This comment was written by HAVC 135B on 25 Aug 2016.
Sage Ellis
The outcomes of Nazi use of art influenced the turn towards abstraction in West Germany because the artists were now free to express themselves without regulation and could move away from the realism that was encourage (almost forced) upon artists during the war. Socialist realism thrived in East Germany because it was viewed as the art of the people, art that was helping rebuild the image of Germany and its citizens. Nazi art created a identity for Germany that artists wanted to move away from, this lead to the adoption of new styles, and the reappropriation of old styles, to form a new identity.