Culture in Nazi Germany (AQA GCSE History)

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

The Nazis - championed by Joseph Goebbels - used propaganda and censorship to control and influence the attitudes of the German people. The Nazis objected to many modern aspects of culture and arts, especially those introduced during the Golden Years of Germany such as the Bauhaus movement.

Ideas about Germany’s past, traditional values and the family structure were all cultural beliefs that could be communicated through art, film, music and literature. Therefore, the Nazis quickly set about reforming the culture and arts sector. 

Through the Reich Chamber of Culture, Goebbels ensured that occupations such as artists, musicians and authors all adhered to strict rules and laws. Failure to follow the regulations set out often led to persecution and interference by the SS or Gestapo. As a result, throughout the 1930s there was a complete overhaul of cultural ideas.

The Chamber of Culture

• 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 to control each aspect of Nazi culture

Nazi art

• The Reich Chamber of Creative Art controlled all artwork in Nazi Germany. People who had to join this organisation were:

  • architects

  • decorators

  • sculptors

  • painters

  • engravers

  • dealers in works of art and antiques

• The Reich Chamber accepted around 42,000 artists

• Art that did not conform to 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

• The Greater German Art Exhibition featured 900 Nazi-approved exhibits in 1936

Nazi design

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

• Hitler’s favourite architect was Albert Speer. He designed some of Nazi Germany’s most important buildings

  • The Zeppelinfeld was the parade ground for the Nuremberg rallies

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

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

Nazi music

• The Reich Chamber of Music controlled all German musical talent. People who had to join this organisation were:

  • composers

  • performers

  • conductors

  • teachers

  • instrument manufacturers

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

  • Wagner, Beethoven 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 Reich Chamber of Literature controlled all publishing in Nazi Germany. People who had to join this organisation were:

  • authors

  • book dealers

• 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 Reich Chamber of Film controlled all film-making in Nazi Germany

  • Anyone who acted, directed, produced or worked on film sets had to join the organisation

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

• Films were 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

Nazi sport

• Hitler and Goebbels believed that success in sport was essential to:

  • "Strengthen the character of the German people”

  • Promote the Nazi belief that Aryans were superior

• The 1936 Berlin Olympics was an opportunity for Hitler to show the might of Nazi Germany to the world

  • The government stopped anti-Semitic propaganda during the Games

    • This was to show that the Nazi Germany was more tolerant than it actually was

• Jesse Owens angered Hitler and the Nazis by winning four gold medals and becoming the most successful athlete at the games

• Leni Riefenstahl directed the film Olympia, which was released in 1938 and documents the events of the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Nazi theatre

• Weimar theatre had been experimental and allowed to have political themes

  • This caused opposition in the Weimar era from organisations such as the Militant League for German Culture

• When the Nazi government took power, they reversed the liberalism allowed in the Weimar theatres

  • The Nazis banned people like Bertolt Brecht, a playwright who took inspiration from communism and criticised Hitler

  • Cabarets were closed down

• The Nazis attempted to write their own plays and musicals

  • These proved unpopular with the German public

• Instead, the Nazis permitted the showing of

  • Classical works, such as those by William Shakespeare

  • Plays which focused on approved parts of German history