Culture Changes in Nazi Germany (Edexcel GCSE History)

How Did the Nazis Try to Influence German Culture? - Summary

Control of Culture and the Arts

• The Nazis objected to the Weimar Republic’s focus on modern art and culture

• They instead favoured romantic ideas about Germany’s past, the importance of family and strong values

• The Reich Chamber of Culture was set up in 1933 to make sure that all aspects of culture and the arts aligned with these Nazi beliefs

• Several Chambers were created under the Reich Chamber of Culture:

Chambers within the Chamber of Culture

Nazi Art

• All those involved in art were required to join the Reich Chamber of Creative Art:

  • Those who didn’t or couldn’t join were forbidden to teach, produce or sell art

  • Around 42,000 artists were accepted

• Art that did not conform with Nazi beliefs was removed:

  • Expressionist artwork produced by Picasso and Van Gogh was seen as too modern

  • In 1936, over 12,000 paintings and sculptures were removed from galleries

• Gestapo members would visit art studios to monitor the art being produced

• Artists were rewarded for producing art the Nazis did approve of:

  • The Greater German Art Exhibition featured 900 exhibits in 1936

Nazi Architecture

• The Nazis disliked the modern designs of the Bauhaus movement during the era of the Weimar Republic

• Hitler’s favourite architect was Albert Speer, who designed some of Nazi Germany’s most important buildings:

  • The Zeppelinfeld, the parade ground for the Nuremberg rallies

  • Added stone - a traditional building material - to the Berlin Olympic Stadium

• Many buildings were never completed because Nazi Germany was defeated in 1945

Key features of Nazi architecture

Nazi Music

• The Nazis promoted music that represented traditional aspects of German culture:

  • Wagner, Beethovan and Bach were liked for their focus on folk music

• Music produced by Jewish composers was censored:

  • A monument dedicated to the composer Mendelssohn was removed in 1936

• Jazz music was disliked because it was associated with Black people

  • Many jazz artists at the time were also of Jewish origins

Nazi Literature

• The Chamber of Culture approved books before they were published

• Around 2,500 writers were banned because they did not conform to Nazi beliefs:

  • Works by Einstein and Oppenheimer were banned because of their Jewish origins

  • Lenin's work was banned because it was based on communism, an ideology hated by the Nazis

• Millions of books were taken from libraries and universities, and burned on bonfires:

  • In May 1933, students in Berlin burned 20,000 books by anti-Nazi authors

  • Books from 34 cities in Germany were burned for being “unwanted”

  • Joseph Goebbels delivered a speech encouraging the burning of books to an audience of 40,000

Nazi Cinema

• The German film industry was very popular in the 1930s

• Film was used by the Nazis to spread messages using ‘modern’ technology

• Film plots had to be approved before they were made

• Newsreels showing Germany’s achievements were played before the start of films

• Films like Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl presented the strength and power of the Nazi Party

• Films like Hitlerjunge Quex were used to spread political messages about the threat of communism

• In total, 1,300 films were made by the Nazi Party