POI: Die Stachelschweine Kabarett-Theater



 


 


 


 

Die Stachelschweine Kabarett-Theater was founded in 1949 during the cold war by Rolf Ulrich, Alexander Welbat, Klaus Becker, and Joachim Teege, all whom were actors [1]. They were later joined by ladies Traudel Dombach, Dorle Hintze and Isle Markgraf and together all seven became the first ensemble of the theater. They had continued success in the ‘Burgkeller’ which was a restaurant that had carefully repaired war damage [2]. This was a place where young actors and artists who had been aware of the war choose to make a political-satire cabaret with the intent to fight for more peaceful times. As the ‘porcupines’ what they call themselves; did not have a permanent location all the time, they took to the streets and would say punch lines or put on mini performances that Berliners responded to in a positive way. It was a break from the stress of daily life. The Porcupines moved to various locations, sometimes due to the potential danger of a building collapse, but eventually settled in the basement of the Europa Center. This location is a central and popular hub within Berlin and is also surrounded by numerous hotels and theatre's [3]. The theater holds around 330 people with a small bar which can accompany about 20 people [4]. This site is important because the Europa Center is not only a shopping mall, but an important Berlin landmark. It was built in what was the ‘West Berlin’ and was modelled on American malls and was very different from what was in East Berlin [5].

"Die Stachelschweine – Kabarett – Theater Im Europa-center." Berlin Bühnen. Accessed November 14th, 2017. https://www.berlin-buehnen.de/de/buehnen/die-stachelschweine/

"Uber uns." Die Stachelschweine Kabarett-Theater im Europa-Center. Accessed November 13th, 2017. http://www.diestachelschweine.de/ueber-uns/kuenstler

"Welcome to the Europa Center." Europa-center Mothership of Malls. Accessed November 14th, 2017. http://www.europa-center-berlin.de/en.html

Germany's politics had a heavy influence in everyone's lives and all aspects of life. Following the end of the second world war, Berlin's cabaret culture was on the rise as it was becoming politically edgy and also reflected the misgivings of a lost generation.[6] Differentially from the other points of interest, this theater was developed after the fall of Berlin cabaret culture and therefore did not have to re-establish themselves. The founders of this theater choose to make political-satire their main area of interest and often made puns at those in power. As the development of this cabaret was around the beginnings of the cold war, times were hard in terms of finding food, jobs and for some, a place to live.[7] This site tells us about the group of individuals that founded this cabaret as a potential outlet to relive stress and make something fun and entertaining during a dark period of time. German artist Geroge Crosz recalls his experience in Berlin at this time and describes it as "a bubbling cauldron…you could feel the heat increasing…everyone was hated; the Jews, the capitalists, the gentry, the communists, the landlords, the workers, the unemployed, the politicians…".[8] Living in fear of what another potential war is had on people and having an outlet to feel sane and normal for once gave people the potential for hope. Political humor oftentimes makes fun of the entirety of the political system and not just the individual at the head.[9] External factors, such as the different developments of genre in the East and West influenced how the cabarets would start to develop this business.[10] Across Germany, the role that art played was very significant as media oftentimes used cabaret to promote certain political stances beginning in the forties, but continuing on into the next two decades.[11]As West Germany is known to have more freedom when compared to the East, cabaret groups in the West were state-funded for the purpose of promoting 'positive satire' prior to the war.[12] As cabaret had always identified with socialism, with the renew of cabarets following the war, cabaret turned its focus away from positive satire and moved towards a better form of socialism in which they wanted to encourage the audience to work towards a better form of socialism.[13] Lastly, cabarets did face criticism, but the public's desire to move on from the past and eagerness to read between the lines resulted in the continuation and the enjoyment of political cabarets by the general population.

Sources

Armstrong, Richard. "Dancing in the dark: Personality and Politics in 'Cabaret'." Australian Screen Education no. 42 (2006): 125.

Bessel, Richard, and Dirk Schumann. Life After Death: Approaches to a Cultural and Social History during the 1940s and 1950s. Washington D.C. (2003).

Grosz, George. "Recalls the Golden Age of Weimar." (1946). Accessed November 19th, 2017. http://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/grosz-golden-age-of-weimar-1946/.

McNally, Joanne M. "Shifting Boundaries: An Eastern Meeting of East and West German 'Kabarett'." German Life & Letters 54, no. 2 (2001): 173-190.

Rose, Alexander. "When Politics is a Laughing Matter." Policy Review no. 110 (December 2001): 59.

[1] "Die Stachelschweine – Kabarett – Theater Im Europa-center," Berlin Bühnen. Accessed November 14th, 2017. https://www.berlin-buehnen.de/de/buehnen/die-stachelschweine/.

[2] Ibid.

[3] "Welcome to the Europa Center," Europa-center Mothership of Malls, Accessed November 14th, 2017. http://www.europa-center-berlin.de/en.html.

[4] "Die Stachelschweine – Kabarett – Theater Im Europa-center," Berlin Bühnen. Accessed November 14th, 2017, https://www.berlin-buehnen.de/de/buehnen/die-stachelschweine/.

[5] "Welcome to the Europa Center."

[6] Richard Armstrong. "Dancing in the dark: Personality and Politics in 'Cabaret'," Australian Screen Education no. 42 (2006): 130.

[7] Richard Bessel, and Dirk Schumann, Life After Death: Approaches to a Cultural and Social History during the 1940s and 1950s, Washington D.C. (2003).

[8] George Grosz, "Recalls the Golden Age of Weimar," (1946). Accessed November 19th, 2017. http://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/grosz-golde....

[9] Alexander Rose, "When Politics is a Laughing Matter," Policy Review no. 110 (December 2001): 62.

[10] Joanne M. McNally. "Shifting Boundaries: An Eastern Meeting of East and West German 'Kabarett'," German Life & Letters 54, (2001): 175.

[11] McNally

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid.

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