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At the turn of the 20th century, German metropolises became the laboratories of a true anthropological revolution. In the space of one generation, or from the 1880s to the 1920s, German urbanization compelled city dwellers to adopt new ways of understanding and seeing space, and of and moving around in it. In this respect, documentaries produced under the Weimar Republic attest to such changes, primarily due to their focus on the phenomena of perception. As shown in the images recorded by Kultur- and Experimentalfilm, Berliners observed the ebb and flow of cars and streetcars, the milling crowds, the twinkling neon signs, or even the shimmering light of neon signs on sodden asphalt. This plunged them into a novel field of experiences saturated with perception shocks, a field of experience ruled by sensorial over-excitement. Therefore, studying these images casts an original light on debates about modernization in Germany. Today, we can understand why the urban experience is usually described as a traumatic hyper-aesthetic experience which tends to dull sensorial skills, and time and space landmarks. Indeed, urban growth also goes along with a process of gradual adjustment to new forms of perception. In order to counter the overflow of impressions that defines urban life, city dwellers have spontaneously developed self-protective mechanisms: excitability, the need for playful exposure at the Luna Park or at the cinema, automated patterns of walking, a blasé indifference to everything, or restrained behavior. These are among the attitudes city dwellers “devised” to adapt to their new environment.