Exhibitions of degenerate art and music. Degenerate art is

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Nazi term for avant-garde art is "degenerate art". Adolf Hitler considered such art Bolshevik, Jewish, anti-social, and therefore very dangerous for the Aryans.

Fight against degenerates

The cultural policy of the Hitler regime forbade and destroyed all the works of modernists, and the artists themselves were persecuted and repressed. The Minister of Propaganda and Education of Germany, Joseph Goebbels, took an active part in the fight against degenerate art.

The 1937 exhibition of degenerate art in Berlin was supposed to show how disgusting and out of place such works were in developing Germany. Now you can call these works avant-garde, but at that time the Nazis considered themselves avant-garde, that is, going ahead.

Degenerate art. Paintings banned

The degenerate art presented in the paintings showed human images distorted, ridiculous, or even completely absent. This served as the main criterion in the selection of objectionable exhibits. ATthe authors were reproached for the depreciation of human stature and beauty, unwillingness to inspire with their works, call for feats, raise the spirit of the people.

The perfect man in art and life

The Nazi concept of the perfect human being is similar to many philosophers who describe strong, he althy, and beautiful people. Even in ancient Hellas they sang the beauty of the human body, both physical and spiritual perfection.

The beautiful human body as the pinnacle of art was explored by Lessing and Hoggart, Leonardo and Dürer. Their works even described the ideal proportions of the human body, which again brings us back to the harmony of antiquity, which was promoted by the Nazis. For the sake of this harmony, the purity of the race, degenerate art was subjected to such severe criticism. It was implied that the paintings subjected to condemnation belittle a person, show the degradation of the personality, it was precisely this that was condemned, and not all avant-garde art and innovation.

At one time, Klee suggested moving away from civilization back to the true roots of humanity, predicted the collapse of Western culture. Indeed, many artists at that time were passionate about ethnic creativity, a passion for shamanism and the primitiveness of wild tribes. Strange as it may seem, the ubiquitous calls for primitiveness by artists smoothed over the accusations of creating degenerate art.

Destroying Evil

Before Hitler, many condemnedart that degrades human dignity, an ideal image, but there has never been such persecution and extermination before. Be that as it may, degenerate art survived, we still consider it with interest, though not always with understanding, at exhibitions. The works condemned by the Nazis were recognized as masterpieces of art. By the way, no one destroyed objectionable works, most of the collection of degenerate art seized by the Nazis was sold in America, and some burned down in a fire.

Heroes of different times

Any era in the development of culture leaves behind a clear image of a person, this is the merit of not only artists, but also writers, philosophers, politicians, ideologists. Time changes, and the image of the ideal person changes with it.

Italy of the Renaissance left the image of a condottiere, a saint, a merchant. Germany represents the image of a preacher, a city dweller. England - in the form of a true gentleman. Spain - in a monastic image or in the image of a noble hidalgo. Russia with the image of a builder, an intellectual, a soldier. Different countries, different eras have their own images, beautiful and lively, memorable for their naturalness.

The Nazis, who tried to build everyone in a line, needed order in everything, including art. Economic advantages coincided with political views, this required confidence, and degenerate art did not give that ground. Not many people liked such art, as a result, the bulk of society was carried away by pseudo-classical art in a understandable way.expressed form. Thus, degenerate art is everything that did not fit into the framework of the usual perception of the Nazis.

Degenerate art and music exhibitions

An exhibition held in Munich to show the ugliness of such art caused a huge stir, with more than three million people visiting it during the year. At the same time, for greater contrast, an exhibition "The Greatest German Art" was held in the Palace of Arts. The exhibition featured more than 900 exhibits, personally selected by Adolf Hitler. The canvases depicted marching soldiers with German flags, scenes of rural and urban life, naked women with a characteristic Nordic appearance, and much that, in the concept of the Nazis, could interest a respectable German citizen. For several years of such persecution, Hitler managed to arouse an unprecedented interest in the art of the avant-garde.

In addition to the paintings of painters, sculpture, music, and cinema were attributed to degenerate art. Everything that the Nazis thought was flawed, unworthy, low, was classified as degenerate art.

In 1938, the Nazis opened an exhibition of degenerate music in Düsseldorf! Her task was to incite hatred for unnecessary musical styles and their authors. There were presented cartoons, posters, posters that denounced objectionable music and its creators. Even special booths were equipped, where you could personally verify that this music is degenerate by listening toher. The works of Stravinsky and Hindemith, Mendelssohn and Offenbach were classified as defective works. The Threepenny Opera was banned because the author of the music was Jewish. Jazz music was also considered defective, as it belonged to African Americans, and this is a race objectionable to the Nazi regime.

Flexibility of set standards

The exhibition was timed to coincide with the "Imperial Musical Congress", held in Düsseldorf, in order to again play in contrast, as in the case of painting. The Nazis were concerned about the detrimental effect of United States music on German citizens. But still, when choosing candidates for degenerates, the Third Reich acted with an eye on foreign policy. A vivid example of this was the Hungarian anti-fascist composer Bartok. Despite all his statements about the Nazi regime, he was not only not banned, but his works continued to be performed throughout the country, since the Hungarians at that time were allies of Germany.

Unlike the Degenerate Art Exhibition, the Degenerate Music Exhibition did not have any success, and after three weeks it closed altogether. And the works of the great "degenerates" remain masterpieces today.