Great time to start watching "Babylon Berlin" on Netflix

Last edited Fri Mar 23, 2018, 02:09 AM - Edit history (1)

With a $40 million price tag, the Weimar Era crime thriller is the most expensive German TV series ever made. The 1929 setting features astronomical inflation and attendant poverty amidst a libertine backdrop that produced a storied zenith for German arts and culture.

It was also a period wracked by revolutionary fervor, where fascists, communists and royalists moved in both secretive opposition and labyrinthine conspiracy. Such political bedlam paved the way for Nazi ascendancy which led to global catastrophe.

Coincidentally, my nearby community theater is in the midst of staging a production of "Cabaret" right now. Part of their marketing has carried reminders to the public of how relevant it is in our current zeitgeist.