
Weimar on the Pacific
German Exile Culture in Los Angeles and the Crisis of Modernism
Ehrhard Bahr(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 8. August 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
382 pages
978-0-520-25795-5 (ISBN)
Description
In the 1930s and 40s, Los Angeles became an unlikely cultural sanctuary for a distinguished group of German artists and intellectuals - including Thomas Mann, Theodore W. Adorno, Bertolt Brecht, Fritz Lang, and Arnold Schoenberg - who had fled Nazi Germany. During their years in exile, they would produce a substantial body of major works to address the crisis of modernism that resulted from the rise of National Socialism. Weimar Germany and its culture, with its meld of eighteenth-century German classicism and twentieth-century modernism, served as a touchstone for this group of diverse talents and opinions."Weimar on the Pacific" is the first book to examine these artists and intellectuals as a group. Ehrhard Bahr studies selected works of Adorno, Horkheimer, Brecht, Lang, Neutra, Schindler, Doblin, Mann, and Schoenberg, weighing Los Angeles' influence on them and their impact on German modernism. Touching on such examples as film noir and Thomas Mann's "Doctor Faustus", Bahr shows how this community of exiles reconstituted modernism in the face of the traumatic political and historical changes they were living through.
Reviews / Votes
"This is a wonderful book." Modern Language ReviewMore details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
28 b-w photographs
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
590 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-25795-5 (9780520257955)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2007
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€34.49
Available for download
Person
Ehrhard Bahr is distinguished professor emeritus of German at UCLA.
Content
List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Preface Introduction 1. The Dialectic of Modernism 2. Art and Its Resistance to Society: Theodor W. Adornno's Aethetic Theory 3. Bertolt Brecht's California Poetry: Mimesis or Modernism? 4. The Dialectic of Modern Science: Brecht's Galileo 5. Epic Theater versus Film Noir: Bertolt Bretcht and Fritz Lang's Anti-Nazi Film Hangmen Also Die 6. California Modern as Immigrant Modernism: Architects Richard Neutra and Rudolph M. Schnidler 7. Between Modernism and Antimodernism: Franz Werfel 8. Renegade Modernism: Alfred Doblin's Novel Karl and Rosa 9. The Political Battleground of Exile Modernism: The Council for a Democratic Germany 10. Evil Germany versus Good Germany: Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustuc 11. A "True Modernist.": Arnold Schoenberg Conclusion: The Weimar Legacy of Los Angeles Chronology Appendices Bibliography Index