Dancing through Darkness: Brassaï and the Parisian Mindset During the Inter-War Period
Article and Illustration by Claire Sobash
During the Weimer Republic in Germany, the country was facing social and political upheaval after the fallout of World War I and the Great Depression. The time between the Imperial Period (1918) and the beginning of Nazi Germany (1933) was of turmoil and frustration for many citizens. However, progress was at home in many European cities like Berlin, Paris, and London. Paris and Berlin in the 20s and 30s were cities of progression and the heart of modernism. It was home to Europe’s most innovative artists, a vibrant city culture, and a haven for homosexuals. Gyula Halász, also known as Brassaï, was a street photographer who documented Paris’s characters of the city nightlife (Stamelman, 2006, p.67). Brassaï’s photographs reflect the mindset of Parisians in the early 1930s, capturing a society grappling with disillusionment and uncertainty in the aftermath of World War I and the Great Depression. At the same time, his work mirrors the flourishing cultural escapism and the presentation of homosexuality in Europe that led many to seek solace in cabarets, jazz clubs, and nightlife. This contrast in Brassaï’s images not only highlights the tension between despair and indulgence but also foreshadows the political polarization and radicalization that would intensify with the rise of the Nazi regime in Berlin, Germany.
Brassaï’s album “Paris de Nuit” reveals the nocturnal ventures of Paris’s street life during the early 1930s. As he wandered through the Parisian streets and clubs, Brassaï documented the different states of human desire and the bohemian lifestyle of Paris. This peering into the darkness of the enveloping grime and fog and the subtle sondering of the ostentatious intimacies of lovers in the smoky cabarets intrigued the attention of the surrealists into Brassaï’s world of midnight beauties. The surrealist intention was to capture the unconscious mind, and what better time to do so than when a city sleeps and those most seeking pleasures would be awake to feed their unconscious desires for sex, drink, and freedom from the constraints of everyday life .
Though Brassaï’s scenes are grounded in reality and are depictions of a singular passing moment, the nature of photography functions as a portal to another place in another time. This positioned Brassaï at the center of surrealist photography, which makes him a favorite of its founder André Breton, who was enamored by Brassaï’s poetic attention to detail. The subject matter of marginalized groups in “Paris de Nuit” was another factor that attracted the surrealists. Brassaï featured a range of characters such as prostitutes, homosexuals, gangsters, and other characters of the night. Though these figures were uncommon to be featured in photographs, it wasn’t an unusual site in public at the time. By photographing these figures Brassaï documents the fleeting expression of the partakers of a cultural phenomenon that was founded all over Europe’s major cities. During the early 1900s people were flocking more towards nightlife activities in major cities like Berlin, London, and Paris. The unique time frame that Brassaï does his work not only highlights the groups of people who find freedom in the night, but also is founded in an intermittent period between wars and economic crisis in Europe that stimulated evolving attitudes and mindsets of the nightwalkers.
In the wake of the 30s in the 20th century, many people were dissolution by the state of the economy and politics around the world. The aftermath of World War I left a deep imprint in Europe and skepticism about traditional institutions and values left people in frustration. There was also the Great Depression which affected economies worldwide, including Paris. Working class people faced difficult conditions, sparking labor movements and political unrest. Polarizing politics and extremism was growing, and the Nazi party was beginning its rise in Germany. However, with these factors people were looking for a source of liberation, where nightclubs and cabarets offered this escapism outside the harshness of realities. In “Wanda” (1931), Brassaï photographs a scene which is not uncommon from this period of his portfolio, showcasing the vibrant nightlife in the middle of the streets of Paris. The photograph features a scene of a woman performing in front of a crowd on a bulb lit stage. The woman, whose name offers the title of the photograph, wears a white frilly dress and she smiles candidly towards the camera. There is an initial brightness to her persona as her expression, gesture, and attire are in likeness to the fluorescent bulbs of the stage. There is a sense of innocence in her expression, as she dances on stage, she does not notice the countenance of her audience, her amusement of herself shines outward but does not reflect. Her spectators watch with solemn expressions and are darkened by the shadows from the lights on the dancer. The girl who is closest to the dancer looks at her with a sober expression, she is not amused by the dancer but still has her eyes transfixed on her. There is a deep polarization between the audience and the dancer and almost a contradiction between the two. The dancer’s role is to be a source of entertainment for the audience, but the only one she successfully engages is herself. The crowd seems to be occupied by more pressing issues that the dancer is not a part of. The stark contrast between the dancer’s radiant performance and the somber, distant expressions of her audience in “Wanda” highlights the growing sense of disconnection and despair that pervaded Europe during this time.
Cities like Paris are where large art and cultural centers flourished. It is also notable the amount of openly queer people and the carefree attitudes towards homosexuality that had been presenting itself in Europe. Following the Roaring Twenties and the economic crisis, more and more towns had dance clubs, cabarets, bars, and discreet cafés that were places for queer folk to gather. Brassaï’s photographs reflect the zeitgeist of homosexuality and sexual liberation in Europe. Brassai’s “A Couple at le Monocle” (1933) depicts a couple seated at a bar which first appears to be heterosexual, but is actually a lesbian couple. This conveys the state of sexual expression during the period. The woman to the left is femme presenting and wears a dress and makeup in the style of the time. She looks as if she is in mid conversation and has a casual countenance, while her partner looks more defensive. The woman to the right dawns a tuxedo and tie in order to present more masculine, perhaps in hopes of hiding the couple’s sexuality. This photo of the couple alludes to the intention of being free to express love in any form, but being weary that a consequence for such freedom is approaching. A sexual awakening had erupted in Europe, and foundations like The World League for Sexual Reform founded in 1928 and the Institute for Sexual Research founded in 1919 were supplying the public with a sexual liberation and education, which initiated the outward display of sexuality. It provided a confidence in queer folk and granted them access to community through midnight escapades all around Europe. However, this social progression was short lived, and the political pendulum of radical right politics would soon take hold of Europe.
