So we have two very different images of Augusta to consider. First of all, she is a Berliner of limited means. But she is also a member of the landed aristocracy. Augusta's present situation is easier to "present" so to speak, but the formative years of the past need to be integrated into her behaviors as well.
Recall that democracy as practiced in the United States as we know understand it was not well-established in Germany. Even during the Kaiserreich, elected officials were removed from the citizens; while policy was made in Berlin, the local nobles still were looked to as the local authority. They symbolized the smaller, regional, and (most importantly) traditional social structure. While borders and citizenships changed, the aristocratic families remained.
As an aside, doing my own family research, I have found that one of my ancestors on my mother's side was identified as having been born in France, Prussia, and "the German states" in three different census reports. Each reflects the shifting political status of communities in the region of Alsace and Lorraine at the time the census was taken.
No wonder then that members of the established aristocratic elite often found themselves useful as natural choices for community leadership, especially by the Nazi German regime, which will be the subject of another post.
What does this mean for our Augusta? Her personality in role play in the 1920s Berlin Project is one that would not be uncommon for her social upbringing. She has understood that her privilege now extends only to her ability to establish herself in the Berlin community, and she is attempting to make a life on those terms by working as a teacher in the neighborhood school. Augusta would have been brought up in an environment that values education, even though that may not have been fully extended to her as a daughter, which explains the kind of education that she received. She therefore is comfortable in a community role that does allow her to provide some leadership by providing an example of an educated, knowledgeable young woman.
Having been brought up in "polite society" gives Augusta boundaries of behavior that she doesn't cross; she still has a respect for what is socially approved, even though she pushes at the edges at times. After all, she is 22 years old and living in an era that is hallmarked by great change! There are moments where she will appear naive and where she won't understand the motivations of others in RP, but while she may not have the same history herself, she will try to provide empathy and a good example.
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| Augusta ready to attend the Eldorado. |
A case study that outlines the status and concerns of this social group comes from the volume Royals and the Reich: The Princes of Hessen in Nazi Germany, written by Jonathan Petropolous.* Coincidentally, and the reason why I purchased this book, Hessen is the region where I lived and the region where I placed Augusta. I am not going to be directly connecting her to this family in any way, but using the information in the book to give Augusta context.
German nobility floundered in the era following the First World War. Technically, the aristocracy was abolished during the Weimar Republic, but in practical terms, it remained very much intact. The traditional role of the aristocracy in German society reflected the feudal past to a degree, as the figure of the local noble still held a great deal of social status.
Recall that democracy as practiced in the United States as we know understand it was not well-established in Germany. Even during the Kaiserreich, elected officials were removed from the citizens; while policy was made in Berlin, the local nobles still were looked to as the local authority. They symbolized the smaller, regional, and (most importantly) traditional social structure. While borders and citizenships changed, the aristocratic families remained.
As an aside, doing my own family research, I have found that one of my ancestors on my mother's side was identified as having been born in France, Prussia, and "the German states" in three different census reports. Each reflects the shifting political status of communities in the region of Alsace and Lorraine at the time the census was taken.
No wonder then that members of the established aristocratic elite often found themselves useful as natural choices for community leadership, especially by the Nazi German regime, which will be the subject of another post.
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| A rare moment where Augusta is able to have a brief discussion with Friedrich Zepp. |
Having been brought up in "polite society" gives Augusta boundaries of behavior that she doesn't cross; she still has a respect for what is socially approved, even though she pushes at the edges at times. After all, she is 22 years old and living in an era that is hallmarked by great change! There are moments where she will appear naive and where she won't understand the motivations of others in RP, but while she may not have the same history herself, she will try to provide empathy and a good example.
*[New York: Oxford University Press, 2006]
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