Nazi Art? The Arts in Germany from 1933 to 1945

Dr Marion Kant

The course will investigate the development of the avant-garde arts beyond the first third of the 20th century into the politics of the Nazi regime. We will focus on the relationship between art and politics in the “Age of extremes” (Eric Hobsbawm).

The course will explore the nature and application of the early 20th century modernisms under the modern political dictatorship of the Nazi regime. Was there any art produced during the Third Reich? Good art or bad art?

Several of the modern artists found favour with the German Nazi regimes. Why did they choose to collaborate with an inhuman and racist society? How could avant-garde movements justify the collaboration with such a regime? Though many artists deliberately cooperated with the new powers, others, together with their products, were classified as “degenerate”. How modern artists collaborated with Nazism reveals an important aspect of modernism; it also uncovers the mechanisms of a bizarre bureaucracy, which attempts to control culture. A racist regime with a pedantic bureaucracy created an environment in which artistic ambitions could expand beyond the wildest dreams.

The totalitarian Nazi regime offers an extreme example of the demands of politics and the reactions of artists. But besides their practices, political regimes also develop ideologies. These ideologies are part of greater social developments and also emerge through art. The interconnection, even interdependency, between the arts and the political system is going to stand in the foreground of seminar discussions. Above all, though, the history of Nazism and its arts confronts us with legacies we do not want or like – yet we cannot ignore them either.

Reading

Students should read the following books before arriving in Cambridge:

• Haffner, Sebastian. The Meaning of Hitler. London: Orion Books 1979
• Stern, Fritz R. The Politics of Cultural Despair: a Study in the Rise of German Ideology. Berkeley, 1974.
• Salomon, Ernst von, The Questionnaire [1951].
• Weiss, Peter, Exile: A novel [1968].

Assessment:

• 1 Final Exam: 45%
• 1 Final Essay: 45%
• Participation, progress and attendance: 10%

Lecture Hours: 12 x 1 hour 15 minutes (total 15 hours)

Seminar Hours: 8 x 1 hour 15 minutes (total 10 hours)