Production History

Cabaret Study Guide

Newsletter Date Weimar Republic

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 Page 1
Historical Contexts

Aftermath of WW1
At the Treaty of Versailles which officially ended World War I, the United States,
France, and Great Britain led discussions about the fate of the defeated nations-
namely Germany and Austria-Hungary. The treaty left many with the feeling that
Germany had been too harshly treated, and even led to a member of the British
Front page of the New York Journal signifying
end of WW1. photo courtesy of https:// delegation-economist (boarder lands between Germany and France) and was
crashmacduff.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/
wwi-ends.jpg prohibited from importing arms, munitions, and other war supplies. The German
government initially refused to sign the treaty but was brought to its knees by an
Allied naval blockade and faced the starvation of its people if it did not comply.
The manner in which this dictated peace occurred filled many Germans with
resentment and caused many to blame fellow Germans for the outcome. This
“...The policy of refusal to come to terms with the outcome of the Great War stoked the flames of
reducing Germany militarism and nationalism amongst a large contingent in Germany. Throughout
to servitude for a Europe, new national borders isolated large groups of ethnic minorities and
generation, of disrupted economies and communication lines which led to large amounts of
degrading the lives
refugees and mass emigration. These events coupled with the Russian revolution
led to renewed European rivalries and set the stage for Cabaret’s Berlin of the early
of millions of
1930’s. (Sharp, Mike, et al. History of World War I, Marshall Cavendish, 2002, Vol.
human beings, and
2, p. 530)
of depriving a
whole nation of
happiness should
be abhorrent and
detestable...” -John
Maynard Keynes,
The Economics of
the Peace

“Children Playing with Stacks of Hyperinflated Currency during the German WW1 veteran begging on the streets. Photo courtesy of https://
Weimar Republic, 1922.” Rare Historical Photos, 8 May 2018, rarehis- upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-
toricalphotos.com/hyperinflation-weimar-republic-1922/. 1972-062-01%2C_Berlin%2C_bettelnder_Kriegsinvalide.jpg

Politics of Weimar Germany

Political demonstrators, 1930
photo courtesy of http://
holocaustonline.org/significant-
The political climate in Weimar Germany was a reflection of the resent harbored
by it’s masses and sold revenge on it’s enemies as the antidote to the economic
strife of hyper inflation, the Great Depression, and it’s reparations owed. The
combination of resent and the desire for revenge against those responsible planted
the seeds of growth for National Socialism and gave Hitler a map to power. In
The Nazi Capture of Power Richard Bessel notes that “Nazi speakers fulminated
about the alleged crimes, malicious and all-pervading influence, depravity and in-
herent inferiority of the Jews; even when other topics were at the top of the list in
Nazi speeches, antisemitism and general racialist assumptions provided the glue
which held the ideology together.” (Bessel, Richard. “The Nazi Capture of Power.” Journal
of Contemporary History, vol. 39, no. 2, 2004, pp. 169–188., doi:10.1177/0022009404042127.)
 Page 2
Weimar Republic Timeline

● November 9, 1918- Weimar Germany/German Republic established

● January 1919- Communists attempt to take control of Berlin but are defeated

• January 19, 1919- Social Democrat Party wins 38% of votes in national assembly
election

• June 28, 1919- Treaty of Versailles signed, end of World War I

• September 1919- Adolf Hitler joins German Workers’ Party

• February 1920- German Workers’ Party becomes National Socialist German Workers’
Political paramilitary groups fight in the streets during failed communist
revolution photo courtesy of https://
Party (NSDAP) padresteve.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/freikorps.jpg

• March 1920- Hitler is discharged from the military and begins working for the Nazis

• July 1921- Hitler becomes leader of NSDAP

• December 1922- Germany is unable to pay reparations and France occupies part of the country

• November 5, 1923– Berlin Riots on Hyperinflation– mob of 30,000 people riot in Berlin to protest
hyperinflation. Many of these protestors blamed their plight on Jews who they mistakenly believed
controlled the German economy and were involved in an international conspiracy to dominate the world
economy.

• November 8, 1923- Munich Putsch (Beer Hall)- NSDAP tries and fails to take control of the Bavarian “Our Republic is not
government. yet an object of mass

• November 10, 1923- 1924- Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in jail and writes Mein Kampf. consciousness but a
constitutional
• 1929- Artist George Grosz was tried for blasphemy for a depiction of a crucified Christ in a gas mask.
document and a
• 1929- German Communist party succumbs to the control of Joseph Stalin, went on to aid the Nazis government
banking on them being unsuccessful. Their slogan became “After Hitler Us.” administration. When
• October 28, 1929- Wall Street Crash, German companies forced to repay loans to creditors in the the people want to see
United States forcing many into bankruptcy and millions unemployed. the Republic, they are
• December 1, 1929- Nazis protest All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque’s novel about shown Wilhelmstrasse.
WWI. And then one wonders

• 1930- The Young Plan passes by plebiscite despite opposition by the Nazis, expanding a previously why they return home,
existing loan program for German businesses with the United States, Great Britain, and French which somewhat shamed.
relieved economic pressures. Nothing is there to
• July 1932- Nazis won 37.4% of votes in German election and became the largest party. make the heart beat
faster.” German
• October 31, 1932– Five million Germans unemployed, eroding support for Weimar Republic.
pacifist and Nobel
• January 30, 1933- Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany. Peace prize recipient
• March 1933– Weimar Republic Destroyed. Commanding a legislative majority Hitler passed the Ena- Carl von Ossietzky,
bling Act– permitting the government to decree laws without parliament. September 1924
Sources:

https://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/nazi-germany-timeline-1918-23/

https://www.historyonthenet.com/nazi-germany-timeline/

https://www.facinghistory.org/weimar-republic-fragility-democracy/weimar-republic-timeline
 Page 3
Production History

1939

Christopher Isherwood publishes Goodbye to Berlin, a semi-autobiographical series of diary entries, chroni-

cling his time in Berlin.

