The Effects of the Nazi Political Movement on German Visual Arts

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The Effects of the Nazi Political Movement on German Visual Arts

We shall discover and encourage the artists who are able to impress upon the State of the German people the cultural stamp of the Germanic race… in their origin and in the picture which they present they are the expressions of the soul and the ideals of the community. –Hitler, Party Day speech, 1935.

Abstract:

In European history, one often hears of the tragedies and violations against humanity caused by the Nazi Party both before and during the Second World War. The Nazi political movement was without a doubt, one of the most dramatic developments of the 20th century. Any exposure of ideas that were not promoted by the Party was denied. Visual arts naturally fell under this category of self-expression, as one of the most powerful types of artistic expression in society.

In this essay, questions will be raised as to what effect this drastic political movement had on the German art at the time. Essentially, art was one of the most successful ways of increasing support for Hitler. Artistic expression simply became part of the Nationalist social political tactics. The art of the Third Reich helped to shape the German people’s attitudes by having both discrete and indiscrete political messages, with stereotyped, idealized images. The Nazi regime influenced works of art, destroying some of the best work and using the qualities that art stands for to develop a form of ‘brainwashing’ art that we call propaganda.

“Art had to be simplified in order to communicate at the level of the lowest common denominator” –George Orwell, 1984

INTRODUCTION:

The immense effect that Nazism had on German visual art will be examined in this essay. Prime examples of Nazi-approved art will be displayed, and the downfall of one of the most revolutionary schools will be discussed. Instead of giving historical insight explaining why the visual art in Germany was influenced and completely changed, some of the direct visual results of this drastic movement of art will be revealed. In this essay, I wish to discuss the movement of art in Germany, at its most controlled state ever, the Nazi era.

One main question will be raised, which is to what extent did Nazism affect visual art in Germany in terms of paintings? Evidence of the Nazi Party’s racial views and the main values of family and hard work will be shown, conveying the ideology’s flaws of unrealistic aims. Another interesting question is where German art would be today if the modern art development had not been delayed for many decades?

One could almost say that the Nazi controlled Germany of the 1930s and early 40s produced nothing of true artistic value. Neither colour, form, shape, texture, nor style was allowed to represent an artist’s genuine state of mind or viewpoints if they did not go hand in hand with the national socialist party’s codes of conduct. All elements of visual art were simply manipulated to support the Hitler’s philosophies, the founder of Nazism. Therefore, the only tolerated art during this time of power seizure was heroic, propagandistic art. The result of this political ideology was thus the creation of a contrast of good and evil, a clear distinction between the enemy and what was accepted by the new regime. In the ‘new’ art of Germany, Aryan strength was shown as superior, above all other excluded minorities. A common theme of promoting the Aryan race can be seen in every painting approved by the Nazis.

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This painting, by Adolph Wissel, a Nazi, can be labelled and categorized as a Nazi folk art piece. There are many ideas connected to the main theme of the strength of the Aryan race. For example, living the natural and healthy countryside life, in peace, from generation to generation.

The painting purposely includes all age groups, representing an entire family. A second concept in the painting is the idea of human power used to work the land. From the background, one can assume that the setting is somewhere rural with agriculture as the main source of income for ...

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