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32-617: Ismar Littmann was a patron of cultural life in Wroclaw. He supported young artists, helped found the local Jewish Museum, served as a board member of the "Society of Friends of Art", and promoted modern art. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Littmann was persecuted because he was Jewish. Banned from practicing law, socially and politically marginalized, and economically devastated, he died by suicide in 1934. To survive, Littmann's widow Käthe Littmann

64-558: A faction led by Alfred Rosenberg despised the Expressionists, and the result was a bitter ideological dispute which was settled only in September 1934, when Hitler – who denounced modern art and its practitioners as "incompetents, cheats and madmen" – declared that there would be no place for modernist experimentation in the Reich. In the first half of 1937, preparations were underway for

96-540: A further seven works, which makes it clear that only 15 of the more than 6,000 works were found. In 2021 "Buchsbaumgarten" a painting by Emil Nolde that had belonged to Ismar Littmann was auctioned at the Ketterer auction house, following a settlement agreement with the Lehmbruck Museum . The four paintings that were shown in the exhibition "Degenerate Art" have the following provenance stories: Other works from

128-428: A further seven works, which makes it clear that only 15 of the more than 6,000 works were found. In 2021 "Buchsbaumgarten" a painting by Emil Nolde that had belonged to Ismar Littmann was auctioned at the Ketterer auction house, following a settlement agreement with the Lehmbruck Museum . The four paintings that were shown in the exhibition "Degenerate Art" have the following provenance stories: Other works from

160-588: A new selection. In a diary entry of 4 June 1937, Goebbels conceived the idea of a separate exhibition of works from the Weimar era, which he called "the era of decay. So the people can see and understand." The art historian Olaf Peters says Goebbels' motivation in proposing the exhibition was partly to obscure the weakness of the works in the Great German Art Exhibition, and partly to regain Hitler's trust after

192-599: Is not known what became of them. The 64 confiscated pictures were transferred to the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The museum director, Eberhard Hanfstaengl, selected four paintings from the Littmann collection, and 14 watercolors for storage. The remaining works were said to have been burned on March 20, 1936, in the heating system of the Kronprinzenpalais. In 1937, four paintings from the Littmann collection were displayed at

224-433: Is not known what became of them. The 64 confiscated pictures were transferred to the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The museum director, Eberhard Hanfstaengl, selected four paintings from the Littmann collection, and 14 watercolors for storage. The remaining works were said to have been burned on March 20, 1936, in the heating system of the Kronprinzenpalais. In 1937, four paintings from the Littmann collection were displayed at

256-579: The Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung ("Great German Art Exhibition"), which was to showcase art approved by the Nazis. An open invitation to German artists resulted in 15,000 works being submitted to the exhibition jury, which included allies of Goebbels. When the works they selected for the exhibition were shown to Hitler for his approval, he became enraged. Hitler dismissed the jury and appointed his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann to make

288-535: The Reichskulturkammer (Reich Culture Chamber) was established, administered by Joseph Goebbels , Hitler's Reichsminister für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda ). The arbiter of what was unacceptably "modern" was Hitler. Although Goebbels and some others admired the Expressionist works of artists such as Emil Nolde , Ernst Barlach , and Erich Heckel ,

320-590: The Littmann Collection that have been restituted: Paintings found but not restituted: Ismar Littmann The art collection of Ismar Littmann (1878–1934), a German lawyer who lived in Breslau, comprised 347 paintings and watercolors and 5,814 drawings from artists such as Lovis Corinth , Max Pechstein , Erich Heckel , Max Liebermann , Käthe Kollwitz , Lucien Adrion, and Otto Mueller . Ismar Littmann

352-510: The Littmann Collection that have been restituted: Paintings found but not restituted: Degenerate Art exhibition The Degenerate Art exhibition ( German : Die Ausstellung "Entartete Kunst" ) was an art exhibition organized by Adolf Ziegler and the Nazi Party in Munich from 19 July to 30 November 1937. The exhibition presented 650 works of art, confiscated from German museums, and