1951

John van Druten produces I am a Camera, a loosely-adapted stage play version of Goodbye to Berlin. It will

run on Broadway for 214 performances.

1966

Photo courtesy of https://
cambridgefore-
cast.files.wordpress.com/2009/0
1/isherwood.jpg
The world premiere of Joe Masteroff (book), John Kander (composer), and Fred Ebb (lyricist)’s musical Caba-
ret, lead by director and producer Harold Prince. It is adapted from Goodbye to Berlin and I am a Camera, and
the premiere production is in Boston in October and transfers to Broadway in November, where it will play

1165 performances, before closing in September 1969.

1972

Bob Fosse’s film version of Cabaret is released. Many changes are made to the plot and characters (Cliff is

turned into Brian), and some songs from the stage version do not make it into the movie, while new songs are

added.

1993
“To catch the
This revival production opens at the Donmar Warehouse in London, England. It is directed by Sam Mendes,
reader's
whose vision for it is for the theater to transform into the Kit Kat Klub of the show and to have the audience be
attention,
fully immersed in the world of the play. This version stares Alan Cumming as the Emcee, appearing in little
place an
clothing, helping to create the more scandalous image of Cabaret commonly found in pop culture.
interesting
sentence or 1998

quote from the A transfer of the London production, this version adds Rob Marshall as co-director and keeps Cumming as the

story here.” lead. It sticks with the feeling of being in the Kit Kat Klub and transforms a theater into a functioning club, com-

plete with food service.

2014

Roundabout Theatre Company restages the 1998 revival, again with Cumming as the Emcee. The production

will open in April and run for 388 performances.

2018

The University of New Haven Theater Program presents Cabaret, November 14-18.

WORKS CITED

The Making of Cabaret

Caption de-
scribing picture IBDB
or graphic. https://www.broadway.com/buzz/175620/cabaret-undressed-the-real-life-stories-behind-the-gritty-glittering-
broadway-hit/
 Page 4
Historical Perspective

1939

World War II begins on September 1 with the invasion of Poland by Germany.

1951

The United States and the Soviet Union are at the beginning of a decades long Cold War. In

the summer of 1950, the US joined the Korean War.

1966

The United States was at war in Vietnam. In 1966, the number of US troops increased to German troops shown marching through Warsaw
after their invasion of Poland in September 1939.
400,000. At home, people were protesting the war and many were engaged in the Civil Rights Move- (National Archives and Records Administration)
https://www.thenation.com/article/september-1-
ment. In October, the Black Panthers were founded. 1939-germany-invades-poland-beginning-world-war

1972

11 Israeli Olympic athletes tortured and murdered by Palestinian terrorist group Black September at the

Olympic Village in Munich, West Germany.

“To catch the

reader's
August 2017- Charlottesville, NC, white nationalists gather for a “Unite the Right” rally, ultimately ending in
attention,
the death of a counter-protester (CNN).
place an
October 2017- Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA shot up during a service in an act of anti-Semitism;
interesting
11 people are killed (New York Times). sentence or
quote from the
story here.”

Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-timeline#section_5

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1972.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3341784/New-horrifying-details-emerge-1972-Munich-Olympic-
massacre-including-one-athlete-castrated-hostages-watched.html
Caption de-
https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/13/us/charlottesville-white-nationalist-rally-car-crash/index.html scribing pic-
ture or graphic.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/us/active-shooter-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting.html

Key Terms:
-”the book” is the overall story
of the show, as well as the
dialogue.
http://www.playbill.com/article/
an-open-book-explaining-what
-musical-librettists-do-com-
187637
-”integrated”- a musical where
the songs and scenes work
together to tell the story.
-Diegesis- characters know
that they are performing.
-Mimesis- traditional theater
songs, where characters sing
as if they were speaking.
NAZI PROPAGANDA
Following the Nazi sei-
zure of power in 1933,
Hitler established a
Reich Ministry of Public
Enlightenment and Prop-
aganda headed by Jo-
seph Goebbels. The Min-
istry's aim was to ensure
that the Nazi message
was successfully com-
municated through art,
music, theater, films,
books, radio, educational
materials, and the press.
Source: US Holocaust
memorial museum
https://
encyclope-
dia.ushmm.org/content/
en/article/nazi-
propaganda
Musical Conventions
In Cabaret
The Kit Kat Klub songs are diegetic while songs that exist outside
of the club/in the “real world” are mimetic. The show plays with
these lines and the club songs often comment on the action of the
mimetic songs and moments (like “Two Ladies” commenting on
“Perfectly Marvelous” or “Money” commenting on Cliff agreeing to
smuggle for Ernst).
Some of the Emcee’s songs play with the area in-between, instead
of happening in the club or in the outside world, they happen in a
void (“Tomorrow Belongs to Me” on the gramophone, “I Don’t Care
Much”).
Musicals are supposed to be fully
integrated-songs and dances should
emerge naturally from scenes and
progress the plot, as well as express
character.
“task is not to make an objective study of
the truth, in so far as it favors the enemy,
and then set it before the masses with
academic fairness; its task is to serve our
own right, always and unflinchingly.” Adolf
Hitler 1924
Nazi propaganda often
portrayed Jews as en-
gaged in a conspiracy to
provoke war. Here, a ste-
reotyped Jew conspires
behind the scenes to con-
trol the Allied powers, rep-
resented by the British,
American, and Soviet
flags. The caption reads,
"Behind the enemy pow-
ers: the Jew." Circa
1942.US Holocaust Me-
morial Museum, courtesy
of Helmut Eschwegen.
Bibliography