"Entartete Kunst" (Art Nazis Hated)

“This art is the sick production of crazy people. Pity the people who are no longer

 able to control this sickness”

                                                                 -Adolf Hitler, on modern art; Mein Kampf

Adolf Hitler felt that he was knowledgeable with regards to art. It is commonly known that art, architecture, music, and films in Germany were heavily influenced by the Nazi ideology of the time. Hitler had decided that there were two forms of art; classical realistic art that portrayed all that was good about Nazi Germany; and the un-German or Jewish Bolshevist, degenerate art, which was basically all modern art.

L'Ange du Foyer; 1937 by Max Ernst

July 19, 1937 on the streets of Munich, Nazi Germany, there was an art exhibition held titled "Entartete Kunst," translated to Degenerate Art. This show featured famous artists such as Max Ernst, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky alongside less popular artists such as William Wauer, Ernst Nay, and Ewald Matare

Two Women in the Street; 1914 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

The show was put on by Adolf Ziegler and Joseph Goebbels, after the idea came to them from Hitler's critique of modern art. The show was held in the Institute of Archeology in the Hofgarten. Hitler has declared a war in cultural disintegration, which included the artwork that insulted German feeling, distorted the natural form, or revealed an absence of artistic skill.

Flyer cover for Degenerate Art

This particular show was set up by the Nazis to show the world the detriment this artwork had on the ideal Germany. The first three rooms of the show were themed demeaning of religion, Jewish artists, and insulting to women, soldiers, and farmers of Germany. The rest of the show was not arranged in a theme. The venue had dark, narrow rooms, and many of the paintings were hung without frames and partially covered with derogatory themes. Many paintings had text beside them deriding the artwork.

Hitler and Ziegler at the show

The show exhibited over 650 paintings, sculptures, prints, and books that were taken from 32 German museums to be put in the show. The show ran until November 30 in Munich, at which time it traveled to eleven other cities in Germany and Austria. During the four months the show was up, 2,009,899 visitors attended, making an average of 20,000 people a day.

White Tree Trunks 1908 by Emil Nolde

Over 5,000 works, at least 1,000 of them just by Emil Nolde, were seized by the Nazi party and deemed 'degenerate'. These works showed qualities such as mental disease, racial impurity, and weakness of character. Hitler believed that a finished picture should ever portray anguish, distress, or pain. He preferred the romantic form of realism. He also felt that artists should use color that was different than perceived in nature.

Tower of the Blue Horses 1913 by Franz Marc

Near this show, in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst, the show titled Great German Art Exhibition was held. This contained more classical and racially pure art that was accepted by the Nazi Party. This show attracted roughly half the viewers as Degenerate Art. After the show went abroad to be seen by another million people or so, the artwork was sold off, many to U.S. collectors and the money was used to war expenses. Then on March 20, 1939 nearly 5,000 pieces were burned. 

photography by Herbert Bayer

Most of the artists that were considered degenerate were often subject to sanctions. This included being dismissed from teaching positions, being forbidden to exhibit or sell their art, and being forbidden to create art entirely, if they would not comply with Hitler's artistic ideals. Because of these sanctions, a large number of artists fled the country.

** I do NOT own any of the above images **

 

Art in Nazi Germany: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/art_nazi_germany.htm  - degenerate art: http://www.dw.de/exhibition-explores-forbidden-art-in-the-third-reich/a-15833990 - more degenerate art: http://www.listal.com/list/degenerate-art