Observing the mindsets of Europeans right before the climax of Nazi Germany that would soon envelop Europe, it is noted that many ignored the signs of Nazi takeover in Germany. An example of this ignorant state of people is depicted in the 1972 musical film “Cabaret”. The film takes inspiration from the 1966 Broadway musical which is based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1939 novel, “Goodbye Berlin”. Directed by Bob Fosse, the film takes place in Berlin in 1931. The story follows Brian Roberts (Michael York), a British writer who moves to Berlin seeking freedom and work, and his growing relationship with an energetic cabaret performer Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli). The film follows Brian’s discovery of his homosexuality and his eventual escape from the growing threat of violence in the city. It is a sort of coming-of-age story that stands inverse narratives between Sally and of the city itself. As Brian’s character develops and realizes the encroaching Nazi threat, Sally becomes more decadent and eventually chooses to deliberately ignore the dangers in order for her to continue living in the bliss of life. The songs in the film are performed on the stage of the cabaret and reflect the events that take place outside of it, making the cabaret itself a metaphor of Berlin. The presence of the Nazi swastika frequents more and more as the film progresses along with the increasing acts of violence. However, despite the growing presence of evil, the characters disregard the Nazis and consider it a problem that would fix itself. Brain’s character acknowledges the dilemma and he eventually leaves the city after trying to face Nazi soldiers and subsequently being beaten by them. In the final shot the camera pans over the mirrored ceiling of the cabaret revealing that a majority of the audience members are wearing swastika arm bands and eventually the camera stops and the red sign is centered on the screen and fades. The film adequately represents the state of the culture in Europe in the 1930s, vibrant with activity in clubs and bars, but frozen in the moments of fear from the antisemitic power. It depicts the precipice of disaster and the unknowingness of how the lives of many individuals would change rapidly.
The Nazi Party was founded in 1920, but was unpopular until the crisis of the Great Depression. The party was initially seen by the public as a force resisting the takeover of communism, but would soon envelope it entirely and eventually Paris as well. After Berlin was taken over by Nazis, immediate regulations and strict orders passed that limited the mobility of Jewish and queer individuals. Openly queer people in the government and military became open targets for assassinations. Even the Institute of Sexology would be destroyed by the party on May 6th, 1933. This extreme flip between progression and regression left many individuals in Berlin and across all of Europe fearful for their futures. In one moment, an individual could proudly pronounce themselves as queer and in the next that proclamation would have put a target on their back. Legislation against homosexuals increased and predominantly targeted men, and in some cases were sent to concentration camps. There is a scarcity of information of homosexual individuals in concentration camps, this is due to the erasure of the demographic by the authoritarian government, but it is not difficult to imagine the hardships they faced.
Berlin and Paris were two of the most socially progressive cities in Europe in the beginning of the 20th century. They were both hubs of art and culture and naturally attracted queer and marginalized groups as a safe haven. On May 10, 1940, Paris was invaded by Nazi Germany and became the seat of military administration. The shift in power was instant and many individuals found themselves in the middle of war where they were the targets. The Nazi party’s target victims were Jews, homosexuals, immigrants, and people of different races, many of whom were living in Paris Many individuals who saw Paris as their home fled, including Brassaï who initially left Paris then came back out of solidarity to the city that he loved, a testament to the deep connection he felt to its culture and people, even in the face of unimaginable repression. The Nazi occupation transformed Paris into a city of fear and uncertainty. Queer individuals, already marginalized under the regime, found themselves hunted more than ever, as their identities became a symbol of everything the Nazis sought to eradicate.
Brassaï did not know what would happen when he was taking his photographs of the Parisian bohemian lifestyle, but he accomplished a foreshadowing of the fragile nature of freedom, as the shadow of tyranny was already beginning to fall over Europe. His photographs serve as both a celebration of the liberating nature of modernity and a solemn reflection on the impermanence of such moments in history . Through his lens, he documented a society teetering between hedonism and the dark shadows of uncertainty. However, his choice of subjects, many of whom were at the fringes of society, hinted at the fragility of this freedom. The scenes he captured, filled with the joy of sexual liberation, cabaret performances, and street encounters, contained an underlying tension, as if Brassaï himself recognized the transient nature of this progressive period. His work subtly mirrored the denial or ignorance of many who were unwilling to acknowledge the rise of fascism, much like Sally in “Cabaret”., who preferred to embrace the hedonistic pleasures of the moment rather than confront the reality of the impending storm. In this way, Brassaï’s photographs did not just document the external world of Paris; he captured the tension within the minds of Parisians themselves, revealing a collective psychological state caught between optimism and the inevitable reality of repression that echoes throughout history as a warning to indifference and silence in the face of tyranny.
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