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384-497: The addition of such a large quantity of works to the art market: Goebbels wrote of them changing hands between U.S. collectors for "ten cents a kilo", although some "foreign exchange ... will go into the pot for war expenses, and after the war will be devoted to the purchase of art ." Almost 5,000 were burned on 20 March 1939. In June 1939, an auction took place in Lucerne , where 125 degenerate artworks were put on sale. The revenue of

416-716: The collection to the Museum of Fine Arts Bern in Switzerland which in November 2017 exhibited a number of them in an exhibition entitled "Gurlitt: Status Report: Degenerate Art – Confiscated and Sold". In 2014, the Neue Galerie New York staged Degenerate Art: The Attack on Modern Art in Nazi Germany, 1937 , an exhibition bringing together paintings and sculptures from the 1937 exhibition along with films and photos of

448-833: The dictator's replacement of Goebbel's jurors with Hoffmann, who Goebbels feared as a rival. On 30 June, Hitler signed an order authorising the Degenerate Art Exhibition. Goebbels put Adolf Ziegler , the head of the Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste (Reich Chamber of Visual Art), in charge of a five-man commission that toured state collections in numerous cities, in two weeks seizing 5,238 works they deemed degenerate (showing qualities such as "decadence", "weakness of character","mental disease", and "racial impurity"). This collection would be boosted by subsequent raids on museums, for future exhibitions. The commission focused on works by artists mentioned in avant-garde publications, and

480-466: The early 1920s , when the cost of a kilo loaf of bread reached 233 billion German marks , the prices of the paintings were greatly exaggerated. The exhibit was designed to promote the idea that modernism was a conspiracy by people who hated German decency, frequently identified as Jewish-Bolshevist, although only six of the 112 artists included in the exhibition were Jewish. The concurrent Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung ("Great German Art Exhibition")

512-404: The exhibit had no particular theme. There were slogans painted on the walls. For example: Speeches of Nazi party leaders contrasted with artist manifestos from various art movements, such as Dada and Surrealism . Next to many paintings were labels indicating how much money a museum spent to acquire the artwork. In the case of paintings acquired during the post-war Weimar hyperinflation of

544-616: The exhibit was of about $ 125,000, much less than expected. In 1991, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art staged a forensic reproduction of the exhibition. 300 of the exhibited works were apparently purchased or otherwise appropriated by art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt who had reported them destroyed by bombardments; however, they resurfaced when details of the Gurlitt Collection which had been inherited by his son Cornelius were made known in 2013. Cornelius Gurlitt left

576-439: The exhibition focused on German works. The exhibition lasted until 30 November 1937, and 2,009,899 visitors attended it, an average of 20,000 people per day. The first three rooms were grouped thematically. The first room contained works considered demeaning of religion; the second featured works by Jewish artists in particular; the third contained works deemed insulting to the women, soldiers and farmers of Germany. The rest of

608-574: The exhibition had also been produced. The Degenerate Art Exhibition included 650 paintings, sculptures and prints by 112 artists, primarily German: Georg Grosz , Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Paul Klee , Georg Kolbe , Wilhelm Lehmbruck , Franz Marc , Emil Nolde , Otto Dix , Willi Baumeister , Kurt Schwitters and others. Ziegler also confiscated and exhibited works of foreign artists, such as Pablo Picasso , Jean Metzinger , Albert Gleizes , Grant Wood , Piet Mondrian , Marc Chagall and Wassily Kandinsky . A large number of works were not displayed, as

640-623: The exhibition in its first six weeks. A U.S. critic commented that "[t]here are probably plenty of people—art lovers—in Boston, who will side with Hitler in this particular purge". This view was controversial, however, given the greater political context of the exhibition. Hitler's rise to power on 30 January 1933 was quickly followed by actions intended to cleanse the culture of so-called degeneracy: book burnings were organized, artists and musicians were dismissed from teaching positions, and museum curators were replaced by Party members. In September 1933

672-506: The infamous Nazi " Degenerate Art" exhibition in Munich, after which some were sold to raise cash for the Nazi regime. Since the 1960s, Ismar Littmann's heirs have been demanding restitution of Littmann's art collection. In 1961 the confiscation of six paintings was recognized and in partial settlement compensation of 32,000 DM was paid. A second settlement concerning the Nazi seizure of 1177 artworks

