Berlin 1920

Berlin in the 1920s was a time of great change and upheaval. After the end of World War I, the city experienced a period of political and social revolution. The war had brought about the death of 17 million people worldwide, and Germany was only able to finally pay off its war debts in 20101.

In 1918, over 400,000 people in Berlin participated in demonstrations against the war, led by the Spartacus League1. This culminated in the revolution of 1918, during which Philipp Scheidemann (SPD) proclaimed the republic from the balcony of the Reichstag1.

The 1920s also saw the rise of Berlin as a cultural metropolis. The Weimar Constitution’s fixed civil rights and personal freedoms allowed the city on the Spree to become the cultural metropolis of the 1920s1. Art and culture experienced an unprecedented boom. The most important artists of the time met at the Romances Café on Kurfürstendamm1.

Thanks to the “ Groß-Berlin-Gesetz ” of October 1, 1920, Berlin became the largest industrial city in Europe1. The law merged the historical city center with surrounding cities, rural communities, and manorial districts into one unit2. This made Berlin the third-largest metropolis in the world, after London and New York City2.

These historical events shaped the 1920s in Berlin, from the revolution of 1918 to the Kapp Putsch of 1920, from the founding of the KPD to the rise of the cultural metropolis1. It was a time of great change and development that continues to influence the city to this day.