| “Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reich Chancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) leads a retinue that includes Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) and Karl Kolb (1894 – circa 1956), Director of the Haus Der Deutschen Kunst, Painter and Entartete Kunst (“Degenerate Art”) Exhibition Director Adolf Ziegler (October 16, 1892 – September 11, 1959) through the Grosse Deutsche Kunstausstellung 1938 im Haus Der Deutschen Kunst Zu München (“The Great German Art Exhibition 1938 in the House of German Art, Munich”). Adolf Hitler was a genuine patron of the arts, with a love for painting and architecture, but only a patron of those arts of which he approved. Having been a painter in his youth, Hitler considered himself the supreme critic of what was, and was not, proper art. Modern “degenerate” art was definitely out. To promote “proper” art Hitler had the Haus Der Deutschen Kunst (“House of German Art”) built in Munich, to be the scene of special yearly exhibits. Paul Ludwig Troost (August 17, 1878 – January 21, 1934) designed the building, and his wife, Gerdy Troost (March 3, 1904 – January 30, 2003) was the interior designer. Hitler placed his photographer Heinrich Hoffmann (September 12, 1885 – December 16, 1957) along with Director Karl Kolb, in charge of choosing the art works for these annual exhibitions. The annual exhibitions featured military scenes, portraits of the Führer and other Nazi leaders, German landscapes and places associated with Hitler’s youth, nudes, and scenes promoting German traditions, particularly “folk art” agricultural views. The 1st exhibit was in 1937, at the opening of the building, and the annual shows continued through 1944. In many cases, illustrations are all that survive of the artwork produced during the 3rd Reich, many of the works themselves having been lost or destroyed. The American military authorities confiscated much of this art at the end of World War II. Many works were returned to Germany in the 1980s, where they remain in storage, not accessible to the general public. The United States Army War Art collection in Washington retains several of the confiscated works, principally those showing portraits of Hitler and other Nazi leaders, and Nazi party subjects. Very few former Haus Der Deutschen Kunst works are in private hands today. The premier sculptors of the 3rd Reich (those who were Hitler’s favorites) were Arno Breker (July 19, 1900 – February 13, 1991), Josef Thorak (February 7, 1889 – February 26, 1952), and Fritz Klimsch (February 10, 1870 – March 30, 1960). In addition to portraits of Hitler, other Nazi leaders and military heroes were also featured. Another frequent Nazi Party theme was the Sturm Abteilung (SA), often shown marching through their Communist enemies. Military themes were popular in the Greater German Art Exhibitions, even before the beginning of World War II. As the war went on, military artwork gained more prominence, and even began to show the war’s wearying effects on soldiers. The Haus Der Deutschen Kunst building served as a United States military Officers Club for the Munich garrison after 1945. In 1952, the Haus Der Kunst (“House of Art”) opened in the same building; it remains an art museum today. The swastikas in the ceiling have been removed, but the curators do not shy away from the structure’s Nazi past. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1763.jpg |
| Image Size | 469.92 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3000 x 2250 |
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| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 10, 1938 |
| Location | Haus Der Deutschen Kunst |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
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| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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