Before the Deluge: A Portrait of Berlin in the 1920's

by Otto Friedrich

Book Overview

A fascinating portrait of the turbulent political, social, and cultural life of the city of Berlin in the 1920s. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060113723
• ISBN13: 9780060113728
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 418 Pages
• Weight: 1.93 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Very Excellent

The book arrived earlier than the time expected. It was perfectly wrapped and in perfect condition. Very pleased with this purchase. Thanks very much.

Art and Culture in Germany During the Weimer Period of the 1920s (pre-Hitler)

From Front Jacket: "Marlene Dietrich...Albert Einstein...Vladimir Navokov...Adolf Hitler...Greta Garbo...Vladimir Horowitz...Joseph Goebbels...Bertolt Brecht...Arthur Koestler...Sol Hurok...Paul Klee...Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya...Ilya Ehrenburg...Walter Gropius... This is only a small part of the cast of characters who made Berlin in the 1920s one of the most extraordinary phenomena of this century. It was, in fact, unique. Feverish, turbulent, and recklessly hedonistic, Berlin was the third largest city in the world, with a population of 4 million, and it became, during this decade, the cosmopolitan crossroads of Europe. Inevitably, it gathered the brightest and most talented young people from all over Germany, but its uniqueness stemmed from its internationalism. It was the natural sanctuary for thousands of Russians fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution, and its restless spirit attracted scores of writers and artists from England and the United States. Berlin in the 1920's was the musical capital of the world, with competing orchestras conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler, Bruno Walter, and Otto Klemperer. Alban Berg's 'Wozzeck' had its premiere there (under Erich Kleiber), and Sergei Prokofiev played the solo part int he first performance of the Fifth Piano Concerto. On Berlin's stages, the productions of Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator helped to revolutionize the contemporary theatre, and the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill changed the course of both drama and music. Berlin was the movie capital of Europe, producing the classic films of Ernst Lubitsch and Fritz Lang, introducing stars like Greta Garbo and Merlen Dietrich. In art and architecture, too, Berlin was pre-eminent. It provided a home for the celebrated Bauhaus of Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Kandinsky and Klee, whose disciples brought the principles of German design to the skyscrapers of New York and even to the shape of spoons in American kitchens. And Berlin in the 1920s was the battlefield in the struggle between Fascism and Communism. Its economic history was one of overnight prosperity and overnight disaster, of black marketeers who thrived during the worst inflation in history, or industrialists who made millions while armies of unemployed workmen stood begging on street corners. Its political history was a doomed experiment in democracy, of putsch and counter-putsch, of well-meaning liberals who struggled in vain against the tides of extremism, of uniformed street gangs who fought for whoever hired them. In the end, when the Nazis staged their torchlight parade to power in January of 1933, the Berlin of the 1920's died as suddenly and as violently as it had been born. The great pianist, Artur Schnabel, a Jew, was cut off the air in the middle of a broadcast cycle of the Beethoven piano sonata. Brecht fled to Denmark, Einstein to Holland, Gropius to London, Weill and Lang to Paris, and many of the others to Zurich, Vienna, or New York. The sp

Aanecdotal, biographical and fascinating

To many, calling a book "anecdotal" is to condemn it as lacking in historical rigor. I disagree. To me, being anecdotal is synonomous with being readable---after all, who wants to be bored when reading for pleasure?Ralph Waldo Emermson said that "there is no history, only biography." This book paints a portrait of Berlin by assembling a collage of personalities who lived there during the 1920's and 30's and who were prominent in film (Marlene Deitrich and Peter Lorre), art, music, literature (Isherwood from "Cabaret" is one, Brecht is another), science (Einstein for one), crime (serial killers-a sign of cultural decline) and ultimately politics (Goering air hero and drug addict, Goebbels the novelist and manipulator, and Hitler the artist and underestimated Southern corporal)---for politics is what ulimately dominated Germany after 1933.Some will find the portrait uncomfortable--after all, Hitler was a moderate leftist and his Berlin cronies (Gregor Strasser and Goebbels) were far left. His supporters were the unemployed, college students, women, and teachers--- traditional stalwarts of the Democratic Party in the United States. This book will tell you how they came to support the National Socialist German Workers' Party---The N.S. otherwise known as the NA---(N)--ZI's (S's).Overall, this book is just a good read. It covers a broad range of topics, is filled with interesting anecdotes, and will have something which should interest just about every reader. Enjoy it.

Absolutly fascinating!

I had to read this book for my Europe 1914-1945 class. I appreciated the interviews that are scattered throughout the book from those that were there and also the "dirty history" I was imparted with along with the normal historical narative. Before the Deluge would be a wonderful book for those interested in Nazi Germany because Friedrich gives you all the information that sets up Berlin and Germany for the Third Reich.

A Must Read for Those Interested in German History

Before the Deluge is a wonderful, compelling social history of Berlin between the wars. It explores the fascinating social, cultural, and scientific developments in Berlin as the political drama of Nazism plays out in the background. In these pages you will meet some of the 20th century's greatest politicians, artists, filmmakers, scientists, etc. who meet in the crossroads of Central Europe. Where else can you get Karajan, Einstein, Isherwood, Hitler, Weil, Garbo, and Lang in the same book........And, if you like this book, also try Olympia: Paris in the Age of Manet or City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's - both by Friedrich: both of them are equally good.