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Hitler’s war on creativity -

As is the case with many fascist or otherwise totalitarian political parties, the influence of culture on society is a primary concern for its leaders. This need to control culture was never more prominent than in Hitler's Nazi party.

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Degenerate art -

Starting in the 1920s, the Nazis started to use the term "degenerate art" to describe any art of any medium considered subversive to the Nazi project.

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What constituted degenerate art? -

The term was applied in broad strokes to all corners of modern creativity. Anything that Nazi officials regarded as "communist," "Jewish," or simply "un-German" was summarily banned and its creators quickly persecuted.

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The origins of Entartung -

Ironically, the concept of degeneracy in art, or Entartung, was coined by a Jewish social critic by the name of Max Nordau. Nordau, a co-founder of the Zionist movement, theorized that modern advents like Impressionist art and Symbolist literature could be analyzed to prove the social deviancy and innate degeneracy of the artists. Regardless of Nordau's status as a prominent Orthodox Jew, the Nazis happily adopted his theology and tweaked it for their own supremacist goals.

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An insult to German feeling -

Anything labeled degenerate art was dismissed as such for being subversive to not only the Nazi regime but to the Aryan spirit in general, and was seen as an "insult to German feeling." It was imperative for the Nazis to eradicate anything in art and culture that was seen as a distraction or an obstacle in the path towards an Aryan, white-supremacist future.

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The danger of modernism -

Since the modernism of the art world wasn't conducive with the vision of the Nazi party, Modernist art became one of the primary cultural enemies of Hitler. Even before Hitler's rise to power, a new generation of abstract, Expressionist, and avant-garde artists were spearheading a great cultural shift in Germany and Europe at large.

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The danger of modernism -

The new revolutionary movements of the art world were seen as catalysts of disobedience in society at large. Modern art was more political, more personal, and more uncontrollable than ever before. Hitler saw this new rebellion in art as a dangerous slope into rebellion in society.

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Cultural Bolshevism -

The term "cultural Bolshevism" rose to prominence shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. Led by Vladimir Lenin and other prominent communists such as Leon Trotsky (pictured, second from right), the Bolshevik Revolution was seen as a major threat to traditionalists and totalitarians around the world. In an effort to kill two birds with one stone, the Nazis coined the term "cultural Bolshevism" in order to directly link political dissent with artistic disobedience.

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What art was allowed? -

Of course, it was not Hitler's goal to eradicate all art. His regime recognized the power art had to control the thoughts of the masses, and enthusiastically promoted genres and artists that they considered beneficial for their project. Classical and romantic art that conformed to traditional artistic standards and depicted obedience and the "ideal" human form were the most celebrated in Nazi Germany.

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Hitler's failed career in art -

Many of Hitler's decisions regarding what art was proper and what art was degenerate were stemmed from his own personal tastes. It's well known that Hitler failed to get into art school as a young man, and the emphasis he put on art as the leader of the Third Reich can be traced back to his own painting styles that were denounced as too traditional and not in line with the modernist direction in which the art world of the early 20th century was moving.

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In Hitler's good graces -

Artists who emulated the old European masters, and especially those who drew inspiration from Greek and Roman art, were in especially high standing with Hitler. Artists like the sculptor Arno Breker (pictured) were funded by the Nazi regime in order to fight the ideals of degenerate art.

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The question of Expressionism -

Since Hitler wasn't available to pass judgment on every specific artist or movement in the Nazi empire, the fate of many styles was in the hands of other Nazi officials' subjective opinions. The fate of Expressionism in particular was hotly debated amongst Hitler's cultural officials. Some, such as Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Reich Minister of Propaganda, believed that certain German Expressionist painters properly synthesized the "Nordic spirit" that Hitler wished to express. Others, however, deemed their abstract styles too subversive to be allowed to remain. In the end, many Expressionist paintings were seized and many artists exiled.

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The Nazi culture chambers -

As the Third Reich expanded, the Reich Chamber of Culture grew as well. Sub-chambers were established to deal with every facet of culture, from the visual arts and music to literature and theater. These sub-chambers worked tirelessly to scrub degenerate art from every corner of society.

