlin. What complicated that rebuilding was the replacement of a military war with a political struggle. The conflicting ideologies of the Soviets and the Western Allies sorted and divided local cultural figures into competing camps. This happened over the span of three years, from 1945 to 1948, before being replaced with the Cold War. In that three-year period, the city was not yet divided into the four separately administered zones of occupation. An attempt was made to govern the city as a whole, a detail I had not known.
There are two chapters detailing the personalities and events centered on bookish culture. Three other chapters provide copious detail on theater, radio, and film. Another chapter traces the reestablishment of newspapers in Berlin. Each of these renderings shows the growing competition between the Soviet and Western powers to "reeducate" the German people to their respective points of view. Part of that competition was economically based, as American film producers angled to move their wartime films into Germany. At the same time, they were interested in keeping a restored German film industry from being a strong competitor. There are many, many names, much very specific information, and a good showing of how each side sought advantage in selling its viewpoint to the Germans. Those readers who protest "too many facts," can skip these internal chapters; they will be annoyed. This pointillist technique, however, reveals to the reader the patterns of the conflict at hand.
His closing epilog is an interesting reflection on the several time -based Berlins: 1933, 1945. 1989, and 2000. He offers glimmers of Berlin in 1918-1919, following WWI, as well. He writes:
"When the Third Reich collapsed in the spring of 1945 and the historical clock was set back to an assumed 'hour Zero,' there was an optimistic feeling in Germany of being faced with a tabula rasa, an empty field inviting a totally new beginning. The fall of an empire, everybody seemed top be convinced, is like the collapse of a building: the old structure ruined, the lot becomes empty and ready for a new construction."
"As all the stories told in this book show, the recycling of materials followed the simple twofold design--avoiding what was bad in the previous building, and cultivating and fostering what was good."
General readers may draw satisfaction from the opening chapter and the epilog, skimming the internal chapters for what interests them most: film, theater, radio, or literature. More specialized readers will appreciate the detailed research and many references. Many of the references are to German language sources, disappointing to single language readers like myself.
Displaying 1 of 1 review