Fraulein Kost, German, in her 30's. Background: is a prostitute for sailors and agrees with the Nazi rules.
The description in the script says:
She's thirtyish, possibly a whore.
Other descriptions of her are that she is very commanding as a person, knowing how to get what she wants. And is very comfortable with who she is. She also has a very distinctive German accent.
http://nutic.wikispaces.com/file/view/CABARET+Script.pdf
http://www.interactivitiesink.com/larps/broadway/playershows.pl?tabnum=4
Other characters like Fraulein Schneider the landlady thinks she's disrespectful with all the men she brings in. However Schneider knows she needs Fraulein Kost for the rent of the apartment and tries to turn a blind eye. Other characters such as Herr Schultz knows her flirtatious ways throughout the script by certain glances on comments.
It doesn't say in the script but I think Fraulein Kost knows she needs the attention of men to feel love and in hard times of the economy crisis she needs the money to keep herself alive. So she uses them both to get what she wants. I feel as if she winds up Fraulein Schneider as she is a mother figure and that she didn't have one that cared for her before. So she needs that nurturing figure saying 'don't bring back anymore men.', which she can then rebel against.
History of the 1920s early 30's
Economy:
The economy after the first world war for Germany was not in a good place. After a defeat from a treaty being signed they had lots of money to owe from France and Britain and had to give up some of their own land. In this state of circumstances this made Germany very vulnerable to society. Super inflation was rising, this type of inflation meant the marks were totally worthless.
This made Germany go into a state of depression and the need for change and a blame. Hitler rose to power when Germany were very vulnerable. A lot of the blame that Hitler used was that of the Jewish people as there were many wealthy business owners. Hitler was able to convince most of Germany that they were to blame for the economic downfall.
1923- People queuing up to get the last bits left in the shops
http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/1920s/Econ20s.htm
http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/1920s/Econ20s.htm
Politics:
The German republic that was known as the Wiemar Republic between 1919-1933, they had post war effects on the economy. The leader who blamed Germany's crisis from the post war settlement was Adolf Hitler and his party the Nazis.
Many remember the pre war years under autocratic rule as being financially flourishing in Germany. However by the post war the democratic rule of the Weimar completely changed. That with money inflation and the feeling of being blamed for the war. Germany began to go into a economic depression, This type of depression had effects on how people spend and saw money.
As the Stock Market Crash of 1929 happened in America they wanted loans back that they lend to Germany to help with the economy. They gave them 90 days to pay back the money. Germany had no other country to help them as Britain and France were still suffering from post war. The impact of this was disastrous.
Children playing with money as it became worthless
http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/hyperinflation-1921-1923/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/weimar_depression_1929.htm
The economy was so weak they needed a leader who gave them hope and power again, The Wiemar government was not popular and Germany didn't feel like they were being heard. This made the Nazi Party rise to popularity as Hitler didn't agree with how the government settled in world war one. He wanted to change the state Germany was left in. Hitler was appointed Chancellor on January 30th 1933.
Adolf Hitler- The leader of the Nazi Party
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/11/26/hitler-puppy-named-patch-nazi-leader-pictures_n_4342784.html
http://www.1920-30.com/politics/
Music:
In the mid 20's the genre Jazz was very popular and was often played and was a significant part in the roaring twenties. Jazz was known as a up beat and up tempo sound of music that was fun and often viewed as democratic. Jazz was originally from the American lifestyle and was not liked by the Nazis. However the music was still listen to and enjoyed by the Germans.
Many radios would play the music and it was played in various dance halls and clubs. Nazis definition of why they hated jazz music was unclear so when the ban on playing Jazz music on the radio happened it didn't work. This was because of the unclear reasoning for the ban, so many people still enjoyed the music.
A Berlin Jazz Bar- 1930
http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_imglist.cfm?sub_id=366§ion_id=12
Swing music in the 30's started to become popular. The definition of this type of music: "Swing music is a kind of Jazz music. It has African and European roots". http://dancing.org/swing-what-is.html
Swing music enjoyed by the youth
The popular musicians for swing were Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller they updated the old jazz to suit the ever growing culture. This type of music was in many films around that era as it was the most popular taste. Nazis even began to like it temporary as dancing music.
http://www.return2style.de/swingaring/amijazz3.htm
Benny Goodman was an American Jazz and Swing musician. Known as the 'King of Swing'
http://riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu/program/great-innovator-benny-goodman
Art:
Otto Dix was a famous German painter and painted about the horrors of Wiemar Germany. First hand experiences at world war one being in the famous 'Battle of Sonne' was the inspiration for many of his paintings. In the 1920s he also had portrait paintings that were influential to his work. Such as Anita Berber who was a cabaret dancer known for her scandals which included: affairs, drug addictions and dancing in the nude.
(Otto Dix Book, By Olaf Peters, Illustrated 31st of March)
Otto Dix painting of Anita Berber- 1925. He used oil and tempera on plywood.
http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/glitterdoom/gad_07.htm
George Grosz was also a German painter who briefly was in service, however after not being able to fight in the war he spent most of his time painting anti war pictures. He also painted times in Wiemar Germany and did not agree with the popularity of the Nazi party. He moved to America where he taught fine art. In his later life he wanted to establish his art for landscapes and still life.
Art Deco was a big artist movement which showed geometric shapes, it was used on many chrome, glass and shiny tiles. It was a classy and sophisticated look that only the rich would have had around their homes. The art movement deprived from France showcasing it in the 1920s. It then became popular internationally in the 1930's. it is known for its clean cut shapes and for being very modern.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/george-grosz-1223
Literature:
Reading was popular in this era as many houses had own home library's to amerce themselves in knowledge and education. Many would read books, novels and magazines about life around them. Children would also read many picture stories.
