Photo cred: http://www.theredmountainpost.com/marlene-dietrich-the-blue-angel-9408/

Berlin was evolving into a metropolis. To meet the needs and enter the world stage as an equal to cities like London, Paris, and New York, it had to modernize itself. Namely in entertainment, cabaret arose as a form of modern entertainment and an essential contribution to Berlin's economy.

Wit was a product of nature, willed by the city's harsh conditions. With the famous "Berliner Schnauze" came a disrespect of authority and cynical skepticism toward received values. This was very much characteristic of cabaret culture. The metropolitan psyche featured a sense of detachment and cynicism, a superiority complex which would leave no one and not thing safe from ridicule and imposition of perspective. As Peter Jelavich said, the metropolis demanded a greater agility of the mind.

Cabaret offered people a diversion from the stresses of their everyday lives. Class distinction was irrelevant. People from all different walks of life were rubbing shoulders, free from social restrictions and the pretense of traditional entertainment, if only for a while.