Objectivity is the principle more journalistic reports. In literary texts such as novels and poems, on the other hand, an all-round factual language is rather rare. So what is the epoch of New Objectivity all about?
The New Objectivity is one literary epoch of the 20th century, which turned towards factual narrative and away from emotive texts. It began by calling out the Weimar Republic on November 9th 1918 and ended with Hitler’s seizure of power and the collapse of democracy 1933. In its place came the ideological influenced literature of the National Socialists.
During the New Objectivity Berlin than center the epoch. It became the rallying point of a new one mass culturein which not only literature but also film, radio and the cabaret played a big role.
Historical background of the New Objectivity
The first German republic came into being in 1918 with the Weimar Republic democracy. However, this milestone in history was overshadowed by the hurdles of the Treaty of Versailles 1919 and the social conditions in the country after the end of the First World War.
The 1919 Treaty of Versailles was a peace contract between Great Britain, France, Germany and the USA. Not only did it mark the end of World War I and inaugurate the Weimar Republic, it also blamed the Germans for starting the war.
Next to the sole fault clause, which meant enormous humiliation for the Germans, Germany lost a good seventh of its territories. In addition, Germany was deprived of a large part of the military and German workers had to pay high wages duties afford to pay the due repair costs to pay.
In addition to the traumatic events of the war, these circumstances led to a high discontent German citizens and resulted in extremist riots throughout the country.
There were still many supporters monarchy, who wanted to go back to the old pre-war times and so the democracy of the Weimar Republic mostly only took place theoretically and on paper. For example, the trash and dirt law banned many literary works that expressed criticism.
consequences of the Versailles Treaty were uprisings and a high level of dissatisfaction. Hunger, disease and poverty were part of everyday life for millions of people, because food was scarce after the war, medical care was only partially available and many families had lost fathers and sons who supported them financially. Those who returned from the war were often so badly wounded that they could no longer work.
In 1923, the so-called hyperinflation resulted in massive currency devaluation, which primarily caused lasting damage to the middle class. Many people lost all their savings. First 1924 managed to stabilize the political and social situation in the country somewhat.
One followed heyday German culture, the so-called Golden twenties. In the 1920s, the German economy experienced a massive boom and the living conditions of the population improved rapidly. With the Great Depression In 1929, however, the short period of happiness ended. Economic and social conflicts resurfaced, leaving a populace feeling abandoned by the government. The result was one increase in votes of left-wing and right-wing extremist parties in parliament.
Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor finally ended the Weimar Republic and with it the epoch of New Objectivity. This was replaced by a very ideological influenced literature of the National Socialists. Many works of New Objectivity were banned or even burned.
Characteristics of the New Objectivity
With the New Objectivity, authors of the time turned away from the subjective representations of expressionism. On the description of emotions was dispensed with and in this sense also the use of rhetorical stylistic devices. The language of the New Objectivity was neutral and realistic. The apparent callousness of the characters created a distance between action and reader. There was hardly any room left for your own ideas and interpretations.
In the history of literature, the literary epoch of the New Objectivity not only represented a change, but much more one upheaval. Authors of this time rejected the established dream and emotional world of the previous epochs. They tried to move away from the ideals of Romanticism or Sturm und Drang. Instead, they oriented themselves to journalistic ways of writing and used a very direct and precise one everyday languagewhich has been reduced to the bare essentials.
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Montage in the New Objectivity
In addition to the easily understandable and almost emotionless language, authors of the New Objectivity like to use the so-called Assembly. At the same time, they worked foreign texts such as newspaper clippings, songs or documents in their works. Text passages from other works were also used frequently and willingly. This method should still be read more realistic let work.
Of the 1929 published novel»Berlin Alexanderplatz» from Alfred Doblin regularly works with the principle of assembly. Here, in the middle of the text, there are lists and timetablesin order to make fiction appear more realistic and to make the reality of the story more tangible for the reader.
