Protecting The Artworks

In 1936 the Spanish Civil War served not just as a dramatic prelude to the coming events but also illustrated the new dangers posed to cultural monuments and artworks as a result of technological developments in warfare. This lesson was forcefully presented through the damage caused by aerial bombardment, especially from incendiary bombs.

These developments convinced museum authorities in neighboring countries of the need to protect their valued objects and monuments. Although some perfunctory planning for evacuation and protection of collections had been initiated in the mid 1930s, it wasn't until 1937 that officials in Western Europe and the United Kingdom began preparing in earnest. The task local officials faced was colossal. Beginning with the formation of lists of only the most important and valued works, curators had to consider possible storage sites that would provide security for the objects that were accessible by truck or rail, then develop various evacuation routes.

The sheer volume of items, the size and weight of others, and the shortages of personnel and protective materials (brick, mortar, lumber, transportation vehicles, etc.) that had to be overcome were staggering. In the course of preparations, every conceivable method of protecting artwork was implemented.

Objects that were too large or heavy to transport, such as Michelangelo's sculpture of David, were protected first by scaffolds and supporting sandbags, and finally by brick "entombment."

Immovable objects, such as Leonardo da Vinci's fresco of The Last Supper in Milan, were braced with structural supports and faced with protective boards further weighted in place by sandbags.

Huge canvases were taken out of their frames and off their wooden stretchers, then rolled like maps.

Massive sculptures were disassembled when possible and hidden.Massive paintings were packed in crates, usually without their frames, and prepared for storage.

Entire structures, such as the fourth-century Arch of Constantine in Rome, were encased with structural supports of wood; steel, sand-bags, and brick.

For the largest cultural monuments, such as Notre Dame in Paris, only certain sections of the church were protected, such as the carved stone areas above the entry. Stained glass windows, such as those in St. Chappelle in Paris and the Cathedral in Strasbourg, were removed. Fragile sculptures and pottery were often packed in sand.

Museums and churches evacuated their most priceless works of art to hundreds of repositories of hiding places. Frequently, when war did arrive, these artworks were loaded back onto vehicles-cars, trucks, even barges-and moved yet again.

Individuals owning works of art had few options and far fewer resources. In several instances, wealthier collectors deposited their art in bank vaults or loaned them to museums for safekeeping. A few individuals were able to ship some or all of their collections to countries outside Europe. However, the great number of private collectors could only wait and wait and hope that their worst fears would not be realized.

Protection By All Means

Making plans for the Fuhrer Museum

Hitler's taste in art embraced the epic stature of the male model of antiquity.

Hitler's rejection - in his eyes, humiliation - by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna would now be "repaid" in many ways.

Although his museum was never built, its plans and architectural models were a constant focus of the Fuhrer, even during the final desperate days in the Berlin bunker.

"The Great German Art Exhibition"

" 'Works of art' that are not capable of being understood in themselves but need some pretentious instruction book to justify their existence- until at long last they find someone sufficiently browbeaten to endure such stupid or impudent twaddle with patience- will never again find their way to the German people." Adolf Hitler

This statement was part of the remarks made by Hitler at the opening of the House of German Art. As part of the ceremony there was an elaborate parade through Konigsplatz. July 1937

Art as propaganda encompassed more than pictures, films, and words alone. In the summer of 1937, new methods were implemented that would have far -reaching consequences. Munich was the site of two events that were designed to leave no doubt in the minds of the people about the difference between "good" art and that which was unacceptable. On July 18 the four-month-long show entitled "Great German Art Exhibition," opened at the newly completed House of German Art, the first Nazi public building project. Hitler had participated in then selection of works for the show. Opening ceremonies included a parade and other festivities that culminated in a speech in which the Fuhrer derided modern art and artist, gallery owners and art citics, among others. This exhibition would become an annual event in which Hitler enthusiastic participation was assured.

Opening the following day was a show entitled "Degenerate Art" (Entartete Kunst), also "curated" in part by Hitler. Here, rather than glorifying the artist and their works as was been done at the German Art Exhibition, every possible affort was made to degrade ans humilate them. Painting were jutaposed in a manner unseen previously; some hung cro0ked, others were positioned above doorways or clumped together to create the most negative visual effect. Large panels were hung throughout the exhibition containg quotations by Hitler and Goebbels ridiculing and condeming the works. Purchased price were often cited in an attempt to show how the public had been duped. These efforts were designed to convince the viewing public of the insidious nature of these "perverted" artists and their work. Every effort was made to instill in the visitors the same sence of revulsion so emhatically pronounced by the Fuhrer.

German Art (True Art)

German Art-true art-was "of the people" and expressed the moral values of the Third Reich. It was easy to comprehend, often depicting scenes of everyday life or landscapes. Artistic renderings of the human form, following the classical models of ancient Greece, further embodied Hitler concept of the eternal value of beauty. His favorite sculptors, Josef Thorak and Arno Breker, created dramatic over sized pieces portraying semi-clad male and female figures in poses that idealized youth, strength, heroism, and sacrifice.

Hitler also admired nineteenth-century painters such as Ferdinand and Georg Waldmuller, Franz von Lenbach, and Wilhelm Liebl. In his view, these artists' work promoted strength of family and the unity of the German people. These attributes would be greatly needed in the coming years. Old Master painters such as Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jan van Eyck, along with the great German artists Lucas and were universally recognized as the epitome of greatness. Hitler believed ownership of such icons would bring recognition of his sophisticated knowledge of art and refined taste.

Hitler's Degenerate Artist

The "degenerate" artworks included in the exhibition had come

from the most unlikely of places: museums throughout Germany.

In 1937 Goebbels had organized a committee which was ordered

to seize such artwork from the State Museums. More than 16,000

works of modern art - including masterpieces of the highest quality-

were removed from these institutions' walls and stored in Berlin.

Selections of the most "disgusting" works were readied for

inclusion in the "Degenerate Art" Exhibition.

In Building Power

Vincent Van Gogh, The Sower, 1888

"Anyone who sees and paints a sky green and pasture blue ought to be sterilized" Adolf Hitler

Hitler defined and dictated the standards. That which didn't Which didn't measure up to his definition and taste simply wasn't art. In Hitler's view, "modern" art-the work of such artists as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigiani, Piet Mondrian, Max Beckmann, and fellow Austrians Oscar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele, to name only a few-was "degenerate." To Hitler the works of these artist destroyed the classical concept of beauty and replaced it with interpretive works that were incomprehensible to the viewer. As a group, the "degenerates" included immigrants, foreigners, and Jews all of whom Hitler deemed racially inferior. He made certain to link their work with that of intellectualls, the elites of society who had social agendas. According to Hitler, these were the people responsible for Germany's post-World War I problems and who bore the blame for its decline. Even late nineteenth-century artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas were included among these reviled painters, for in Hitler's view, the distorted figures and bold colors of their work could only be the product of sick minds.