In the 1930s, especially after Adolf Hitler was appointed leader of the Third Reich (1933), the National Socialists severely undermined the foundations of Weimar culture. In order to realize their own vision of the nation, the Nazis removed from the entire area of German citizens everything that was considered "degenerate". This was supposed to "corrupt" the spirit of the thousand-year-old community and was supposed to have a negative impact on the indigenous population. Following their own ideology, they tried to return a sense of common belonging, and they also revived tradition, which they described as the only right.
Art in the Third Reich was much more than just a means of satisfying aesthetic needs. It was an apparatus for consolidating the totalitarian regime. The basic guidelines of the new creativity were formed by the political leadership itself, with the help of experts. It demanded that artists return to idealized academic realism, into which they breathed renewed political beliefs. Any deviation from the established guidelines was considered a violation. Images of the German community quickly spread into public space. With their help, the people were to become familiar with the natural rights and duties attributed to all members of the German community. The new works of art did not simply reflect motifs from the surrounding area, but were to convey a higher message. In their range of motifs and style, they had to move away from everything modern. Artists were to paint in the most understandable way possible, which was required of them by the political leadership. Only in this way could the works of art reach the public, who were to view the works of art and become familiar with the new ideology of National Socialism. They were dominated by monumental figuration and the native landscape. Art in the Third Reich was strongly influenced by politics and became a powerful propaganda tool for spreading the National Socialist worldview.
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