Art as Propoganda
While the Nazi political movement was undoubtedly among the most vile developments of the 20th century, it inspired works of art which have the ability to expose some of the best and worst that art can achieve. Because it involves such stark contrasts of good and evil, it offers excellent opportunities to discuss what aspects of art are good and bad, what art can achieve at its best and what it can destroy at its worst. Propaganda more than ever is an instrument of aggression, a new means for rendering a country defenseless in the face of an invading army. While it has been used in a halting way for centuries, within the past few years we have seen it prepare the way for Hitler to seize many countries. It is called a new instrument of aggression because development has given it an effectiveness never before experienced in the history of the world. Nazi Germany regulated and controlled the art produced between 1933 and 1945 to ensure they embodied the values they wished to indoctrinate into the German people. The notion of 'volk' (people) and 'blut und boden' (soil and blood) was championed in paintings to glorify an idealized rural Germany and instill a sense of 'superiority' in the Nordic physicality
The composition is extremely ordered, controlled, and dignified There is no indication of social unrest under the rule of the Third Reich. A person who works with the land achieves a spiritual unity with it, so that they become a part of the natural world and integral to both the continuances of its fertility and yours. This is a blatant attempt to portray the virtues of a simple rural life (that in reality did not exist) as it presents the family in such positive way, a stereotyped 'perfect' standard for German families to aspire to. The highly symmetrical nature of the monumental buildings and lack of decorative features evoked a sense of militaristic order and balance, and induced a formal behavior from citizens. The monumental buildings served to construct a pseudo-history to authenticate the stable, strong and righteous nature of the 'thousand year Reich'. This is a simplistic glorified portrayal of Hitler, constructed to initiate a sense of awe within those that saw it, and encouraged a link between Hitler and religion. The sculptured bodies of the men resemble the classical ideals appropriated by the Nazis from Grecian statutes, the way the men are articulated as having bulging toned muscles, fair skin and hair and as examples of superior strength and will of the 'pure' blooded Aryan male. As in 'Water Sports' the Aryan body is painted with precision, every shine on the silver armor is emphasized as evidence of the light and purity that seems to radiates from the actual person, in this way the body is labeled the fortress against Jewish, Asian and African influence. Many works romanticized everyday subjects and reiterated stereotypical Nazi ideals of the human body and its purposes in the Reich. Paintings played on common values already present in the national psyche, such as the need to regain a relationship with the land, and conflated them with National Socialist ideology in a bid to indoctrinate and shape the views of the public. This is more specifically linked to the notion of 'blood and soil'. The building was constructed to be a physical testament to the power of the National Socialist Party and proof that they had the strength to lead the Germanic people into a future of prosperity and above all stability. Toust constructs a sense of reverence here, suggesting that Germany has been through 'dark times', hence the fact that it is nighttime, but the purifying flames of the Nazis (represented by the swastika) bring light and order to chaos. It is an ideal Utopia where the every day person a subject worthy of intense interest. This theme is reiterated repeatedly almost to exhaustion in such works as 'Ploughing in the Evening' by Willy Jackel, and 'The Sower' by Oskar Martin-Ambach.
Common topics in this essay:
National Socialist,
National Socialists,
Paul Junghan,
Third Reich,
,
Da Vinci's,
Building' Munich,
Adolf Wissel,
Adolf Hitler,
German Law,
german people,
national socialist,
national socialists,
national socialist party,
lead germanic,
hitler superior,
third reich,
power national,
'water sports',
socialist party,
collective action,
sense national pride,
power national socialist,
national socialist ideology,
lead germanic people,
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Acceptance Essays
