Nazi Germany - Culture

Question 1

What was Gleichschaltung?

Answer 1

The policy of coordination involved making sure that every aspect of life was controlled to meet the aims of Nazi policy. Meant that Nazis wanted tight control over culture.

Question 2

What did Nazis do to “unacceptable” culture?

Answer 2

Censored it and created one of their own.

Question 3

What did Nazi propaganda stress?

Answer 3

That Germans were Kulturträger (culture bearers) of Europe, and that they had been led astray by the over-intellectual, Jewish-led, corrupt culture of Weimar Germany.

Question 4

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What happened on 10th May 1933?

Answer 4

With the help of the Nazi student organisation, the Nazis organised the mass burning of about 250,000 books that were “unsound”, from textbooks to famous foreign authors such as Ernest Hemingway.

Question 5

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What were Jewish authors seen as?

Answer 5

“Unsound”

Question 6

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What did many towns do across various dates in 1933?

Answer 6

Held book burnings.

Question 7

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What things were censored during 1933-45?

Answer 7

• art
• music
• theatre
• magazines
• newspapers
• radio

weeding out works that were by “unacceptable” people (for example Jews), of an “unacceptable” style (such as Expressionism) with an “unacceptable message (for example account of pacifist tendencies/championing the rights of the disabled) or that were “intellectual” (such as works of philosophy)

Question 8

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What was considered “unsound”?

Answer 8

Almost anything that encouraged individualism or discouraged conformity.

Question 9

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Why did the Nazis say they were burning these books?

Answer 9

To return Germany to morality and family values.

Question 10

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What type of art and design was banned?

Answer 10

New functionalism and Bauhaus style were banned.

Question 11

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What supervised the Reich Chamber of Culture?

Answer 11

The propaganda ministry.

Question 12

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What did Goebbels set up on 22nd September 1933?

Answer 12

The Reichskulturkammer (RKK) - to control all of the creative arts, stopping culture being “elitist” and bringing it to everyone.

Question 13

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What was the Reichskulturkammer (RKK)?

Answer 13

All artists and those who dealt with art, such as publishers and art dealers, had to be registered with the Reich Chamber of Culture, which had separate departments for music, literature etc.

The Chamber could refuse to register “degenerate” art and it laid down strict guidelines for what could be produced.

Question 14

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What art was acceptable?

Answer 14

Nationalist, approachable, realistic art.

Question 15

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Despite the fact that the Nazis encourage modern production techniques in factories and spent money on large scale urban building schemes, what did they idealise?

Answer 15

The simple, rural life and the simple, healthy farmer and approved art often reflected in this idealist view.

Question 16

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What kind of art did Nazis see as “degenerate”?

Answer 16

Art focused on urban life and impressionistic if not completely abstract.

Question 17

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: How did the Nazis involve everyone in culture?

Answer 17

Through “Strength Through Joy” trips to the theatre, the opera and to art galleries and museums.

Question 18

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What did art exhibitions show?

Answer 18

“Acceptable” art and also “educated” people in the kind of art they should despise.

Question 19

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Why was acceptable art displayed in factories and other workplaces?

Answer 19

To saturate people with images that conveyed Nazi propaganda.

Question 20

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Why was sport encouraged?

Answer 20

To produce a healthy nation.

Question 21

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What were artists encouraged to produce?

Answer 21

Art that showed strong, healthy, physically perfect Aryans.

Question 22

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What did hosting the 1936 Olympics an opportunity for?

Answer 22

Showing off German sporting abilities.

Question 23

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: How many medals did Germany win the 1936 Olympics?

Answer 23

89.

33 of them were gold.

Question 24

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What was rearranged around important dates in Nazi history?

Answer 24

The calendar of festivals and holidays.

Question 25

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What became an official holiday?

Answer 25

Mother’s Day, celebrated in Hitler’s mother’s birthday

Question 26

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: What was good about Nazi’s having huge building projects in the cities?

Answer 26

Created the impression of the Third Reich as being powerful and established.

Question 27

What was Nazi culture used for?

Answer 27

To serve the purpose of moulding public opinion. Germany’s cultural life during the Third Reich was simply to be another means of achieving censorship and indoctrination.

Question 28

When was the Reich Chamber of Culture established?

Answer 28

1933

Question 29

What 6 themes was Nazi culture dominated by?

Answer 29

• anti-semitism
• militarism and the glorification of war
• nationalism and the supremacy of the Aryan race
• the cult of the Führer and the power of absolutism
• anti-modernism and the theme of “Blood and Soil”
• neo-paganism and a rejection of traditional Christian values

Question 30

𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰: Why did the world of music manage to survive reasonably well in the Nazi environment?

Answer 30

Partly because of its less obvious political overtones.

Question 31

𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰: What was proudly exploited by the Nazi regime?

Answer 31

Germany’s rich classical tradition from the works of Bach and Beethoven.

Question 32

𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰: Who were two Jewish composers and what happened to them?

Answer 32

Mahler and Mendelssohn - banned, as were most modern musical trends.

Question 33

𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰: What happened to the new “genres” of jazz and dance-band?

Answer 33

They were respectively labelled as “Negroid” and “decadent”

Question 34

𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: How many of Germany’s writers left their homeland during the years 1933-45 in reaction to the new cultural atmosphere?

Answer 34

Over 2,500

Question 35

𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Give examples of writers who departed in reaction to the new cultural atmosphere?