A German Author who won the Nobel Price in Germany is Thomas Mann. He was born in Lubeck in North Germany, he was previously working in a fire insurance office. However he began writing his first novel called 'Gellafen' in his own time, this became successful and showed how good he was.
In some of his work, political views were put into place. He was anti Nazi and would write many essays and take on lectures about being against the National Socialism, he also made many radio speeches attacking the Nazis.
His Most Famous Novels are:
(The Magic Mountain, By Thomas Mann, Published in November 1924)
(Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann, Published in 1912)
http://www.1920-30.com/literature/thomas-mann.html
Food:
In 1929 saw the Great Depression were Germany had serve unemployment. Many workers were effected and there was food shortages, many people suffered starvation. Germany's cuisine however was stews, soups of dried beans known as 'weisse bohnesuppe'. German is also known for it breads and cereals and has a particularly popular dish known as the 'birnen, bohnen und speck'. Which included pears, green beans and bacon.
When world war two finished Germany was divided into two groups East and West and to this day have a different type of diet to the other. East of Germany being close to Russia took on many Russian recipes and concepts of food. While West stuck to the more traditional palette of German food.
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Germany.html
Theatre
In the 1920s and 30s theatre and film were popular, with many genres. Expressionism in Germany was a popular category for entertainment within the theatre. The definition of expressionism is: A style of painting, music or drama in which the artist or writer seeks to express the inner world of emotion rather than external reality' www.google.co.uk
This type of theatre was very highly rated in German culture. Bertolt Brecht who was known for using expression, he was a poet and reformer. He changed the way actors performed on stage by coming up with his own concepts. He wanted the audiences to think about what is happening in the dialogue rather than getting involved with the storyline. He wanted to teach lessons about life in Germany through his theatre. He came up with this process using (A Effekts), here he is explaining what that process is:
"In order to produce A effects the actor has to discard whatever means he has learned of persuading the audience to identify itself with the characters which he plays. Aiming not to put his audience into a trance, he must not go into a trance himself. His muscles remain loose, for a turn of the head, e,g. with taunted neck muscles, will 'magically' lead the spectators eyes and even their heads turn with it, and this can only be detract from any speculation or reaction which gestures may bring out" (From A Short Organum for the Theatre, 1948) http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/brecht.htm
Cabaret
This was a popular theatre movement in Berlin. The red district were many of the Cabarets performed was known as a freedom movement were anyone and anything was expected. This was just after world war one but before world war two. There were many cabaret dancers who were eccentric and were known for having a outlandish drug addiction life style.
http://www.eclectecon.net/2013/03/cabaret-berlin-in-the-late-1920s-early-1930s.html
This time period of Cabaret and seedy clubs gave Christopher Isherwood the inspiration for his novel 'Goodbye to Berlin'. He visited Berlin in the 1930s when many visited the city to get away and enjoy the freedom Berlin had.
(Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood, Published 1939)
Film
The 1920s saw the era of the silent film, were actors could only use body language to convey how they felt to the audience. Theda Bara became successful in that period, and became a huge icon for film. The film that began her career was called 'A fool there was' made in 1915.
This silent film was about a lawyer who has to go away because he's a special diplomatic. He's already married with children but had to unfortunately leave them behind. Aboard this ship is a woman known as 'The Vampire' who's known to sleep with any man she can and lives of the men she has seduced and destroyed. She wants to now do the same with the lawyer and will try her very best.
This film was very good in showing how the crisis of Germany was about to rise, it was showing what Germany was going to be before its time with the great depression and unemployment. People had to get money by other means and to do so even give away their bodies for men to pay for their living.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0005339/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaW4QXOJ1Tc
Fashion
The era of the 1920's saw many types of styles. The Flappers was a very big fashion movement in this time, the look was a sign of independence and freedom to women. This was because women after world war one in 1918 were given the right to vote. This look consisted of bobbed hair, more make up and ditched their corsets which were commonly used in the 1910s. Clothes had dropped waistline and plunging neck lines, there was no structured shape to them. Common materials used in this fashion were beads, sequins, lace, fringes, chiffon, satin, flowers and shimmery
fabric. http://visforvintage.net/2012/07/19/get-the-1920s-flapper-look/
A lot of the art deco art movements included the flapper style. For its patterns and shapes were used on garments. The shiny materials, and beaded headdresses that would shine in the light. They all contribute to the movement of sophistication and stepping away from traditional clothing. Heading more towards modernising fashion.
http://glamourdaze.com/history-of-womens-fashion/1920-to-1929
http://www.needlework-tips-and-techniques.com/blackwork-figures.html
The fads of the time included African style. Such as big fur coats and lots of bracelets. As popular music such as Jazz and the Blues were introduced many of Africans styles were born. Lots of jewelry was around for this style, especially the big bangles around the whole of the arm.
The make up of the 1920s became much more popular in women. It included thin eye brows that were used to enhance youth. Eye shadows were used used around the eyes to create colour and make them look bigger. Lips were made to look narrower by covering the side of the lip with foundation, creating your own defined lip. Then colour would then be added. The cupids bow was enhanced and the depth of the lower lip was contoured underneath.
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Flapper-Girl
Religion
Most of Germany was made up of either Catholic or Protestant. The Nazi party believed in Christianity however most of the party saw the church and religion a threat towards Hitlers policies. When Hitler became powerful he explained his hatred for the Jews, he wanted them to emigrate out of Germany and made the Jewish life very difficult.
He made many of the Jewish people not have work, by persuading the Germans not to buy from their shops, or if they were any other profession not to use or pay for them. He then arrested the Jehovah's witness for not participating in military service. He was very against this religion and any Jewish person in Germany was going to feel his hatred.
http://spartacus-educational.com/GERchristianity.htm
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