The Confiscation of "Degenerate Art" 1937–38
After Adolf Hitler’s seizure of power on January 30, 1933, numerous museum directors who had collected modern art were dismissed from their posts. Their successors moved the forbidden works of modern art into storage, or put them into “horror chambers” so they could be criticized and denounced.
The same year, the exhibition “Degenerate Art” was mounted in Dresden; it included work by Otto Dix, Hans Grunding, Eugen Hoffmann, and Christoph Voll, and travelled to numerous German cities from 1934 to 1936. On July 19, 1937, one day after the “House of German Art” opened, the vilifying show “Degenerate Art”, organized by Joseph Goebbels, opened in the neighboring Hofgarten. For the show, 650 works were confiscated from 32 German museums.
While variations of this exhibition were shown in other venues throughout Germany and Austria, an additional 17,000 art works were confiscated from more than 100 museums, the majority of which were later sold on the international art market as a source of foreign currency or as barter objects (possible through the “Law on the Confiscation of Products of Degenerate Art” passed on May 31, 1938). This wave of confiscation essentially liquidated modern art in Germany.
The Department of Historical and Cultural Studies at the Free University of Berlin has compiled a complete list of all the works of “degenerate art” that were confiscated from German museums in 1937-38 and has made this list available on an online database. It can be searched by artist, work, and image.
Stretch your view
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Stretch your view
Booklet „Histories in Conflict“
Booklet
The illustrated online tour guides you through the six stations of the exhibition "Histories in Conflict", which takes a critical look at Haus der Kunst's historical heritage. MORE
Art in the "Third Reich": Hitler's 'Brush Worker'
SPIEGEL ONLINE article on Adolf Ziegler, painter and president of the Reich's Chamber of Visual Arts, whose painting "The Four Elements" was on view in the exhibition "Histories in Conflict" MORE
Histories in Conflict
In the press
Read a selection of the latest press reports, radio features, and reviews of the exhibition. MORE
History of the air-raid shelter in Haus der Kunst
Pdf, Essay
Text on the history of the former air-raid shelter in Haus der Kunst by Munich historian Sabine Brantl. MORE
Histories in Conflict
Exhibition 10.06.12 – 13.01.13
In 2012, Haus der Kunst opened its doors for its 75th year. At the same time, it looked back upon its 20-year existence as Stiftung Haus der Kunst München GmbH. MORE
Haus der Kunst, Munich. A Place and Its History in National Socialism
Allitera Verlag Munich, 2007. In German. MORE
Histories in Conflict
Worksheets
Worksheets on topics related to the exhibition "Histories in Conflict" (10.06.12-13.01.13) can be downloaded (in German). MORE
Withholding Images
Essay
Withholding Images MORE
Allora & Calzadilla
Exhibition 13.06 – 14.09.08
Based in Puerto Rico, Jennifer Allora (b. 1974, USA) and Guillermo Calzadilla (b. 1971, Cuba) work in the most diverse artistic mediums. Allora & Calzadilla now present a new work in the museum's former "Ehrenhalle" [Hall of Honour] addressing the history of this space, where Hitler used to hold his notorious speeches on culture. MORE