This course investigates the Nazis and the art they promoted, demeaned, and plundered (including the activities of the "Monuments Men" to rescue confiscated works). Students will investigate Nazi theories of art in relation to issues of race, gender, and nationalism, and will consider why certain art was praised and others condemned. We will study the famous art exhibition of 1937 in Munich, the "Degenerate Art exhibit," which was organized by the Nazis to condemn modern art, including works by German Expressionists and others whose art was deemed "insane," "perverted," "Jewish," and "Negro," including works by Chagall, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Nolde, Picasso, and others. Another area of considerable interest will be the Nazi plundering of art, including Hitler's plans to create a museum to a vanished race (Jews) at Prague, and a major art museum at Linz.

HISTART Categories for Concentration Distributions: 4. Modern and Contemporary, D. Europe and the US.