1920's Culture, Meet Europe

[Arantzain]

Fresh blood here, nosing around and learning HTML. I don't mean to put anyone out, asking for help before I've been around thirty minutes, but I noticed that this site seemed to have some active writers and readers on it, and it didn't seem that asking would hurt.

Am currently working on a larger project  that will be set on the Franco-German border, circa 1925. I'm at particular pains to make my setting vivid. Right now I'm in the research and development stages, so I'm looking for novels, movies, plays, and artists --heck, newspaper articles and fashion rags would be wonderful, too-- from which to take some inspiriation.

I've visited antique fashion sites, looked into the silent movies, dragged up maps of the city for review, cruised Lonely Planet's article on Strasbourg. 'The reprecussions of war' is one of my putative themes, so I'm looking in particular for European and French perspectives on the reconstruction that followed the war. Other potential focuses include the conflict between Socialism and monarchy, and the varied definitions of patriotism and loyalty.

I'll be reading All's Quiet on the Western Front for certain, possibly A Farewell to Arms or The Sun Also Rises as well. Goethe's Faust is another intended stop --although not synchronous, it's about damnation, and that's an inevitable theme in this setting. I'm sure there are worlds of fiction that I'm missing, though. Not to mention some great movies and music.

Anyone have recommendations? They'd be much appreciated.

-Rantza

Coff. I should mention it's a roleplaying game, I suppose.

[phantasus]

hello Arantzain!
im also new arround here and, dont realy know a lot about 1920's culture. but let me try to help ya, ok?
so... lets see... as far as i remeber from history clases and some book or another, aldolf hitler became leader of the nazi party in the early 20's, in the middle 20´s he published a book ( reading it may help you, but i dont know where to get it, have never read it, just heared about its existence. ) called "mien kampf" .

have you readed: Ulysses by James Joyce and The waste lands by T.S. Eliot? they were writed during the 20s

i dont realy know a lot about history, so maybe im miss understanding what you are looking for,  but i will recommend you "Maus, : a survivor´s tale"  winner of the pulitzer prize, maybe you have already heared about it. ( that may inspire you, about the holocaust, repercutions of the war and such. )  

well...im sorry, i cant think of any other by the moment, i hope this may help you.

[reinder]

Forget about Hitler for the time being, unless you want to do something with the Beer Hall Putch. Focus on Hyperinflation and the rise of the Weimar Republic for the time being. Lovely little period that, though the decadent fun doesn't really start until well into the second half of the decade (As a point of reference, Der Blaue Engel was released in 1930).

[dragyn]

psst...Reinder:  use bbcode instead of html and it'll work right...

I really don't know alot about any of that, though I doubt you'll put anybody off by asking an honest question.

[Databits]

Sorry I know nothing on the subject. >.<