Clio Wired (History 696)

Visualizing the Third Reich through Art.

The new order Adolf Hitler envisioned for Germany included one Reich, one leader, and one art. Modern art was individualistic and defiant; therefore, it had no place in Hitler's new world that required social and cultural conformity. In 1937, two museum exhibitions of art opened in Munich. At the Degenerate Art Exhibit, the old Archaeological Institute was filled with confiscated works of modern art despised by the National Socialists. The work of famous German artists was mocked by wall text and jeering staff members. At the same time, across the street in a new, classical Greek style museum, the ideal art of the Nazis was put on public view after a celebratory procession through Munich. These two exhibits provide an incredible contrast in art style and museum presentation that visually define their historical moment.

The Degenerate Art Exhibit is well documented and it is an important starting point for examining the question of who owns art because many works from the exhibit were confiscated and later destroyed or sold to support Hitler's war effort. In comparison, there is very little written about the Great German Art Exhibitions. This is not surprising because even Hitler was not always happy with the end result found in the museum.

In order to narrow the scope of my project, I planned to use the Degenerate Art Exhibit to examine the question of cultural heritage and ownership. However, I was still unsure of how to create an accessible digital project on that enormous topic. I then realized that a project on Hitler's approved art would provide a unique contribution to scholarship, mainly because there is very little about it on the Internet or in text format. I looked at the Imaging the French Revolution site again as an example of both a history and art history project. Similar to that project, I will provide both images and narrative in order to compare the two different types of art in Germany in 1937, modern art versus Nazi art. By using the comparison format, a project on German art in 1937 could be used as both a teaching resource and an analytical tool that works better as a digital project than it would in a more traditional format.

This project could be used as a small exhibit but its main purpose is as a teaching resource. It will provide historical background, in narrative form, about modern art in Germany during the Weimar period, the rise of Hitler and National Socialism, and Hitler's new goals for Germany. There would be links to other sources as needed. The purpose of the the site is to provide the opportunity to use analytical skills to examine the different types of art from each of the exhibitions in 1937. Therefore, the site would provide a series of individual pages with each page containing two images side by side: one modern work from the Degenerate Art Exhibit and one image from the Great German Art Exhibitions.The provenance of each work will be provided and then links will lead to discussions about each work, its artist, historical context, etc. Students will be provided with the necessary background information to understand its historical context.

Equally important, art history students will learn how to compare and contrast the formal elements of the work of art.The analysis of these different styles of art allows art history students to learn more about methodology. One of the methods used in art history is formal analysis and many students have difficulty in understanding the concept. Therefore, this site would also provide an opportunity for students to gain better analytical skills.

For an example of two images that would be shown together:

Kirchner:
http://www.moma.org/collection/printable_view.php?object_id=78426

Heymann:
http://wwww.dhm.de/lemo/objekte/pict/98005212

Both of these works are similar because they are oil paintings of women. However, Kirchner's scene takes place in a busy urban setting with angular, elongated, modern women painted in garish colors; he clearly depicts the tension of urban life in Weimar Germany. In contrast, Heymann portrays the idealized German countryside so vital for feeding the nation and where women are represented as mothers caring for their children; he clearly depicts how Hitler in turn cares for his children.

Since I am well aware of my IT limitations, I will not attempt to use innovative technology like the Imaging Tool, though I would argue that is not necessary for this particular project. Instead, I will rely on providing 5-8 sets of images with scholarly narrative and well planned links to other sites as needed. I intend to provide a careful comparison of the two types of art that were on display in these different exhibitions and to open a small window into what people actually saw when they went to these museums in 1937. In doing so, I hope to add to the history of art during the Third Reich as well as train art history students in formal methodology. At the same time, I would like to think that this is an innovative way to use the Internet for future teaching of history and art history in general.