Becker: Aufbruch in die Moderne. Die Massen- und Populärkultur der Weimarer Republik

Abstract: The article reflects on the backgrounds to the process of cultural popularization in the Weimar decade. Both the foundation of the German republic and the democratization of society after 1918 further entailed ageneral democratization of culture. In fact, Weimar was, at least to some extent, a fully ›functioning‹ mass democracy, so that ademocratic mass culture and art emerged as a result: the opening up of art and culture to everyone, the blendingof the opposing poles ›high culture‹ versus ›low culture‹ also by intellectual and artistic elites, the rise of the ›salaried masses‹ (S. Kracauer) to become an important social group, the rise of film and radio as mass media as well as the presence of visual media in people’s everday life are all evidence of why the origin of German popular cultu re is inextricably linked to the 1920s.