Art Criticism - The State University of New York

Holbein, Grunewald, Rembrandt, and Rubens, a day. Museums, like the one at
Linz, were to demonstrate the greatness of Germany with monumental architecture
containing the world's finest cultural artifacts which traced German history
in culture and made it seem the center of humanity and the model society.46
The German public could go to these museums and understand where
they came from and who they were supposed to be according to the ideology
set forth by German art philosophers. The works they contained where to
represent the ideal, the perfect Germany at its purist and healthiest, without
being infested by degenerate or decadent elements.
Yet the behavior that was exhibited in the acquisition of these works
ironically falls short of the healthy behavior that they were supposed to foster.
Though authorities were careful to administer a net of laws that legalized any
actions that they would undertake, the uncompensated acquisition of valuable
works of art meets any definition of looting or plundering, an activity that
would be hard to incorporate as a part of a healthy society. And the behavior
of high officials, such as Goering, who took works for themselves for personal
gain in secrecy and against regulations would suggest a degree of decadence
in the official chain of command. Officers at most levels taking works for themselves
that were expressly meant for other uses suggests a problem with the
leadership structure. This is supported by the leaders' fierce competitiveness,
flaunting of power, and disregard for regulations. These activities suggest an
individual greediness that is also evident in the Nazi Party as a whole, attempting
to occupy as much territory and acquire as much wealth as possible, using
brutal and criminal tactics. And the violence of the military can also be seen in
the methods commandos and Gestapo soldiers used to acquire works of art as
well as to dispose of them. On March 20,1939, in an effort to dispose of works
that officials believed would not be worth trying to sell, 1,004 paintings and
sculptures and 3,825 graphic works were burned in a bonfire in the courtyard of
the Berlin Fire Department's headquarters. 47
I do not think it would be an exaggeration to say that Hitler feared the
power degenerate art held over society, and that he felt compelled to rid Germany
of this decay in order to defend its purity. However, he did not seek to
understand the model of health that was the goal of the purification. This
model of health was outdated and did not emerge from the contemporary
situation. The attempt to stop what Hitler perceived as a decay of German
culture is a decadent act, as it is an act meant to go against nature's progress
by regressing. Th'ese behaviors exhibited by Hitler, as leader of the Nazi party,
as well as the actions of the officials under him, suggest that the action they
saw as the purification of Germany was as degenerate as any work of art of
which they sought to rid themselves.
vol. 17, no. 1 83