Unit Four: Cold War Premises: Rebuilding Two Germanys
Guiding Questions
- How did debates in the 1930s over Expressionism foreground cultural policy in a divided Germany?
- What task did German artists in exile face with regard to saving art and culture from Hitler’s destructive vision? How did that anxiety surface in artworks, films, and intellectual thought produced by Germans in exile?
- What continuities exist between artist or architecture collectives that aimed at instrumentalizing culture to build a better society and the post-war cultural policy of the communist East Germany?
- How does the turn to abstraction in West Germany compare with the spiritual and/or apolitical paths of art and architecture movements from Germany in the early 20th century?
- How might the horrible outcomes of the Nazi’s use of art and culture have influenced the apolitical turn toward abstraction in West Germany, as well as the adoption of socialist realism in East Germany?
Extra Credit Assignment Information
Four points possible; Due in digital form by Friday, August 26 at 7PM.
Unit Schedule
Aside from the section in Long, all readings, including optional texts, are available for download on each session page.
- Thursday, August 25