Visual Art In Nazi Germany

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To what extent did Nazi policy regarding the visual arts influence the German public’s perception of this in the period 1937-45
To what extent did Nazi Policy regarding the visual arts inflict change in approach to modern art of the period 1937-45
INTRODUCTION
The Nazi campaign against art was decades in the making building up to World War II. Beginning their ‘Enartete Kunst’ (degenerate art) in 1937 exhibit in Munich the violent attack on modern art in Nazi Germany began; day to day visuals, museum exhibit pieces and world famous works began to be suppressed and disappear. As the National socialist party began to gain popularity and power the necessity to repress culture began. The promotion of ‘aryan’ culture and the oppression of art forms
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German expressionism began before the First World War and reached a peak in berlin during the 1920s. the expressionist movement was initially confined to german borders due to the isolation of Germany after World War 1. Hitler and Goebbels lived in fear of the movement, as many other dictators would have and they quickly took a large step back in the rapidly growing movement. The sole purpose of expressionism is to present the world from a individual perspective in order to provoke emotion or to consider the way in which you perceive the scene before …show more content…
Modern art and literature were considered to be products of character deficits (blinding and deception). He believed that the public viewing the art could make them psychologically unwell, therefore it quickly became even more necessary to separate a ‘normal’ society from art and art criticism, he believed that ‘degenerates’ would eventually perish overtime as they were unable to adapt to survive,
In 1880 philopsopher Eugen Duhring raised ‘degeneration’ as a jewish stigma as they had been separated from ‘the body of the people’ it began concepts of art being ‘specific to a race’
Hitler considered himself to be very knowledgeable with the visual arts and very quickly decided on there being only two forms of art, un-german ‘degenerate art and classical realistic art that represented the great nazi Germany that he wanted every one to see. By beginning the movement against modern art before the war it allowed for easily manipulation for propaganda, less likely upheavals during the war as it would begin to go unnoticed by many beginning on a small scale that gradually expanding Hitler clearly stated in ‘Mein Kampf’ his opinion to modern art movements at the time such as dada and