The Cult of Art in Nazi Germany

by Eric Michaud, Janet Lloyd (Translator)

The Cult of Art in Nazi Germany presents a new interpretation of National Socialism, arguing that art in the Third Reich was not simply an instrument of the regime, but actually became a source of the racist politics upon which its ideology was founded. Through the myth of the "Aryan race," a race pronounced superior because it alone creates culture, Nazism asserted art as the sole raison d'être of a regime defined by Hitler as the "dictatorship of genius." Michaud shows the important link between the religious nature of Nazi art and the political movement, revealing that in Nazi Germany art was considered to be less a witness of history than a force capable of producing future, the actor capable of accelerating the coming of a reality immanent to art itself.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Germany, Politics, History

369 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Neal Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

The saying “fascism is the aestheticization of politics” is often attributed to Walter Benjamin, and this book documents how this philosophy shaped Germany when it came to power. Michaud starts by quoting the exhortation to artists to “Be free!”, by the 19th century politician and critic, Jules-Antoine Castagnary. Michaud says this imperative was the ‘implacable double bind on which that liberalist and individualist order was founded. […] Nazism would sort out this paradox in its own way by installing an artist-führer, who alone would assume this problematic liberty, thereby delivering the artistic community of the people from what Hitler himself called “the burden of liberty.”’ As Goring said “I have no conscience! My conscience is called Adolf Hitler.”

The first Nazi government of Germany was “composed of members half of whom are men who originally intended to devote themselves to some kind of creative work”. So Hitler was not the odd man out as an artist. Nazism was a myth of national salvation, based on faith, not reason. To instil this faith, it drew on different sources including Christianity. In 1933 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was already denouncing the portrayal of Hitler a messiah. As Nazism gained strength, it took over Christian rituals, for example replacing baptism by naming ceremonies with Nazi paraphernalia. Other sources obviously included Wagner, who had demanded that art should become a religion. Not all types of art had a single Nazi style. For example, although government and ceremonial buildings were neoclassical, modernism was favoured for factories.

Nazism was totalitarian in the sense of seeking to dominate all aspects of life, and this book, including its impressive photographs, conveys how it did so.

[Alvaro Muñoz Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Llibre important. Sovint les exposicions sobre el tema tracten Hitler com un ignorant pel que fa als gustos artístics, però tenia una sensibilitat fastigosament bona.

[erna znam]

i had to skip half of the nonsense, i cant believe the scope of the bullshit the nazis were saying...
"people, what a bunch of bastards"

[Carlos Montaña · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro que profundiza en la propaganda política del nazismo y que ha logrado camuflarse subrepticiamente en nuestros colapsados tiempos "democráticos". Una investigación exhaustiva y pertinente.

[Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting and had many illustrations but was VERY hard to follow. It is in translation from a French original and is hard to understand at times. Additionally, Michaud goes off on tangents for pages at a time that make understanding an overarching theme very difficult. Michaud does bring in lots of primary sources with numerous quotations which is a good way to understand exactly what is going through the minds of the Nazi leaders, so that is nice. Still, overall, this book is very hard to follow but does provide some interesting insight into the extreme importance of art to the Nazis.