Germany: How far do you agree that cultural policies, in the years 1933-45, were created mainly to support Nazi racial theories?

Introduction

• Was largely shaped by Nazi racial theory, mainly directed towards Jews

• Criteria for supporting racial theories = its impact is to strengthen Nazi ideological claims

• 1933-36 = consolidation of control and ideology

• 1936-38 = Radicalization + purification

• 1939-42 = War mobilisation + intensified racial propaganda

• 1942-45 = Total war and ideological saturation

Paragraph 1

• 1933-36

• 10th May 1933, book burnings in >34 German unis

• 1933-34 Reich Chamber of Culture grew to 1.3m members

• 1933-36 around 3,000 racially ‘undesirable’ artists were banned from working in public institutions

Paragraph 2

• 1936-38

• From 1937 around 16,000 works of modern art were removed from museums

• 1938 Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich displayed over 650 confiscated artworks

• By 1938, 1,400 synagogues had been destroyed

Paragraph 3

• 1939-42

• 1940 the film Jud Süß seen by 20m Germans

• 1941 all Jews banned from cultural participation

• 1942 Nazi radio broadcasts reach >70% German households

Paragraph 4

• 1942-45

• After Goebbels’ ‘Total War’ speech in 1943, 1000+ cultural organisations closed or repurposed

• By 1944, >16m Nazi radio sets in use

• 1944-45 250 official speeches/broadcasts per month