2020 IB Extended Essays

3

Introduction During Hitler’s rule over Germany between 1933 and 1945, 650,000 works of fine art in Europe were stolen by Nazi soldiers (Shoumatoff, 2014). These pieces of art all defied the Nazi beliefs and were either put on display in exhibitions to be mocked or destroyed. Despite these hundreds and thousands of pieces each being different, there are three overarching similarities that are prevalent. Artworks created in the renaissance and expressionism periods and the depiction of war were all confiscated from galleries and the public as they all went against Nazism and Hitler’s ideology. Types of Art Allowed during Nazi Germany Hitler defined true art by its relation to country life, health and representation of the Aryan race. He stated in his Party Day speech from 1935 that “we shall discover and encourage the artists who are able to impress upon the State of the German people the cultural stamp of the Germanic race… in their origin and in the picture which they present they are the expressions of the soul and the ideals of the community” (Florida Center for Instructional Technology, 2013). Hitler’s taste in art was similar to the likes of classical Greek and Roman art, he believed that they accurately embodied the Aryan race through their heroic and romantic idioms (Pruitt, 2019). Art was an important element used to strengthen the Third Reich and purifying the nation. The purpose of the art approved by the Third Reich was to shape the attitudes of the population by enforcing political messages in art expression (Bie, 2015). The Reich Chamber of Culture was created in hopes that all art exhibited reflected the themes of the Aryan race.