HAVC 135B : German Art 1905-1945

Unit Three: Total Control: Art and Culture in Nazi Germany

In this unit, we will examine the different paths that normative (i.e. official) culture and experimental culture took in Germany in the Third Reich.

Guiding Questions
Comments on Guiding Questions are due by Saturday before Unit Three Assignment is due at 5PM. Make your comments at the bottom of THIS page. (Click here for more instructions.)

Assignment Information
25% of final grade; due on the first day of Unit Four at the beginning of class

Unit Schedule

This page has paths:

Contents of this path:

Contents of this tag:

This page has replies:

  1. Although it is very much possible to divorce form from content, I feel this task becomes difficult when it involves Nazi-era cultural artifacts. This becomes difficult for us because of the effects the Nazis and Hitler had on the rest of the world during World War II. For example, when viewing the documentary “Triumph of the Will”, judgment begins to be made about the film because it displays Hitler and all his followers during one of his rallys. We become shocked on how much the German people trusted Hitler and listened to his words. This is shocking to us because we know the outcome of Hitler’s agenda. The key to interpreting Nazi era cultural artifacts solely on aesthetics is to remove our perspective from the artifact and put ourselves in the shoes of the people at the time. Once we manage to do this, we begin to view the documentary for how it was visually created, such as its use of angles and camera perspective, rather than its content. -Marisol
  2. I feel that form and and content is a cohesive whole; in other words, content could be reflected from the form. The film "Triumph of the Will" is just a case in point. By depicting the dominating role and leadership of Hitler, the historical culture can be presented in a obvious way. Also, a Nazi-era cultural artifact cannot be interpreted purely for its aesthetics because it authentically covers a lot of aspects with the filmic technique-camera angles, including the historical affairs, Germany's unification and solidarity.

    Janice
  3. Modern art was deemed to be unworthy “degenerate art” by the Führer. When the Degenerate Art exhibit first opened to the public, certain artworks belonging to families or owners were confiscated by the Nazis. Works from Kadinsky, Dada, Frank Grosz, and Jewish pieces were displayed in the exhibit to further show case the ‘ugliness’ of modern art, expressionism, and impressionism. In Stephanie Barron’s Degenerate Art, the author mentions that the Nazis thoroughly disliked modern art because they felt that “modernists plan[ned] to reform the world and the images of mankind that were visualized by the modernist movement were irritating and disturbing to their radicality and ambiguity” (Barron,89). The Nazis would criticize the absurd price that the people would pay for the ‘ugly’ art and rule out sickness, diversity, and homosexuality to romanticize an Aryan utopia. By allowing the exhibit to travel across Germany, the Nazis pushed their ideas and images of this idealistic future for Germany.
    -Uyen Le
  4. Art and visual culture by the third Reich achieved Gesamtkunstwerk in Germany by allowing only nationalistic art, or art that employs the help of national pride and the service of people to the Fatherland. Nazi-era cultural policies instrumentalized art the same way Gesamtkunstwerk was used; visual art was used as a tool to further the cause of nazi era politics, ideas of national pride, serving one’s country militarily, agriculturally, politically, socially, and any other services that suggest allegiance was made through art and normalized so that the people of Germany know it is one’s duty to help their country. Nazi critiques of modern art made a distinction about good art and ‘degenerate’ art from their belief that they were a distinct, favorable race than all other nations of all the World. Nazi Germany also believed to be descendants from the Holy Roman Empire, ideas that perpetuated their idea of a perfected race and applying them in the real world. A ‘spirit’ or cultural renewal was found in Germany through this type of art, because it was a time of unity for Germany; they seemed more unified and proud as a country. There are many ways to just look at an object, especially a Nazi-era object, and see plainly the aesthetics the creator tried to imply, but the history of the object gives it meaning, knowing what the meaning is, is really important if one wants to know the aesthetic. -Javier Juarez
  5. As far as I am concerned, Romanticism and Expressionism can reflect the ideas of “spirit” or cultural renewal under the rejection of traditional rulers. Take the painting called “Leda and the Swan” created by Paul Mathias Padua in1939 as an example. In the picture, a beautiful naked woman seems so close to a white swan. The first impression give by the painting is the sexuality. But after knowing the background of the painting, we can know that under the shadow of romantic scene, these two main themes demonstrate the sense of expectation and disclose the role of woman as mother instead of prostitute. The swan is the embodiment of elegance, which reflects the beauty of the woman; and the woman was a symbol of nature with a spirit of devotion. The combination of the beautiful naked woman and the white swan creates a form of aesthetic beauty under the romantic circumstance. Therefore, through all the superficial surface, like the romanticism, a spirit of willing to be sacrificed for the nation was widely stressed. I think under the guide of the valuable spirit, not only the spirit but also the culture of the nation will be thrived for a better day.

    Eunice