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Haus der Deutschen Kunst,
Munich
Adolf Hitler was a genuine patron of the arts,
with a love for painting and architecture, but only a patron of those arts of which he
approved. Having been a painter in his youth, Hitler considered himself the supreme critic
of what was, and was not, proper art. Modern "degenerate" art was definitely
out. To promote "proper" art Hitler had the Haus der Deutschen Kunst (House of
German Art) built in Munich, to be the scene of special yearly exhibits. Hitler placed his
photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, along with director Karl Kolb, in charge of choosing the
art works for these annual exhibitions.
The annual exhibitions featured military
scenes, portraits of the Führer and other Nazi leaders, German landscapes and places
associated with Hitler's youth, nudes, and scenes promoting German traditions, particularly
"folk-art" agricultural views. Favored artists included
sculptors Josef Thorak, Arno Breker, and Fritz Klimsch, and painters Sepp Hilz, Karl
Truppe, Elk Eber, Wilhelm Hempfing, Ernst Liebermann, and Adolf Ziegler. The first exhibit
was in 1937, at the opening of the building, and the annual shows continued through 1944.
Many of the following illustrations come from
catalogs of the annual exhibits, published by Heinrich Hoffmann and others. Other
illustrations come from period postcards, based on Hoffmann's photos and art
reproductions. In many cases, these illustrations are all that survive of the artwork
produced during the Third Reich, many of the works themselves having been lost or
destroyed (click here to read
an informative article on the fates and whereabouts of some of this artwork). The American
military authorities confiscated much of this art at the end of World War II. Many works
were returned to Germany in the 1980s, where they remain in storage, not accessible to the
general public. The U.S. Army War Art collection in Washington retains several of the
confiscated works, principally those showing portraits of Hitler and other Nazi leaders,
and Nazi party subjects. A very few former HDK works are in private hands today.
This page is divided into four parts: this part
features portraits of the Führer and his homeland, and other approved themes, Part 2 shows portraits of other Nazi leaders and Party themes,
Part 3 features artwork with military themes, and
Part
4 covers sculptures.
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The Haus der Deutschen Kunst was
built in 1933-37 to replace the Munich "Glass Palace" Art Gallery which had burned in 1931. Designed by
architect Paul Ludwig Troost in the neo-classical Third Reich style, the building still
serves Munich today as an art museum. (author's collection) |
Hitler and Himmler inspect
ceremonial troops uniformed as Bavarian infantry, at the opening of the Haus der Deutschen
Kunst on July 18, 1937. (National Archives RG242) |
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The view on the left
shows the grand opening exhibition in July 1937. In the center of the photo, Hitler is
seen talking to (third from the left) Heinrich Hoffmann, director Karl Kolb, and architect
Paul Troost's widow Gerdy. In the background can be seen Arno Breker's "Anmut." The photo on the right shows Frau
Prof. Troost talking to Rudolf Hess during the 1940 exhibit (in the background is Adolf
Wamper's "Genius des Sieges" - Genius of Victory). |
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| More photos of the 1937
opening exhibition. On the left, Hitler (in center) speaks with Gerdy Troost. To the left
of Hitler is Josef Goebbels, and to the right of Frau Troost is Heinrich Himmler (back to
camera). The photo on the right shows the parade before the exhibition opening, seen here
on Ludwigstraße, in front of the Siegestor. The parade was titled "Two Thousand
Years of German Culture," and featured floats depicting scenes from German history
and culture from prehistory to the present. (author's collection) |
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Adolf Hitler visits the 1939
exhibit opening at the HDK. Also seen in the picture are Heinrich Himmler (far left),
Josef Goebbels, Dino Alfieri (Italian Ambassador), and Frau Prof. Gerdy
Troost (next to Hitler). The painting in the background is Johannes Beutner's "Erwachen." (Ullstein Photo Service,
Berlin) |
A young member of the Hitler
Jugend (Hitler Youth) visits the 1943 exhibition. He is holding the exhibition catalog
open to page 65, showing Paul Scheurle's "Najade." |
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A favored theme for
Third Reich artists was portraits of the Führer. These became so numerous that Hitler
finally decreed that only one would be displayed "officially" at each annual Greater German Art
Exhibition (although this order was not followed every year). The portrait chosen
for the grand opening in 1937 was Heinrich Knirr's "Adolf Hitler, der
Schöpfer des Dritten Reiches und Erneuerer der deutschen Kunst"
(Hitler, the Creator of the Third Reich and Renewer of German Art - this
original painting is now in the Imperial War Museum in London). The
1938 portrait was Hubert Lanzinger's allegorical "Der Bannerträger" (The Standard Bearer),
showing Hitler as an armored knight. This painting became very popular in poster and
postcard form. |
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"Der Führer" by
Heinrich Knirr, 1937 (this painting was later displayed in the Führerbau in
Munich) |
"Der Führer" by Hugo
Lehmann (this portrait was based on photos taken of Hitler the night he proclaimed the
establishment of the Greater German Empire, 12 March 1938, at the Rathaus in Linz, Austria) |
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"Der Führer und Oberste
Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht" by Conrad Hommel, 1940 |
"Bildnis des Führers"
by Franz Triebsch, 1941 |
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"Führerbildnis" by Hans
Schachinger, 1942 |
"Bildnis des Führers"
by Otto von Kursell, 1941 |
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"Bildnis des Führers"
by Rudolf Zill, 1942 |
"Bildnis des Führers"
by Franz Triebsch, 1939 |
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The 1943 portrait was "Der Führer" by Karl Truppe. |
"Führer des Großdeutschen
Reiches" By Conrad Hommel, 1939. |
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"Porträt des Führers"
by Fritz Erler, 1939. This work portrayed Hitler as the inspiration for German
architecture and sculpture; the Haus der Deutschen Kunst is visible in the left
background. |
Hitler as he wished to be seen -
as the chief patron of the arts. This Heinrich Hoffmann photo appeared
as the frontispiece to several of the catalogs of the annual art
exhibits in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst. |
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Braunau,
Hitler's birthplace in Austria, was a favorite scene. "Braunau am Inn" by F. X.