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704-410: The infamous Nazi " Degenerate Art" exhibition in Munich, after which some were sold to raise cash for the Nazi regime. Since the 1960s, Ismar Littmann's heirs have been demanding restitution of Littmann's art collection. In 1961 the confiscation of six paintings was recognized and in partial settlement compensation of 32,000 DM was paid. A second settlement concerning the Nazi seizure of 1177 artworks

736-472: The original installations, promotional and propaganda materials and some surviving Nazi-approved art from the official exhibition set up to contrast with the modernist and avant-garde works the Nazis considered "degenerate". The Museum of Modern Art has now established a digital exhibit that showcases artwork from the Degenerate Art Exhibition. MoMA highlights a collection of work that were deemed as "degenerate art" and removed from German state-owned museums by

768-457: Was a patron of cultural life in Wroclaw. He supported young artists, helped found the local Jewish Museum, served as a board member of the "Society of Friends of Art", and promoted modern art. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Littmann was persecuted because he was Jewish. Banned from practicing law, socially and politically marginalized, and economically devastated, he died by suicide in 1934. To survive, Littmann's widow Käthe Littmann

800-486: Was aided by some vehement opponents of modern art, such as Wolfgang Willrich . The exhibition was prepared in haste, to be presented concurrently with the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung ("Great German Art Exhibition") scheduled to open on 18 July 1937. Imitating Hitler, Ziegler delivered a mordant critique of modern art at the opening of the Degenerate Art Exhibition on 19 July 1937. The exhibition

832-600: Was concluded in 1965, with DM 12,000 in compensation. The inventories of the Littmann Collection were found at the end of the 1990s, and research has been carried out since then into the whereabouts of the collection. Since 1999, on the basis of the Washington Declaration, six paintings and one drawing have been restituted to Littmann's heirs, however others have been refused, notably by the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg for an Emil Nolde . The heirs were able to identify

864-481: Was concluded in 1965, with DM 12,000 in compensation. The inventories of the Littmann Collection were found at the end of the 1990s, and research has been carried out since then into the whereabouts of the collection. Since 1999, on the basis of the Washington Declaration, six paintings and one drawing have been restituted to Littmann's heirs, however others have been refused, notably by the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg for an Emil Nolde . The heirs were able to identify

896-527: Was forced to sell her possessions, including 156 works which were to be sold through the Max Perl auction house in Berlin. Two days before the auction, however, 64 works, including 18 from the Littmann collection, were confiscated by the Gestapo because of "typical cultural Bolshevik depiction of a pornographic character". The remaining 182 works were auctioned on February 26 and 27, 1935, but many were not sold and it

928-425: Was forced to sell her possessions, including 156 works which were to be sold through the Max Perl auction house in Berlin. Two days before the auction, however, 64 works, including 18 from the Littmann collection, were confiscated by the Gestapo because of "typical cultural Bolshevik depiction of a pornographic character". The remaining 182 works were auctioned on February 26 and 27, 1935, but many were not sold and it

960-512: Was hosted at the Institute of Archaeology in the Hofgarten in Munich. The venue was chosen for its particular qualities (dark, narrow rooms). Many works were displayed without frames and partially covered by derogatory slogans. Photographs of the exhibitions had been made, as well as a catalogue, produced for the Berlin show, which accompanied the exhibition as it travelled. A film of sections of

992-813: Was intended to show the more classical and "racially pure" type of art advocated by the Nazi regime. That exhibition was hosted near Hofgarten, in the Haus der Deutschen Kunst . It is described as mediocre by modern sources, and attracted only about half the numbers of the Degenerate Art one. Another Degenerate Art Exhibition was hosted a few months later in Berlin , and later in Leipzig , Düsseldorf , Weimar , Halle , Vienna and Salzburg , to be seen by another million or so people. Many works were later sold off, although interested buyers were scarce and prices dropped drastically with

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1024-460: Was staged in counterpoint to the concurrent Great German Art Exhibition . The day before the exhibition started, Adolf Hitler delivered a speech declaring "merciless war" on cultural disintegration, attacking "chatterboxes, dilettantes and art swindlers". Degenerate art was defined as works that "insult German feeling, or destroy or confuse natural form or simply reveal an absence of adequate manual and artistic skill". One million people attended

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