Answer 35

• Thomas Mann
• Bertolt Brecht
• Erich Maria Remarque

Question 36

𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Who took the place of writers who departed due to the new cultural atmosphere?

Answer 36

A lesser literary group, who either sympathised with the regime or accepted the limitations.

Question 37

Why did actors/musicians tend to content themselves with productions of the classics? (Schiller, Goethe, Shakespeare)

Answer 37

In the knowledge that such plays were politically acceptable and in the best traditions of German theatre.

Question 38

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: What happened to visual arts?

Answer 38

They were also effectively limited by the Nazi constraints.

Question 39

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: What was the Nazi view of modern schools of art?

Answer 39

They were held in total contempt.

Question 40

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: Weimar’s rich cultural awakening was…

Answer 40

rejected as degenerate and symbolic of the moral and political decline of Germany under a system of parliamentary democracy.

Question 41

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: What was severely censored?

Answer 41

• “New functionalism” artists, like George Grosz and Otto Dix, wanted to depict ordinary people in everyday life - and by their art they aimed to comment on the state of society
• Bauhaus style started by Walter Gropius. Influenced all aspects of design. Emphasised the close relationship between art and technology.

Question 42

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: What examples are there of the modern style of art being severely resented by Nazism?

Answer 42

In July 1937 two contrasting art exhibitions were launched entitled “Degenerate Art” and the “Great German Art”.

Question 43

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: Why was the “Degenerate Art” exhibition held?

Answer 43

Deliberately held up to be mocked and many of the pieces destroyed.

Question 44

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: Why was the “Great German Art” exhibition held?

Answer 44

To glorify all the major Nazi themes of 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘴𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘧𝘵 and celebrate classic styles and traditional nineteenth-century romanticism.

Question 45

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: Who were the most admired sculptors/architects?

Answer 45

• the sculptor Arno Breker
• the architect Albert Speer, who drew up many of the great plans for rebuilding the German cities and oversaw the 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium

Question 46

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: Who was Arno Breker?

Answer 46

Sculptor-in-chief to the Third Reich. Collaborated closely with Albert Speer in undertaking numerous government commissions.

Question 47

𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀: What did Arno Breker’s state celebrate?

Answer 47

Aryan physical perfection and the importance of comradeship.

Question 48

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Only in the field of the film can it be said that…

Answer 48

the Nazi regime made a genuine cultural contribution.

Question 49

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Who were many of the major film studios in thew hands of?

Answer 49

Nationalist sympathisers.

Question 50

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: What happened to Jewish film actors and directors?

Answer 50

They were removed - and then decided to leave Germany.

Question 51

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Give an example of a Jewish director that was removed.

Answer 51

Fritz Lang

Question 52

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Which actress is the most famous example of leaving Germany due to being banned?

Answer 52

Marlene Dietrich - a German émigré who swiftly established a new career in Hollywood.

Question 53

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: What did Goebbels recognise within the film industry?

Answer 53

Recognised the importance of expanding the film industry, not only as a means of propaganda, but also as an entertainment form. This explains why out of the 1097 feature films produced between 1933-1945, only 96 were specifically at the request of the Propaganda Ministry.

Question 54

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: What three types can films be divided into?

Answer 54

➊ Overt propaganda
➋ Pure escapism
➌ Emotive nationalism

Question 55

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Give an example of overt propaganda in film.

Answer 55

• 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑱𝒆𝒘 a racist film that portrayed the Jews like rats
• 𝑯𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒋𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒖𝒙, based on the story of a Nazi murdered by the communists.

Question 56

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Give an example of pure escapism in film.

Answer 56

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒗𝒐𝒏 𝑴ü𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒏, a comedy based on an old German legend which gives the baron powers of immortality.

Question 57

𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮: Give an example of emotive nationalism in film.

Answer 57

• 𝑶𝒍𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒂 about the Berlin Olympics
• 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 about the 1934 Nuremburg Rally
• 𝑲𝒐𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒈, played on the national opposition to Napoleon

Question 58

What phrase neatly underlines the anti-culture approach of the Nazis?

Answer 58

“Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun” - from the play 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳, Hanns Johst

Question 59

Summarise Nazi culture 1933-45.

Answer 59

Cultural life during the Third Reich was effectively silenced - it could only operate within the Nazi straight-jacket and to that extent Goebbels succeeded in censoring it.

The regime most certainly failed in its attempts to create a new cultural identity firmly rooted in the minds of the 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘬.

Question 60

What did Nazis stress as their values?

Answer 60

They stressed family, race, and 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘬 as the highest representations of German values. They rejected materialism, cosmopolitanism, and “bourgeois intellectualism,” instead promoting the “German” virtues of loyalty, struggle, self-sacrifice, and discipline. Nazi cultural values also placed great importance on Germans’ harmony with their native soil and with nature, and emphasised the elevation of the 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘬 and nation above its individual members.

Question 61

A chief role of culture was to…

Answer 61

disseminate the Nazi world view.

Question 62

Hitler, with Propaganda Minister Goebbels at his side, controlled…

Answer 62

all manifestations of artistic creation and established rigid guidelines, according to their own personal tastes, of what was acceptable or unacceptable. They stamped out all forms of modernism and debased the arts to mere tools of ideology and propaganda.

Question 63

What did Nazis use as a form of mass commutation to indoctrinate the population?

Answer 63

The “People’s Receiver” - radio.