Weimar IN MY HEART

Coco St. George

She got off the train with a huge smile on her lips, a small bag in her hand, and a big dream in her heart. Yes, she was well aware that she was a walking cliché: a small-town girl comes to the big city looking for fame and riches. But she also knew that dreams come true through passion and hard work. Besides, it was very well possible that among the more than four million Berliners she would find the one that would help her attain her goal.

Confident enough to leave her town in spite of the fierce opposition of her family against her plans, she felt, nevertheless, quite nervous looking around and seeing so many people, hearing so many loud noises, and listening to so many different languages. And her nervousness only increased as she heard through the speakers of the public announcement system repeated warnings against pickpockets. Instinctively, she clutched her purse and clenched her fist around her bag. The last thing she needed now was losing her scant earthly possessions to a deadbeat. But no threat could make her lose her determination.

It wasn’t hard to find a cheap neighboring hotel. What was really hard for her was to leave Alexanderplatz, a place she could describe only with the word magical. It was bustling with people, seemingly from every corner of the planet, with stores offering every imaginable kind of goods, with cafés, restaurants, and, who would believe it, even calm spots where one could sit on a bench to watch life pass by in front of them.

Once installed in the small hotel, she laid down on the bed daydreaming about the splendiferous life Destiny had in stock for her: she was going to be a big star of the silver screen! The economic downfall notwithstanding, the German film industry was having a prosperous time. The dream fabric that was UFA had just released its first talkie, a movie where people not only talk but also sing, starring none other than Willy Fritsch himself, one of the brightest stars in the German music firmament. One of her first goals was to watch it as soon as she could get enough money for the ticket.

Later she went window-shopping, amazed at the enormous variety and diversity of goods and products from all over the world.

And the people! She couldn’t believe how many people were just inside the store. “More than what the Christmas Market draws in Kassel,” she noted. But unlike the people she used to see and greet on the street back in her hometown, in Berlin everybody looked unfriendly if not frankly hostile. At least not interested in yet another aspiring starlet loitering around.

That, of course, would never dissuade her from following her dream. She would be a big movie star, just like Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo! Everything was possible now, as her Oma used to say. “We are living in exciting new times, and things that would be unthinkable just a few years ago, now are within our reach.”

That’s right. As you may or may not know, after World War One, the Great War as it was called by its contemporaries, the Weimar Republic was established in Germany. Following the military defeat, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, and Germany thought the time was ripe to become a constitutional monarchy, just like the one the United Kingdom had. So, in July 1919, the German Parliament convened in Weimar (110 miles southeast of Berlin) to adopt a new constitution, and the new republic was founded one month later.

The Weimar Republic had a bumpy start. The heavy war reparations Germany had to pay crippled her economy but, while hyperinflation plagued daily life, this era, 1919-1933 saw an upsurge of creativity in every field of the arts, music, architecture, and cinema. Major artistic movements came about in those years, including expressionism. Those were also the years when the Bauhaus was established, a school for architecture and applied arts whose influence is felt even in our days.

Also,

Berlin was a hub of cultural activity, nightlife, and artistic innovation. It was also considered the capital of “Gay Europe”, mostly because of its tolerance and openness to every way of looking for excitement and pleasure. “Ectasis and excesses” could have been its motto, and nowhere that search for thrills and enjoyment was more evident than at El Dorado, a nightclub that attracted all kinds of famous names, including the renowned Josephine Baker, the American-born performer whose celebrated banana skirt scandalized the prude souls of her time.

If you feel curious, or nostalgic, about this fascinating period in History, you’ll be happy to know that you can relive those years right here, in Second Life.

Not finding what she wanted and realizing that it was up to her to create it, Frau Jo Yardley decided to launch her

1920s Berlin Project to have a place devoted to the Weimar Republic. That was back in 2009 and what started as a small bar now spans a whole sim with a detailed reproduction of Berlin in the roaring twenties. Every detail is thoroughly cared for, and you won’t find anything that doesn’t belong to that time and place. Thus, a strict dress code is enforced, and visitors are requested to dress accordingly. If they don’t have the clothes, some free garments are provided at the train station, the starting point of this exciting travel back in time.

But besides the beauty of the buildings, what you might find even more valuable is the vibrant community Frau Jo Yardley has created through all these years. All the people that populate and inhabit the city are deeply embedded in the role-playing culture, and they are quick to react with wit and humor to most everyday comments, always framed in the period of time they are living in.

A note of warning should be made: while the Weimar Republic saw also a surge in political activity and struggles, for obvious reasons those topics are excluded in the sim. You may see political propaganda posted on the walls, but that’s only for decoration purposes. No discussions, no debates, no arguments.

So, now you know. Grab your suitcase and point your teleporter to The 1920’s Berlin Project. Pick the freebies if you just want to have a taste or go shopping in the stores for more sophisticated clothes if you think that’s your thing. And look around. You may come across the aspiring starlet of our story. Or even better, you may rise to stardom yourself if you find the right contacts. Don’t forget to join the group and have fun!