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  3. Moderate Modernity: The Newspaper Tempo and the Transformation of Weimar Democracy

Moderate Modernity: The Newspaper Tempo and the Transformation of Weimar Democracy

Jochen Hung
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  • Overview

  • Contents

Focusing on the fate of a Berlin-based newspaper during the 1920s and 1930s, Moderate Modernity: The Newspaper Tempo and the Transformation of Weimar Democracy chronicles the transformation of a vibrant and liberal society into an oppressive and authoritarian dictatorship. Tempo proclaimed itself as "Germany's most modern newspaper" and attempted to capture the spirit of Weimar Berlin, giving a voice to a forward-looking generation that had grown up under the Weimar Republic's new democratic order. The newspaper celebrated modern technology, spectator sports, and American consumer products, constructing an optimistic vision of Germany's future as a liberal consumer society anchored in Western values.

The newspaper's idea of a modern, democratic Germany was undermined by the political and economic crises that hit Germany at the beginning of the 1930s. The way the newspaper described German democracy changed under these pressures. Flappers, American fridges, and modern music—the things that Tempo had once marshalled as representatives of a German future—were now rejected by the newspaper as emblems of a bygone age. The changes in Tempo's vision of Germany's future show that descriptions of Weimar politics as a standoff between upright democrats and rabid extremists do not do justice to the historical complexity of the period. Rather, we need to accept the Nazis as a lethal product of a German democracy itself. The history of Tempo teaches us how liberal democracies can create and nurture their own worst enemies.

  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Contents
  • Illustrations
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1. 1928–1929
  • Chapter 2. 1930–1931
  • Chapter 3. 1932–1933
  • Conclusion
  • Footnotes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Citable Link
Published: 2023
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-13332-1 (hardcover)
  • 978-0-472-22090-8 (ebook)
Series
  • Social History, Popular Culture, and Politics in Germany
Subject
  • German Studies

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Front page of a newspaper, with bold headlines and four images.

Front page, Tempo, 11 September 1928, evening edition

From Introduction

Figure 1. Front page, Tempo, 11 September 1928, evening edition. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

Newspaper page, with several images, one showing a naked woman.

Inside page, Tempo, 11 September 1928

From Introduction

Figure 2. Inside page, Tempo, 11 September 1928, 9. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A man sitting at a desk, talking on the telephone while reading a newspaper.

Film still M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder

From Introduction

Figure 3. Film still, M—Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder, directed by Fritz Lang (Nero, 1931).

Two children sitting in front of a newspaper kiosk, talking.

Film still Emil und die Detektive

From Introduction

Figure 4. Film still, Emil und die Detektive, directed by Gerhard Lamprecht (Ufa, 1931).

A photo of a masthead of a newspaper.

Detail from “Ein Exemplar des Roten Tempo,” Tempo, 10 May 1929

From Introduction

Figure 5. Detail from “Ein Exemplar des Roten Tempo,” Tempo, 10 May 1929, 12. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A collage of photographs showing a laborer with a cabbage for a head.

“Wer Bürgerblätter liest wird blind und taub,” Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung, 9 February 1930

From Introduction

Figure 6. John Heartfield, “Wer Bürgerblätter liest wird blind und taub,” Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung, 9 February 1930. © The Heartfield Community of Heirs, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2021

A newspaper article with text and a photo of a couple sitting at a campfire.

“Preisausschreiben ‘Ferienfreude’,” Tempo, 23 September 1929

From Chapter 1

Figure 7. “Preisausschreiben ‘Ferienfreude’,” Tempo, 23 September 1929, 12. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A collage of photographs showing athletes, airplanes, train tracks, a race car, and hands typing on a typewriter.

Advertisement, Ullstein-Berichte, October 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 8. Advertisement, Ullstein-Berichte, October 1928, 2. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

An illustration showing the heads of several men.

“Die Partei-Tenore,” Tempo, 16 November 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 9. Emery Kelen, “Die Partei-Tenore,” Tempo, 16 November 1928, 2. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

An illustration showing a man in a suit reading a newspaper, watched by other men in the background.

Advertisement, Ullstein-Berichte, January 1930

From Chapter 1

Figure 10. Advertisement, Ullstein-Berichte, January 1930, 7. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A woman in sports dress is doing gymnastics on the floor. Behind her, a man tends to the fireplace.

“Kameradschaftsehe,” Tempo, 20 October 1928, 8

From Chapter 1

Figure 11. “Kameradschaftsehe,” Tempo, 20 October 1928, 8. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A comic strip showing female athletes cleaning, cooking, and washing.

“Die vollkommene Sportsfrau als vollkommene Hausfrau,” Tempo, 2 October 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 12. “Die vollkommene Sportsfrau als vollkommene Hausfrau,” Tempo, 2 October 1928, 3. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A female boxer sitting in the corner of a boxing ring, looking into the camera.

“Möchten Sie mit mir boxen?,” Tempo, 21 September 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 13. “Möchten Sie mit mir boxen?,” Tempo, 21 September 1928, 11. ©Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A comic strip showing a young woman buying a newspaper, reading a newspaper, walking down a street, being proposed to, and driving in a car.

Hans Boht, “Brigittchen,” Tempo, 16 October 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 14. Hans Boht, “Brigittchen,” Tempo, 16 October 1928, 8. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

An illustration of a young woman.

“Revue-Girl,” Tempo, 19 November 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 15. “Revue-Girl,” Tempo, 19 November 1928, 8. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A group of women in coats in front of a newspaper stand.

“Die Premiere des ‘Revuegirls’ bei den Revuegirls,” Tempo, 24 November 1928

From Chapter 1

Figure 16. “Die Premiere des ‘Revuegirls’ bei den Revuegirls,” Tempo, 24 November 1928, 3. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A series of photographs of women.

“Welcher die 1000 M.?,” Tempo, 16 March 1929, 5

From Chapter 1

Figure 17. “Welcher die 1000 M.?,” Tempo, 16 March 1929, 5. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A woman in a white uniform, smiling into the camera while serving a confection.

Erna Koch, Tempo, 21 February 1929

From Chapter 1

Figure 18. Erna Koch, Tempo, 21 February 1929, 4. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A group of female dancers surrounding a woman in a white uniform.

“Tempo-Girls und die Schönheits-Siegerin Erna Koch,” Tempo, 6 April 1929

From Chapter 1

Figure 19. “Tempo-Girls und die Schönheits-Siegerin Erna Koch,” Tempo, 6 April 1929, 8. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

A man selling newspapers dozing on a motorbike.

Detail from “Wie und womit die Parteien agitieren,” Tempo, 10 September 1930

From Chapter 2

Figure 20. Detail from “Wie und womit die Parteien agitieren,” Tempo, 10 September 1930, 3. © Axel Springer AG. Used with permission.

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