German period drama Bauhaus: A New Era starring August Diehl and Anna Maria Mühe now streaming on MHz Choice.

Now Streaming

Everywhere you look in any Western or Western-influenced country, you see the stamp of the Bauhaus. 20th century aesthetics are the way they are because of the Bauhaus. The school influenced graphics, architecture, fashion, textiles, furniture, theater, film, fine arts… it’s an endless list. That new condo building with the boxy look and blocks of color, the clean lines of ‘mid-century’ retro furniture, modern poster design, innovative font designs, a simplified, functional look for clothing, experimental music, film and theater, the concept of students bringing their own ideas into the classroom – all Bauhaus. The Bauhaus was a school of art but also an approach to work, life, culture and learning.

Learn more: What is Bauhaus?

Bauhaus: A New Era tells the story of the birthing of the Bauhaus school by its first director, Walter Gropius. Here’s the series description from the distributor:

Weimar, Germany 1919: World War I has just ended, old imperial empires have collapsed and Europe is swept up in a wave of modern ideas. As the drama Bauhaus – A New Era begins, young Dörte Helm (Anna Maria Mühe) arrives at the newly-founded Bauhaus art school thrilled by the innovative approach of its founder, the architect Walter Gropius (August Diehl). The students are young, resilient and radical and the school becomes a breeding ground for modernity, jazz, innovative architecture and feminism. Like so many others, Dörte becomes a true disciple of the new movement – but something more to Gropius as they fall in love.

Gropius makes his first overture to Dörte at a party kicking off the new school year –

Dörte’s father is played by Hanns Zischler, and if he seems familiar, he should be – in Beck Season 2 he played Josef Hillman, the quiet, unassuming older member of the team. Zischler is a German treasure, with 200-plus movie credits to his name and a well-deserved reputation as a man of letters and cultural analysis. He has a long connection with the Bauhaus and received an honorary doctorate from Bauhaus – University Weimar in 2018.

Hanns Zischler in Bauhaus: A New Era