Brilliant! "But especially this period, this brief moment in which German democracy and the entire future of Europe (and European Jewry) hung in the balance: possible, promising, doomed." had me doubting for a minute if you meant Berlin of the 30s or of the 90s. And then I realized it applies equally to both. The conclusion being the same "those wonderful Berlin cabarets … which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler and prevent the outbreak of the Second World War."
Of course, as you might have guessed, I've never actually seen any of Babylon Berlin. But that's what's so nice about your piece, there is no need to! Not sure I agree with your 2020s 'though. 1920s and 1990s in Berlin both had this brief historical moment of the possibly imaginable complete new start (well I wasn't actually around in the 20s, more so in th 90s, although that is debatable as well) but then it never happened, just back to business as usual. I can't see any possibility for something completely different in 2020, but I definitely felt that in the 90s. You can reasonably argue I was just young and foolish, but still...
Oh yes, I see what you mean - definitely the 90s, then. I was thinking more the sense in Britain right now of everything wearing out. The sense it all might tear apart at any moment. And everyone just desperately trying to make something safe or at least enjoyable of their lives before it does. Maybe it could be something new and exciting about to happen, after all.
Anyway - the first two seasons of Babylon Berlin are pretty good fun, I promise
We have been in Cologne this weekend and, while we’ve had a great time, it’s made us realise how much we liked Berlin when we visited. It is certainly a city with edge! As well as the music you mentioned, for me it is also a city inextricably linked to Depeche Mode so it gets bonus points in that respect too. I wasn’t aware of this series at all but it certainly sounds like something I might have enjoyed.
Brilliant! "But especially this period, this brief moment in which German democracy and the entire future of Europe (and European Jewry) hung in the balance: possible, promising, doomed." had me doubting for a minute if you meant Berlin of the 30s or of the 90s. And then I realized it applies equally to both. The conclusion being the same "those wonderful Berlin cabarets … which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler and prevent the outbreak of the Second World War."
Thank you very much! And, to be honest, it could be the 2020s as much as the 1920s, to some extent - in London, at any rate
Of course, as you might have guessed, I've never actually seen any of Babylon Berlin. But that's what's so nice about your piece, there is no need to! Not sure I agree with your 2020s 'though. 1920s and 1990s in Berlin both had this brief historical moment of the possibly imaginable complete new start (well I wasn't actually around in the 20s, more so in th 90s, although that is debatable as well) but then it never happened, just back to business as usual. I can't see any possibility for something completely different in 2020, but I definitely felt that in the 90s. You can reasonably argue I was just young and foolish, but still...
Oh yes, I see what you mean - definitely the 90s, then. I was thinking more the sense in Britain right now of everything wearing out. The sense it all might tear apart at any moment. And everyone just desperately trying to make something safe or at least enjoyable of their lives before it does. Maybe it could be something new and exciting about to happen, after all.
Anyway - the first two seasons of Babylon Berlin are pretty good fun, I promise
We have been in Cologne this weekend and, while we’ve had a great time, it’s made us realise how much we liked Berlin when we visited. It is certainly a city with edge! As well as the music you mentioned, for me it is also a city inextricably linked to Depeche Mode so it gets bonus points in that respect too. I wasn’t aware of this series at all but it certainly sounds like something I might have enjoyed.