After World War One, the new Weimar Republic of Germany was left with economic and political instability. This was mainly due to the high amount of reparations they had to pay due to the Treaty of Versailles. In turn, this economic instability caused political instability with the extreme right wing parties such as the fascists fighting with the extreme left wing parties (the communists). This led to the dark themes German expressionism explored.

However, German Expressionism was creative and abstract. The Weimar period was full of expressionist art which inspired the mise-en-scene of many German Expressionist films, such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. This expressionism is due to more traditionalist art when Kaiser Wilhelm II was the head of Germany, in the Weimar Republic, artists had more freedom.