Degenerate Art

Entartete Kunst or Degenerate Art Exhibition of 1937



“DEGENERATE ART: A POWERFUL STORY OF THE NAZIS' VILIFICATION OF THE AVANT-GARDE AND THEIR ATTACK ON MODERN CULTURE,”

Directed by David Grubin and narrated by David McCullough, this program examines the infamous Entartete Kunst (degenerate art) exhibition mounted by the Nazis in Munich in 1937

(with some commentary by Robert Hughes)

"The exhibit opened in Munich and then traveled to eleven other cities in Germany and Austria. In each installation, the works were poorly hung and surrounded by graffiti and hand written labels mocking the artists and their creations. Over three million visitors attended making it the first "blockbuster" exhibition. "

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In Munich, Julien Bryan documented the spirited Nazi assault on modern art when he visited the infamous and popular Entartete Kunst [Degenerate Art] exhibition. This exhibition featured over 650 paintings, sculptures, prints, and books which had been confiscated from German public museums, including the works of some important 20th century artists like Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Emil Nolde, Georg Grosz, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The pieces were chaotically hung with accompanying criticism and derisive text, in order to clarify to the German people what type of art was considered unacceptable. Afterwards, many works were sorted out for sale and sold at auction. Some were acquired by museums, and others by private collectors. Certain pieces were appropriated by Nazi officials and some were burned. Josef Goebbels ordered a more thorough scouring of German art collections after the exhibition, bringing the total number of modern works seized by the Nazis to over 16,000.

see original film here

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More informaton here
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/artdegen.htm