Drawing on more than 100 unpublished photographs, including unseen
images of some of the most famous and infamous Berlin clubs of the
1920s, Party! Party!! Party!!! depicts the Weimar Republic through the
people who partied and the places they partied in--from living rooms and
bedrooms to the underground and tourist-filled clubs and music halls of
Berlin.
The defeat of the German Empire in World War I meant that the newly
formed Weimar Republic was all but bankrupt, facing impossible debt and
prey to violent revolution from both left and right. The poor were
particularly vulnerable. Any new day could bring disease, unemployment
or crime. This precariousness of existence gave rise, in some, to a
frantic desire to live in the moment--to celebrate, or escape reality.
An exploration of decadence, sexuality and indulgence went alongside an
innocence of the consequences of fascism or communism. Life, for many,
became a kind of feast during a time of plague as Germany in the 1920s
conducted a glorious and futile experiment in the art of partying.
Party! Party!! Party!!! is a moving testimony to this celebratory
spirit.