The Program as Advertisement: Art and Propaganda in Concert and Theater Programs, Exhibition Catalogues, and Brochures in Germany 1913-1961

Conclusion

By observing programs of musical and theatrical performances as well as brochures and catalogues of art exhibitions from before, during, and after the Nazi Era, this online exhibit explored the ability of such documents to serve as carries of ideology. This project concentrated on programs and catalogues from the Nazi Era, compared them to similar materials from the periods before and after the Nazi Era, and inquired about the different modes of presentation of works and the additional information provided about the works in those programs etc. The aim of the project was to show how such programs, brochures, and catalogues were able to convey particular ideologies even when ideological or propaganda-based commentary on the works was not explicitly stated in these documents, and how works that were created in a certain historical settings can be re-appropriated and put in an altogether different context by a regime that wishes to employ them in the service of its own agenda.


This project was made possible thanks to the support of the CHA - Jewish Studies Post-Holocaust American Judaism Summer Fellowship. The author would also like to thank the Post-Holocaust American Judaism Collections at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries and particularly to Jane Thaler for her patience, support, and insightful and knowledgeable comments. 

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