Editing Weimar culture (section)

==Health and self-improvement==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-11617, Hannover, Schülerinnen der Logis-Schule.jpg|thumb|Students at a boarding school in Hanover, beginning each day with 8 o'clock rhythmic dancing and jumping exercises, 1931.]]
Germany had many innovators in health treatment, some more questionable than others, in the decades leading up to World War I. As a group, they were collectively known as part of the [[Lebensreform]], or Life Reform, movement. During the Weimar years, some of these found traction with the German public, particularly in Berlin.

Some innovations had lasting influence. [[Joseph Pilates]] developed much of his [[Pilates]] system of physical training during the 1920s. [[Expressionist dance]] teachers such as [[Rudolf Laban]] had an important impact on Pilates' theories.

''Nacktkultur'', called [[naturism]] or modern nudism in English, was pioneered by [[Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach]] in Vienna in the late 1890s. Resorts for naturists were established at a rapid pace along the northern coast of Germany during the 1920s, and by 1931, Berlin itself had 40 naturists' societies and clubs. A variety of periodicals on the topic were also regularly published.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Mel|title=Voluptuous Panic: The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin|url=https://archive.org/details/voluptuouspanice00gord|url-access=limited|year=2006|publisher=Feral House|location=Los Angeles|isbn=978-1-932595-11-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/voluptuouspanice00gord/page/n144 132]}}</ref>

Philosopher [[Rudolf Steiner]], like Diefenbach, was a follower of [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]]. Steiner had an enormous influence on the [[alternative health]] movement before his death in 1925 and far beyond. With [[Ita Wegman]], he developed [[anthroposophical medicine]]. The integration of spirituality and [[homeopathy]] is controversial and has been criticized for having no basis in science.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ernst |first1=Edzard |title=Anthroposophical medicine: A systematic review of randomised clinical trials |journal=Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift |date=February 2004 |volume=116 |issue=4 |pages=128–130 |doi=10.1007/BF03040749 |pmid=15038403 |s2cid=27965443 }}</ref>

Steiner was also an early proponent of [[organic agriculture]], in the form of a [[holistic]] concept later called [[biodynamic agriculture]]. In 1924 he delivered a series of public lectures on the topic, which were then published.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Paull|first=John|title=The Secrets of Koberwitz: The Diffusion of Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course and the Founding of Biodynamic Agriculture.|journal=Journal of Social Research and Policy|year=2011|volume=2 | issue = 1 |pages=19–20}}</ref>

''Aufklärungsfilme'' (enlightenment films) supported the idea of teaching the public about important social problems, such as alcohol and drug addiction, venereal disease, homosexuality, prostitution, and prison reform.<ref>{{cite book|last=Biro|first=Matthew|title=The Dada Cyborg: Visions of the New Human in Weimar Berlin|url=https://archive.org/details/dadacyborgvision00biro|url-access=limited|year=2009|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-3619-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dadacyborgvision00biro/page/n318 308]}}</ref>