Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Literature & Film
Since its beginnings, Berlin's literary scene has reflected a peculiar blend of
provincialism and worldliness, though Berlin didn't emerge as a centre of liter-
ature until relatively late and took until the dynamic 1920s to peak. In contrast,
Berlin's pioneering role in movie history is undeniable: in 1895 Max Sk-
ladanowsky screened early films on a bioscope, in 1912 one of the world's first
film studios was established in Potsdam and since 1951 Berlin has hosted a
leading international film festival.
Literature
First Words
Berlin's literary history began during the 18th-century Enlightenment, an epoch dominated
by humanistic ideals. A major author from this time was Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, noted for
his critical works, fables and tragedies, who wrote the play
Minna von Barnhelm
(1763) in
Berlin. During the Romantic period, an outgrowth of the Enlightenment, it was the poets who
stood out, including Achim von Arnim, Clemens Brentano, and Heinrich von Kleist who
committed suicide at Wannsee lake in 1811.
In the mid-19th century, realist literature captured the imagination of the newly emerging
middle class. Theodor Fontane raised the Berlin society novel to an art form by showing both
the aristocracy and the middle class mired in their societal confinements. His 1894 novel,
Effi
Briest,
is among his best-known works. Naturalism, a spin-off of realism, painstakingly re-
created the milieus of entire social classes. Gerhard Hauptmann's portrayal of social injustice
and the harsh life of the working class won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1912.
