Culture was integral to the Nazis’ aim to infiltrate and control all areas of life. In 1933, the Reich Chamber of Culture was established under the leadership of Joseph Goebbels . The department was split into seven different sections aiming to cover all areas of cultural life: the press, art, theatre, radio, music, films and literature.

This topic will use three of these sections, art, literature and music, to evidence how Goebbels used culture to achieve control over the German public.

Art

The Nazis promoted traditional forms of German art and photography, such as landscapes. They despised any art in the modernist style , believing it to be ‘degenerate’ and communist.

In 1936, the Nazis carried out a review of all art in Germany’s museums and galleries. As a result of this review, 13,000 paintings that the Nazis considered ‘degenerate’ were confiscated and removed.

Some of these paintings were used in the Entartete Kunst or Degenerate Art Exhibition. This exhibition was organised by the Nazi Party to show how modern art was corroding traditional German ‘ Aryan ‘ culture.

The exhibition ran from the 19 July 1937 to the 30 November 1937.

The exhibition was created to contrast with the Great German Art exhibition, an exhibition put on by the Nazis to exemplify what good German art was. This exhibition was held nearby to the Degenerate Art exhibition in the House of German Art in Munich.

As a result of these oppressive actions, many artists fled Germany to try and escape persecution and find creative freedom.

Literature

As a primary source of education and enjoyment, literature was a key target for Nazi reform.

The Nazis initially blacklisted authors they did not like or approve of. Many of the authors targeted were Jewish, such as Max Brod, but the Nazis had a range of other opponents who were also targeted, from communists, such as Karl Marx, to socialists, to foreign influences.

This blacklisting led to a series of book burnings led by the National Socialist German Students Association, a group of university students who strongly supported the Nazis.

The majority of the book burnings took place on the 10 May 1933 after a call for suggestions of books to blacklist a month before. Students led parades and threw blacklisted books onto huge bonfires in towns throughout Germany. Over 25,000 books were burned in a single night.

Opponents of the Nazi regime were soon persecuted physically as well as having their works shunned, and many of them, such as the philosopher Ernst Bloch, attempted to flee to more liberal countries.

Music

The Reich Music Chamber was established in 1933. The chamber had two main aims.

The first was to promote ‘good’ German music, created by ‘Aryan’ composers in a traditional genre, such as the classical music of Wagner and Beethoven.

The second was to suppress any music that was considered ‘bad’ or ‘degenerate’, such as jazz, swing, or music composed by Jews. Music and composers that were not approved of were slowly repressed, and then banned entirely.

The chamber also functioned as a membership organisation, so anyone wanting to pursue a career in the industry had to be a member of the Reich Music Chamber. Membership was subject to a variety of conditions and was often refused on the basis of race or political views.

Summary

The case studies above emphasise the Nazis anti-intellectual approach to culture. They focused on promoting simple and traditional aspects of German culture whilst removing any new ideas, or opposition, to the Nazi ideal. The process was widespread and highly bureaucratic .

Whilst some aspects of banned or suppressed culture survived, none were able to thrive under the Third Reich.

Those who resisted the suppression of culture found themselves victims of the new Nazi terror.