Culture in Nazi Germany (4)

Question 1

Nazi policy of gleichschaltung

Answer 1

• Means “coordination” - so German political, social, and cultural life were rearranged to serve Nazi goals.
• Nazis wanted tight control over culture and education. Censored unacceptable culture and created their own.
• Propaganda stressed that Germans were the Kultutrager (culture-bearers) of Europe, but they had been led astray by the over-intellectual, Jewish-led, corrupt culture of Weimar.

Question 2

Censoring unacceptable culture

Answer 2

• 10th May 1933, with the Nazi student organisation, the Nazis organised the mass burning of 25,000 ‘unsound books’, including foreign and Jewish authors. Towns also held book burnings throughout.
• Censored art, music and theatre, newspapers and radio - weeding out works that were by ‘unacceptable’ people (Jews), style (Expressionism), message (pacifism), or intellectual (philosophy).
• Almost anything that encouraged individualism or discouraged conformity was banned.

Question 3

Promoting acceptable culture

Reichskulturkammer - 22nd September 1933

Answer 3

• Established by Goebbels to control all of the creative arts, stopping culture being ‘elitist’ and bringing it to everyone.
• Nationalistic, approachable, realistic art was accepted.
• Despite encouraging modern production techniques in factories and spending money on large-scale building schemes, the Nazis idealised simple, rural life and the healthy farmer.
• Because of this, they approved art reflecting this while degenerate art focused on urban life and was often impressionistic if not abstract.

Question 4

Examples of promoting culture

‘Strength Through Joy Trips’

Answer 4

• An attempt to involve people - sent people to the theatre, the opera, art galleries and museums.
• Art galleries showed acceptable art but ‘educated’ people on the art they should despise. For example - 1937 there was a degenerate art exhibition in Munich with each picture having information boards explaining why it was ‘worthless’ and ‘corrupt’.
• Acceptable art was even shown in factories and workplaces to saturate people with Nazi propaganda and imagery.

Question 5

Examples of promoting culture

Sport

Answer 5

• Encouraged to produce a healthy nation.
• Artists, particularly sculptors, were encouraged to produce art that showed strong, healthy, physically perfect Aryans.
• Various large-scale sporting displays took place - hosting the 1936 Olympics was an opportunity to show off sporting abilities as they won the highest 89 medals (33 gold) compared to US (56) and Italy (22). But, they didn’t not use their best athletes, excluding Jewish ones.

Question 6

Examples of promoting culture

The Calander of festivals and holidays

Answer 6

• Rearranged around important dates in Nazi History, for example, Mother’s Day became an official holiday celebrated on Hitler’s mother’s birthday.
• There were parades that people were expected to watch and cheer, which usually ended with propagandist speeches.
• In larger cities, such as Berlin and Munich, some of these parades were increasing military in character after 1935 - with soldiers but also tanks and armour vehicles.

Question 7

Examples of promoting culture

Building projects in the cities

Answer 7

• Large-scale public buildings were hung with enormous flags endorning the Nazi swastika.
• Built the Reichsportsfeld and Olympic Village especially for the 1936 Olympics - the stadium could hold 100,000.
• The Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg - held yearly rallies in late August-September from 1933-38 and lasted a week, drawing even foreign journalists and many party leaders made long speeches.
• Useful in creating work but also the impression of the Third Reich as being powerful and established.