ARTH101: Art Appreciation

Nazi Art Policy

How do you destroy an artwork? You can hide it, scratch it, tear it, put a slogan over it, burn it, or, as the Nazis did in 1937, simply show it to millions of people.

If you visited Munich in the summer of that year, you could see two spectacular exhibitions held only a few hundred meters apart. One was the Great Exhibition of German Art, showcasing recent leading examples of "Aryan" art. The other was the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) Exhibition, which offered a tour through the art that the National Socialist Party had rejected on ideological grounds. It was made up of art that was not considered "Aryan" and offered a last glimpse before these works disappeared.

Great Exhibition of German Art catalog cover, 1937 (left) and Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition, catalog cover, 1937 (right)

The Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) Exhibition cleverly manipulated visitors to loathe and ridicule the art on exhibit, in part by erasing its original meaning. Until shortly before the exhibition, these paintings and sculptures had been displayed at the nation's greatest museums, but now they were the principal performers in a freak show. The shock value was enhanced by only allowing visitors older than 18 into the exhibition. The lines for the Degenerate Art Exhibition went around the block. Inside, many pictures had been taken out of their frames and were attached to walls that were emblazoned with outraged slogans. Rather than whispering respectfully, people pointed and snickered. The paintings and sculptures had lost their status as artworks and were now reduced to dangerous and outrageous rubbish.

Opening of the Entartete Kunst exhibition at the Schulausstellungsgebaude, Hamburg, 1938

Visual symbolism was important to the Nazis, and Hitler himself had been a painter, so it is not surprising that they dedicated significant resources to promote their ideals through art. How was the decision made? How were "degenerate" and "Aryan" artworks selected?

If you compare the artworks the Nazis glorified with those they attacked, the differences seem clear enough; they rejected experimental, personal, non-representational art and revered conventionally "beautiful," stereotypically heroic art. This seems like an obvious line for a totalitarian regime to take: everyone will find these artworks beautiful, and everyone will feel and think the same thing about them without the risk of unwanted, random, personal, or unclear interpretations.

Adolf Hitler and Adolf Ziegler inspect the installation by Willrich and Hansen of the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich, 1937

A Simple Decision

The Nazis presented it as a simple decision; any true German would immediately be able to tell the difference. But in reality, a four-year battle was fought all the way to the top echelons of the Nazi hierarchy over what "Aryan" art was supposed to be. The opinions on this could not have been more contradictory, and top Nazi officials such as Heinrich Himmler, Joseph Goebbels, and Alfred Rosenberg championed the art they each preferred.

Surprisingly, before 1937, Goebbels and many other Nazis collected modern art. Goebbels had modern art in his study and living room and was a fan of many artists that eventually ended up in the Degenerate Art Exhibition. Heinrich Himmler was interested in mystical, Germanic art that harked back to a tribal past. Another influential Nazi, Alfred Rosenberg, liked the pastoral, romantic style that depicted humble farmers, rural landscapes, and blond maidens.

Hitler would have none of it. He loathed Expressionism and modern art whilst pastoral idylls were not serious enough. Goebbels reversed himself and became one of the driving forces behind the Degenerate Art Exhibition, prosecuting the same artworks he had once enjoyed. Rosenberg also let go, albeit reluctantly, whilst Himmler changed tack and stole artworks by the wagonload behind Hitler's back throughout the war.

How was "Aryan" Art Defined?

In a sense, the concept of "Aryan" art was defined by what it was not: anything that was ideologically problematic (that did not fit with the extremist beliefs of the regime) was removed until there was little left but an academic style that celebrated youth, optimism, power, and eternal triumph. Nevertheless, it remained difficult for even the most influential Nazis to understand the selection criteria for art sanctioned by the state.

Hitler and Ziegler judging the Great German Art Exhibition, 1937

Take, for example, Adolf Ziegler, who had been in charge of selecting the artwork to be exhibited in the Great Exhibition of German Art. Just before the show opened, Hitler visited to inspect the artwork chosen to represent the eternal future of Nazi Germany. He was not pleased with the selection his most loyal followers had made. On June 5, 1937, Goebbels wrote in his diary that the Führer was "wild with rage" and subsequently issued a statement declaring, "I will not tolerate unfinished paintings," meaning that the exhibition had to be reconceived at the last minute.

Even opportunistic "hard-liners" such as Adolf Ziegler, an artist Hitler favored, were not quite able to fulfill their patron's vision. However, it would not be right to conclude that the criteria for art that represented the "Aryan" state were based principally on the eye of Adolf Hitler rather than a set of delineated characteristics. Even Hitler's taste was not the ultimate indicator of "Aryan" art: whilst planning what great artworks he would take from the conquered museums of Europe for his never-realized Führer-Museum, his newly appointed museum director convinced him that his taste was not up to standard for the world-class museum he envisaged. Rather than firing the man, Hitler deferred to Dr. Hans Posse, despite the fact that he had recently been fired from his post as museum director in Dresden for endorsing "degenerate art."

What Was Actually on Display in the Two Exhibitions?

Ernst Barlach, The Reunion (Das Wiedersehen), 1926, mahogany, 90 x 38 x 25 cm. Ernst Barlach Haus, Hamburg

The Degenerate Art Exhibition mostly exhibited Expressionism, New Objectivism, and some abstract art. Strangely, few works came from Jewish artists, and a lot of artworks had until recently been favorites of many Nazis. Renowned works by artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff, and Ernst Barlach hung on walls marked with graffiti. The works ranged from quiet and traditional looking – such as Ernst Barlach's The Reunion (Das Wiedersehen) from 1926, which showed two poised, realistically carved wooden figures holding each other – to more grotesquely painted works, such as Otto Dix' War Cripples (Kriegskrüppel), 1920. This work shows a procession of cartoonesque yet morbid war veterans, painfully moving forward with pushchairs, prosthetic legs, and crutches, smoking cheerfully. However, one soldier's face is half eaten away, revealing a rictus grin of clenched teeth.

Otto Dix, War Cripples (45% Fit for Service), 1920, oil on canvas, lost work

In contrast, the Great Exhibition of German Art showed art with the hallmarks of the classical tradition, large sculptures of tall and muscular bodies, and paintings of heroic soldiers by artists such as Josef Thorak and Arno Breker. Breker's Decathlete (Zehnkämpfer) and Victory (Siegerin) were given prominent positions. Both were made in 1936, showing two bronze figures over three meters high; their impersonal facial expressions and perfectly proportioned bodies are almost archetypical examples of the classical style.

Arno Breker, Decathlon Athlete (Zehnkämpfer), 1936, bronze

However, in later editions of the Great Exhibition of German Art, works that did not fit beauty ideals, youth, and optimism crept back in. Realistically painted works depicting soldiers despairing in the trenches by Albert Heinrich and sad, emaciated figures like the bust Der Walzmeister by Fritz Koelle shared the space with oversized muscular bronze men and paintings of serene nude women.

The random nature of Nazi art policy continued after these exhibitions closed. Breker and Thorak, superstars of the Nazi regime, actually had some works branded as degenerate (though this was quickly covered up), whereas the artist Emil Nolde, who joined the Nazi party and was an early and enthusiastic supporter, had been issued a so-called Malverbot forbidding him to paint even in the privacy of his own home. He received regular visits from the Gestapo, the secret police, who came to touch his brushes to ensure that they had not been used. Nolde became a watercolor painter. The brushes dried a lot faster than with oil paint.

View of sculpture exhibited at the Haus of German Art, n.d.

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Source: Nausikaä El-Mecky, Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/
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