Author Archives: mwcraig11

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz The Prussian Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters (Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) In 1700 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz founded the Berlin Academy. Leibniz was a polymath; historian, author, philosopher, mathematician and diplomat. Leibniz sought a revitalisation … Continue reading →

Around nine o’clock in the evening of Saturday the 10th November 1928 the twenty nine year old dancer Anita Berber died. Anita’s funeral was arranged for four days later. On the morning of Wednesday 14th November she was buried in … Continue reading →

  The Staatliches Bauhaus, or the Bauhaus as it became known was the revolutionary art school in Germany that combined the art and crafts. Active from 1919 until 1933 the ethos of the school was best exemplified in the modernist … Continue reading →

  In the 16th century Prague had a large Jewish community that lived in the ghetto known as the Josefov. The Jews had lived in Prague for many years rubbing along reasonably with their Christian neighbours.  In the 16th century, … Continue reading →

The Czech National Revival was a cultural movement, which arose in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th century. The movement aimed to revive the Czech language and culture as the bedrock of a revived Czech national identity. After … Continue reading →

  Central Europe is a slippery term. Although the idea of a central region within Europe has been recognised since the middle ages, and was at that time called ‘Middle Europe’, its exact borders and extent remain difficult to define. … Continue reading →

The Weimar Republic came into being in confusion and fear. It was born of a war that had killed and maimed millions and wrought destruction across a large part of Germany and the rest of Europe and elsewhere. The Republic … Continue reading →

December 1918 saw the young dancer Anita Berber caught up in the political turmoil of post war Germany. On the 6th of December the tension that had been brewing between the leftwing Spartacists and the rightwing government troops descended into … Continue reading →

Richard Oswald’s film, Die Prostitution, created a scandal on its release in the spring of 1919. On May 1st Die Prostitution (The Madam) premiered in the Marmorhaus cinema in Berlin. The title of the film attracted the attention of the … Continue reading →

Anita Berber (10 June 1899 – 10 November 1928) the greatest Expressionist dancer the world has ever see and an amazing actress who worked with Fritz Land and Conrad Veidt. A real wild child of the Weimar Berlin cabaret scene … Continue reading →