Themes and motifs of the New Objectivity
World War I left German citizens disillusioned, defeated and discouraged. This discouragement can be found in many works of art of the New Objectivity. The war had shown many people that they individual counted for nothing compared to the crowd. Soldiers were considered replaceable Goods respected and these views held after the end of the armed conflicts. Not only did the ideas of the individual suffer, but also social ones Relationships.
The works of the New Objectivity were a product of the social dissatisfaction and the political Location. They addressed current situations, concerns and social grievances brought about by the past monarchy and the effects of the First World War. examples these topics are:
- industry and technology
- depictions of war
- militarism and fascism
- hunger, sickness and death
- unemployment
After the previous epochs, which were guided by feelings and dreams, the poets of the New Objectivity came to their senses again rationality. In the period of so-called exile literature, many values of New Objectivity were also taken up again.
Literature of the New Objectivity
The literature of the New Objectivity made use of all sorts of things text genres. So found both the lyricas well as the epic and the drama frequent use. In each of these forms, the simple linguistic expression and the Lack of emotionality and feelings find again.
Drama in the New Objectivity
The drama in the New Objectivity broke with the ancient ideas of the Aristotelian concept of drama. The so-called was now applied epic theatre, which focused not on compassion but on teaching. Spectators should understand the characters’ actions from a certain point of view distance observe and so from the situations presented to learn.
Characteristics of the epic theater according to Bertolt Brecht
That classic Aristotelian drama was marked by a rigor Construction and special design language. In his work «Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny», Bertolt Brecht wrote the first approaches to a new, epic theater in the notes. Below:
- the usage of episodes instead of division into acts and scenes
- a open End
- one mediating narrator between audience and action
- alienation effects
In order to keep the distance between the characters and the audience, alienation effects, also V-Effects, introduced. They are an integral part of epic theater. For example, the drama was interrupted by songs or commentary. Also typical were ribbons or posters with sayings, which often lent something absurd to the depiction. Addressing the audience directly meant that the so-called fourth wall was breached.
In the fourth wall is the invisible wall between the performers on stage in the theater and the audience. The Fourth Wall is usually broken to show viewers the pure fiction the representation playful way to clarify. The audience is unexpectedly torn from the serious consideration of the events.
The Fourth Wall is also actively broken in some films. This is the case, for example, in «Deadpool» when the cartoon character Deadpool addresses the audience directly.
In the drama of the New Objectivity, however, these alienation effects had a serious character. They also established themselves in the so-called folk theatre, which dealt critically with current topics. It was also the purpose of these alienations to active action and thus to contribute to the end of social and political grievances.
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Epic in the New Objectivity
The epic of the New Objectivity was also called reference literature called, because the focus was primarily on the societal benefit of the factory. Among utility literature were reports to understand, as well as reports and written documentationsall of which were based on journalistic spelling.
Also popular was the so-called time novel. This is a form of text that presents the events of a certain period of time as precisely as possible to the reader. subjects many period novels were end of the monarchy 1918 as well as the First World War and its impact on people. This also applies to the contemporary novel «Nothing New in the West», which Erich Maria Remarque wrote in 1928. The novel deals with the violent events of the First World War from the perspective of a young soldier.
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Poetry in the New Objectivity
In poetry, too, the objective, pure expedient Rediscover the character of the New Objectivity. Instead of a visually veiled language, the poems of the New Objectivity should all social classes address them and, as in drama and epic, to the predominant ones grievances to draw attention. Among other things Bertolt Brecht became known for his lyrical texts of the New Objectivity.
Another well-known representative of these so-called «utility poetry» is Kurt Tucholsky. In his poem «employee» from 1926 the characteristics of poetry in the New Objectivity can be understood. In particular, exploitation at work stands out here.
A hundred people are waiting for every swivel seat in the Bureauda; you take what comes – only somewhere and today, today, today.
Inside…