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Wilhelm Frick and the beginning of the purge -

Wilhelm Frick, a prominent Nazi official and long-time follower of Hitler, cleared the Schlossmuseum in Weimar of over 70 pieces of modern art in 1930. This first and relatively small purge of degenerate art marked the beginning of a much larger campaign of cultural eradication that would last for the remainder of the Nazi regime.

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The infamous book burnings -

Most famous of these massive, widespread demonstrations and purges were the book burnings. Beginning in 1933, the Nazi German Student Union organized numerous events to destroy the works of authors, poets, scientists, and philosophers whose creations were considered degenerate.

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Banned authors -

The works of countless political theorists were banned, as were numerous prominent authors such as Ernest Hemingway and Albert Einstein. Some authors, such as renowned playwright Bertolt Brecht (pictured), fled Germany shortly after the book burnings began.

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Degenerate music -

Music was also a primary target of Hitler's culture purges. The modern sounds of jazz that seemed to go hand in hand with the modern art movement received the most scrutiny.

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The evils of jazz -

Not only was jazz the preferred genre of many of the early 20th century's greatest and most rebellious artists and intellectuals, but the African-American pioneers and champions of the genre automatically made jazz a forbidden evil in the eyes of the Nazis.

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The scourge of solos -

Instrument solos in particularly rubbed Hitler the wrong way. The leader of the Third Reich abhorred musical improvisation and denounced the practice as "excessive."

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Music in the Third Reich -

In line with the rest of Hitler's cultural policies, the scope of acceptable music was limited to German composers of classical, tonal music such as marches. Jewish artists who fit within this framework were of course excluded, despite some Jewish composers being considered the very best of the 20th century.

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The Degenerate Art Exhibition -

In order to spread Hitler's ideas of degenerate art across the Third Reich, the Degenerate Art Exhibition was organized by Adolf Ziegler, a prominent German painter who oversaw much of the cultural purge operations. The exhibition debuted in Munich on July 19, 1937.

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The Degenerate Art Exhibition -

The exhibition boasted no less than 650 pieces from artists all across the Nazi empire, all of which was considered degenerate art. The artworks were seized from Jewish art collectors, museums, family homes, and sometimes from the studios of the artists themselves.

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The stars of degenerate art -

Works by individuals who are today renowned as the most successful and skilled artists of Modernism were on prominent display during the Die Ausstellung "Entartete Kunst. Artists as prominent and widely respected as Pablo Picasso (pictured) were displayed and criticized by the organizers and visitors.

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The stars of degenerate art -

The artists whose works were displayed in the Degenerate Art Exhibition, described by Hitler as "incompetents, cheats, and madmen," were all either in hiding or living outside of Germany at the time of the exhibition. Their pieces were viewed by more than two million visitors between July and November 1937.

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Artists in exile -

Some artists fled Germany as soon as Hitler rose to power and branded them as enemies of the state, while others tried to wait out the regime in hiding. The official designation as a "degenerate artist" made it difficult to obtain foreign passports in places like Switzerland, so many fleeing artists relied on the help of others to escape the shadow of the Nazi empire.

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The second art seizure -

In the wake of the success of the Degenerate Art Exhibition, Joseph Goebbels led a second great purge of German museums and private collections. This time around, the Nazis confiscated a mindboggling 16,558 pieces of art.

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Masterpieces on fire -

With the existential dangers of modern art sufficiently communicated to the masses, the Nazis began to destroy the art they had confiscated. Over 4,000 lesser works were burned in 1945, while the more valuable pieces were preserved and handed over to Nazi-affiliated art dealers.

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The value of degeneracy -

These art dealers worked to fund the Nazi regime through the selling of these so-called worthless pieces of degenerate art to outside buyers. This was one of many strategies used by the Nazis to feed their war machine.

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Recovering the Nazi plunder -

After the war, sweeping operations were conducted by the Allied powers in order to find and recover the vast treasures stolen and hidden by the Nazis. Most famously, the 400 or so personnel of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, colloquially known as the "Monuments Men," were able to recover an incredible five million pieces of missing art by 1951. To this day long-lost artworks continue to resurface.

Sources: (Holocaust Encyclopedia) (Britannica) (BBC)

See also: Attacks on famous works of art

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