Lavender Songs: Undermining Gender in Weimar Cabaret and Beyond

Questioning the legend of "divine decadence" in Berlin during the 1920s, this study examines historical performance material from the German cabaret and popular entertainment scene to re-evaluate the presentation of gay and lesbian identity on the stage and on the screen. Examples from popular and literary song reveal ambivalences and hidden messages that suggest the complexity of the cabaret's cultural negotiations between entertainment and satirical critique. The article also reviews the fates of several songwriters and performers who were persecuted during the Nazi era.