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    The Bubling Cauldron

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    djjddj
    George Grosz likened the Weimar Republic to a "bubbling cauldron" with an unseen heat source steadily increasing the temperature. Students were instructed to label a diagram of this cauldron to demonstrate their understanding: labeling outside forces adding "fuel" like paramilitary groups, identifying the "fuel" like violence and emotions, and noting the effects on society in the cauldron like restrictions on freedom of speech. Completing this activity highlighted the many tensions, from the war to the economy to social changes, that threatened stability in Weimar Germany.

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    The Bubling Cauldron

    Uploaded by

    djjddj
    23 views3 pages
    George Grosz likened the Weimar Republic to a "bubbling cauldron" with an unseen heat source steadily increasing the temperature. Students were instructed to label a diagram of this cauldron to demonstrate their understanding: labeling outside forces adding "fuel" like paramilitary groups, identifying the "fuel" like violence and emotions, and noting the effects on society in the cauldron like restrictions on freedom of speech. Completing this activity highlighted the many tensions, from the war to the economy to social changes, that threatened stability in Weimar Germany.

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    THE BUBLING CAULDRON

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    THE BUBLING CAULDRON

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    George Grosz likened the Weimar Republic to a "bubbling cauldron" with an unseen heat source steadily increasing the temperature. Students were instructed to label a diagram of this cauldron to demonstrate their understanding: labeling outside forces adding "fuel" like paramilitary groups, identifying the "fuel" like violence and emotions, and noting the effects on society in the cauldron like restrictions on freedom of speech. Completing this activity highlighted the many tensions, from the war to the economy to social changes, that threatened stability in Weimar Germany.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    23 views3 pages

    The Bubling Cauldron

    Uploaded by

    djjddj
    George Grosz likened the Weimar Republic to a "bubbling cauldron" with an unseen heat source steadily increasing the temperature. Students were instructed to label a diagram of this cauldron to demonstrate their understanding: labeling outside forces adding "fuel" like paramilitary groups, identifying the "fuel" like violence and emotions, and noting the effects on society in the cauldron like restrictions on freedom of speech. Completing this activity highlighted the many tensions, from the war to the economy to social changes, that threatened stability in Weimar Germany.

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    Handout

    The Bubbling Cauldron


    Artist George Grosz said that the Weimar Republic was like a “bubbling cauldron.” He wrote: “You could not
    see who was heating the cauldron; you could merely see it merrily bubbling, and you could feel that heat
    increasing.”1

    Directions: In this activity, you will use a graphic organizer based on Grosz’s image to show your under-
    standing of the Weimar Republic. Label the image of the cauldron below as follows:
    • Who or what added fuel to the fire? Outside of the cauldron, write the names of people, groups,
    events, and circumstances that caused tension and conflict in German society during the Weimar Republic
    (e.g., paramilitary groups).
    • What was the fuel for the fire? In each log beneath the cauldron, write words and phrases describing
    human behaviors, feelings, and emotions in German society during the Weimar Republic (e.g., violence).
    Draw additional logs if you need them.
    • What was in the cauldron? In the cauldron, write the aspects of German society that were affected by
    the behaviors and feelings you labeled in the logs (e.g., freedom of speech).

    For instance, you might say that “paramilitary groups” added the “violence” log beneath the fire that created
    enough heat to affect the “freedom of speech” ingredient in the cauldron.

    You can use words and phrases from the bank below as you label the image. You do not have to use all of
    the words provided. You may also add words and phrases that you think of on your own.

    When you are finished, write your answers to the questions on the last page.

    Anger World War I Weimar Constitution


    Humiliation Treaty of Versailles Civil Rights
    Alienation Hyperinflation Freedom of Speech
    Anxiety Great Depression Women’s Rights
    Fear Unemployment Frequent Elections
    Creativity Leaders Article 48
    Violence Artists Trust in Democracy
    Uncertainty Teachers Germany’s Universe of Obligation
    Education Paramilitary Groups Trust in Neighbors
    Values Political Parties
    Hatred Voting
    Antisemitism Intimidation

    1 George Grosz, An Autobiography, trans. Nora Hodges (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 149–50.

    © Facing History and Ourselves visit www.facinghistory.org


    © Facing History and Ourselves visit www.facinghistory.org
    1. What do you think Grosz’s metaphor means? What does it suggest about what it felt like to live in
    Germany during that time? What might be the result of the increasing “heat”?

    2. What was the process like of labeling the cauldron graphic? What challenges did you encounter? What
    new conclusions did you draw about the Weimar Republic from this activity?

    © Facing History and Ourselves visit www.facinghistory.org

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