The Devil Eats Flies

[Noita]

A new CoC adventure set in 1922 Berlin. I need to know more, before I turn insane....

"Cabarets, conspiracies and unspeakable murders..."

 

[Darius West]

Germany is a mess in 1922 and it is going to get much worse quite quickly.  It is only 4 years since the end of the Great War, and the abdication of the Kaiser. While people are no longer starving as they were towards the end of the war, the situation is still bad and people are poor.  In 1918-19 the Germans fought a civil war called the German Revolution when the Spartacists (Communists) fought the Freikorp (Social Democrat Veterans) for the fate of Germany.  The Freikorp won and the Weimar Republic hung together.  In 1922 Walter Rathenau completed the Treaty of Rapallo recognizing the USSR and creating a situation where trade could occur, but Rathenau was subsequently assassinated and the treaty would ultimately be held up as proof of the "Jewish/Communist Conspiracy" by the German right.   The Communists remain a powerful force in Weimar German politics.  Between Feb1919 and March1921 the USSR had invaded Poland.  Poland was a new state, recently formed by the Treaty of Versailles, and wasn't ready to face the USSR, but Gen Pilsudski won a famous victory at the Battle of Warsaw that sent Trotsky and Stalin home in defeat.  This was important to Germany as it was an attempt by the USSR to link up with the Spartacists, and because Poland was a new neighbor to Germany, and because many German Great War veterans served as mercenaries for Poland.  The Nazi party itself already exists as of 24/Feb/1920. Rathenau had been in the process of trying to renegotiate Germany's war reparations, but in June he is assassinated.  In 1923 Germany begins its period of hyperinflation, caused by Great War reparations, which is when the Deutchmark goes into freefall for years forcing people to rely on foreign currencies and barter.  This effectively wiped out the national savings of the German people.  Subsequently the German Federal Reserve Bank and the Weimar Government manage a number of loans with the USA, and progressive economic policies that actually make 1924-29 Germany increasingly prosperous, if politically unstable.  1923 is also when the Nazis under General Ludendorf attempt to seize control of Munich, much like the Spartacists had done.  The Nazis too are put down by the Freikorps, thought ultimately many Freikorps members will come to side with the Nazis in future years.  The devaluation of German currency is what causes the ramping up of Cabaret culture, as foreigners find they can party very cheaply in Germany.  I would suggest for this reason that 1923 is a better year to start if you want cabarets.  

Cars, while increasingly common remain a luxury, and horse drawn vehicles are still very common. Most people will ride bicycles. On the other hand, double decker busses, trams and trains allow a commuter public access to most of Berlin.  Berlin relies on both rail and canal ways for heavier transport infrastructure.  It is an age of ice boxes not refrigerators, and telephones are not ubiquitous even in this major city.  Berlin is however electrified and sewered.  In 1924 the Ubahn (the Berlin Subway System) will begin operating.  The issue of what sort of stove you use is still up for grabs, with gas, coal, and even wood ovens still being sold.  One day per week the women still devote an entire day to the week's washing in huge copper urns and laundry sinks and mangles and washboards.  Women daily curse the coal plants when the wind changes and blows soot over the clothes they hang out to dry.  Cities are a maze of alleys where tradesmen deliver goods through the back, and such alleys develop a culture of their own, including a criminal aspect.

As prosperity returns to Germany there is a massive blossoming of art, culture, and prosperity in Germany, but there is also a distinct social divide that extremist politics seeks to exploit.  The Weimar republic experiences the catastrope of hyperinflation and then only a few years after the matter is settled, the Great Depression begins.  The years of 1924-29 are relatively good if unstable years for Germany.