Was there a Nazi Aesthetic?

Tutorial Essay
By Stephen Butler
 From the Swastika draped concert halls, to the country paintings depicting tall, square-
jawed, blonde men sowing the fields, there is a distinctive image evoked by what is known by
many today as the Nazi aesthetic. The question that must be asked is: does this aesthetic stand
up to the scrutiny of more current evidence and research? Throughout the course of this essay,
we will discuss if there was a Nazi aesthetic, or if it was simply a successful re-branding
campaign, which makes the idea of a Nazi aesthetic questionable at best.

The Nazi aesthetic highlighted the True German as a hero of the Volk. A true Aryan
hero who brought to the forefront of public consciousness the ideals of the traditional
conservative Germany. Ideals that showed a sense of national strength and tradition. One cannot
look at an illustration or film about Nazi Germany, even today, without seeing a multitude
Swastika patched soldiers marching, or standing at attention in formation, while Adolf Hitler
speaks from the Chancellery. However, the Nazi aesthetic was much more encompassing than
photos or film. It included music, art, opera, literature, and poetry. The Nazi used the arts to
further their agenda by re-branding traditional German art into a platform for Nazi propaganda,
and by removing any art or artist that did not conform to the Nazi agenda of who and what a
German was to be1.

The introduction of bans on non-German or non-traditional art was enacted when the
Nazi regime came into power. The illegal seizures of art, deemed unworthy of the Volk, had
commenced. The confiscated modern art was placed in an exhibit called the Chamber of
Horrors to educate the public on degenerate art in Munich 19372. Many artists fled the country,
or were deported3.

Even though the attack appeared to be on the modern arts, censorship seemed to be more
concerned about the artist than the art, including the artists participation within the regime.
Quite often race, genealogy and character were more important than what was created. A prime
example of this was the German Jazz. Jazz was generally accepted as a creation of Blacks,
Jews, and Gypsies4. However, the German soldiers liked it so much, that it was simply too
problematic to be eradicated entirely. Thus, German Jazz was created using more orchestral

1
P. Potter, The arts in Nazi Germany: a silent debate, Contemporary European History, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 585-599.
2
N. Levi, Judge for Yourselves!"-The" Degenerate Art" Exhibition as Political Spectacle", October 85, 1998, pp.41-64.
3
P. Potter, Nazi Arts
4
M. Kater, "Forbidden Fruit? Jazz in the Third Reich." The American Historical Review, vol. 94, no. 1 pp. 11-43.
instruments and played by white Aryans, to remove the influence of the racially unacceptable
while appeasing the troops.

Over the years, many have wondered at the reason for so many artists of the time
conformed. Through more recent research, it has come to light that most of the artists that were
considered True Germans did not necessarily agree with the Nazi ideology. According to
Marchand, artists and scientists were not, as a whole, more likely to oppose the Nazi regime
than bricklayers or businessmen5. In the face of the Nazi regime, there were few who were
willing to act out against the administration, due to fear for themselves and their families.

The Nazi propaganda campaign was successful in taking an existing German aesthetic
and turning it into a Nazi aesthetic. By re-branding what was seen as traditional German arts
over to Nazi arts the regime was given a platform to spread their propaganda. Through the
banning of degenerate art they removed their competitors as a business merger would do
today. Therefore, giving the Nazi regime a monopoly on influencing the Nazi ideology upon the
German populous through all aspect of culture and the arts, and thus ingraining a vivid
perception of quintessential Nazi culture. By using all elements of the arts and entertainment,
and blocking out all negative influence, they were able to infiltrate every facet of their citizens
lives6.

The driving force behind the degenerative arts ban was the German Arts Society or
GAS. The GAS had even more extremist views than the Nazis. Their anti-foreigner, anti-
Semitic, and anti-modern agenda was very clear. With the assistance of the Minister of
Propaganda and Public Enlightenment and the Reich Chamber of Culture, the GAS was able
to give the impression of a total Nazi cultural takeover, enacting legislation that outlawed art not
approved by them. They started with artist restructuring or Gleichshaltung in 1933 where they
purged modern art, cutting away anything that they didnt deem True German art7. Undesirable
pieces were removed from museums, and displayed in a special hall called the Chamber of
Horrors, to help educate the populous of the past injuries to the German arts. There, they even
displayed the amount of taxpayers dollars that were spent on these pieces of art, in an effort to

5
S. Marchand, Nazi Culture: Banality or Barbarism?. The Journal of Modern History, vol. 70, no 1, pp. 108-118.

6
P. Potter, Nazi Arts
7
S. Marchand, Banality or Barbarism
breed outrage among Aryan German citizens8. However, the damned artists of the purge thrived
in underground establishments, as well as overseas. More people attended the Chamber of
Horrors than had ever attended the German museums9.

Was there a Nazi aesthetic? Throughout the course of this paper, we have examined how
there was not a definable Nazi aesthetic, how the Nazis simply aggressively re-branded
traditional German art to their advantage, to instill there ideological propaganda into every
aspect of German life. There was nothing unique about Nazi art. Much of todays ideology of
the Nazi aesthetic came about from the de-Nazification process10. Herein lies the danger for
historians, given that there is so much false information. Today, we see the Nazi aesthetic
everywhere thanks to Hollywood and fiction writers with works such as Star Wars,
Schindlers List, and Indiana Jones franchises. We make parodies and memes comparing
politicians and soup salesmen to Adolf Hitler. However, it is more likely that what we see is a
preconceived notion of what an Nazi aesthetic is, and we have likely created it.

8
P. Potter, Nazi Arts
9
From Lecture Nazi Germany 29 August, 2017
10
P. Pamela, "What Is Nazi Music?." The Musical Quarterly vol. 88, no. 3, 2005, pp. 428-455.
Bibliography

Kater, Michael H. "Forbidden Fruit? Jazz in the Third Reich." The American Historical
Review 94, no. 1 (1989): 11-43.

Levi, Neil. "" Judge for Yourselves!"-The" Degenerate Art" Exhibition as Political
Spectacle." October 85 (1998): 41-64.

Marchand, S., 1998. Nazi Culture: Banality or Barbarism?. The Journal of Modern
History, 70(1), pp.108-118.

Monod, David. Settling Scores: German Music, Denazification, & the Americans, 1945-1953.
University of North Carolina Press, 2005.

Potter, Pamela M. "The arts in Nazi Germany: A silent debate." (2006): 585-599.

Potter, Pamela M. "What Is Nazi Music?." The Musical Quarterly 88, no. 3 (2005): 428-455.