Weidinger, 1943 |
Another favorite subject was the
village of Leonding near Linz, where Hitler lived as a
child and where his parents were buried. "Elternhaus des Führers in Leonding"
by F. X. Weidinger, 1943 |
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"Das Geburtshaus des Führers
in Braunau am Inn - Hofseite" by Paul Geißler, 1943 (Hitler's birthplace - rear side
courtyard) |
"Das Schulhaus des Führers
in Fischlham, Radierung" by Paul Geißler, 1943
(school that Hitler attended) |
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"Blut und Boden" (Blood
and Soil) by Erich Erler (1942) illustrated a common Nazi propaganda theme. |
This poster promoted the new
Autobahn highway system (based on a photo of the autobahn bridge at Hirschberg). |
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The exhibitions also
featured portraits from history, as well as rustic figures from the present. On the left
is "Götz von Berlichingen" by Will Tschech, 1939 (Götz was a defiant
Landsknecht knight made famous in a play by Goethe). On the right is
"Bergführer" (Mountain Guide) by Georg Siebert, 1941. |
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"Der Führer Spricht"
(The Führer Speaks) by Paul Matthias Padua, 1939 (the farmer family listens to a Hitler
speech on their Volksempfänger, an inexpensive radio introduced for the common
people by Josef Goebbels) |
"Die Kunstzeitschrift"
(The Art Journal) by Udo Wendel, 1940 (the magazine page shows the Fritz Klimsch sculpture
"Die Schauende").
Heinrich Hoffmann published regular art journals (making even more money
from the HDK exhibits). |
 Continue to Part 2, Nazi Party Themes
 Go to Part 3, Military Artwork
Go to Part 4, Sculpture
Haus der
Deutschen Kunst building, Munich
Return to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
References:
A good overall work that explains Hitler's interest and
taste in art, along with how the exhibits for the Haus der Deutschen Kunst were chosen, is
Heinrich Hoffmann's Hitler Was My Friend (London, Burke, 1955) - a truly
fascinating book.
Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung im Haus der Deutschen
Kunst (Munich, F. Bruckmann, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 eds.; Munich, Knorr
u. Hirth, 1937, 1939, 1940 eds.).
Heinrich Hoffmann, Kunst dem Volk (Vienna, Verlag
Heinrich Hoffmann, 1939-1944 monthly journals, and special 1942 and 1943 editions).
Zweitausend Jahre Deutsche Kultur (Munich, Knorr
& Hirth, 1937).
Joseph Wulf, Die Bildenden Künste im Dritten Reich
(Gütersloh, Sigbert Mohn Verlag, 1963).
Kunst im 3. Reich - Dokumente der Unterwerfung
(Frankfurt, Franfurter Kunstverein, 1975).
Robert Scholz, Architektur und Bildende Kunst 1933-1945
(Preuss. Oldendorf, Schütz Verlag, 1977).
The best detailed references in English are:
Peter Adam, Art of the Third Reich (New York, Harry
N. Abrams Inc., 1992).
Bertold Hinz, Art in the Third Reich (New York,
Pantheon Books, 1979 - a revised version of the 1974 German edition).
William P. Yenne, German War Art 1939-1945 (New
York, Crescent Books, 1983).
Deutsche Historisches Museum, Berlin - "Grosse Deutsche
Kunstausstellung" -- http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/kunst/index.html
(see also the /kunstausstellung/ and /architektur/index.html pages)
An online guide to the Haus der Deutschen Kunst,
including a catalog of the period postcards showing the artworks displayed, can
be found at
http://www.hausderdeutschenkunst.de/index.html.
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