The Reich Chamber of Culture (''Reichskulturkammer'') was a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the ''

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...

'' process at the instigation of Reich Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...

as a professional organization of all German creative artists. Defying the competing ambitions of the

German Labour Front The German Labour Front (german: Deutsche Arbeitsfront, ; DAF) was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power. History As early as March 1933, t ...

(DAF) under Goebbels' rival Robert Ley, it was meant to gain control over the entire cultural life in Germany creating and promoting Aryan art consistent with

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

ideals. Every artist had to apply for membership on presentation of an Aryan certificate. A rejected inscription ''de facto'' resulted in an occupational ban.

Structure and organisation

The RKK was affiliated with the

Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany. The ministry ...

with its seat on Wilhelmplatz in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. Headed by Goebbels himself, a state secretary of his ministry served as vice president: Reichsmusikkammer1001

* Walther Funk (1933–1938) * Karl Hanke (1938–1941) * Leopold Gutterer (1941–1944) * Werner Naumann (1944–1945) '' SS'' officer Hans Hinkel was one of the officers in charge of the chamber and Goebbels' special commissioner for the removal of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from German cultural life. Different subdivisions of the RKK dealt with

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, visual arts, theatre, literature, media, and radio, organized in seven departments: *'' Reichsfilmkammer'', headed by

Carl Froelich Carl August Hugo Froelich (5 September 1875 – 12 February 1953) was a German film pioneer and film director. He was born and died in Berlin. Biography Apparatus builder and cameraman From 1903 Froelich was a colleague of Oskar Messter, one of ...

from 1939 *'' Reichsmusikkammer'', headed by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, from 1935 by Peter Raabe *'' Reichskammer der bildenden Künste'' ("Reich Chamber of Fine Arts") ( de), headed by Eugen Hönig from 1933, by

Adolf Ziegler Adolf Ziegler (16 October 1892 – 11 September 1959) was a German painter and politician. He was tasked by the Nazi Party to oversee the purging of what the Party described as "degenerate art", by most of the German modern artists. He was Hi ...

from 1936, and by

Wilhelm Kreis Wilhelm Kreis (17 March 1873 – 13 August 1955) was a prominent German architect and professor of architecture, active through four political systems in German history: the Wilhelmine era, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the found ...

from 1943 *'' Reichstheaterkammer'', headed by

Rainer Schlösser Rainer Schlösser (sometimes anglicized as Schlosser or Schloesser; 28 July 1899 – 9 August 1945) was a German journalist and writer who held (1933–1945) the governmental post of ''Reichsdramaturg'' (Reich Drama Adviser) in the Ministry of Popu ...

1935–1938, by Paul Hartmann from 1942 *'' Reichsschrifttumskammer'', headed by Hans-Friedrich Blunck, from 1935 by

Hanns Johst Hanns Johst (8 July 1890 – 23 November 1978) was a German poet and playwright, directly aligned with Nazi philosophy, as a member of the officially approved writers’ organisations in the Third Reich. The statement “When I hear the word cul ...

*'' Reichspressekammer'', headed by

Max Amann Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including of looted art. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the he ...

*'' Reichsrundfunkkammer'' (tasks assigned to '' Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft'' in 1939) The RKK was ultimately dissolved and its assets confiscated by Law no. 2 (October 10, 1945) of the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of ...

. Footage and archives material are kept by the

German Federal Archives , type = Archive , seal = , seal_size = , seal_caption = , seal_alt = , logo = Bundesarchiv-Logo.svg , logo_size = , logo_caption = , lo ...

(''Bundesarchiv'') and the Berlin Document Center.

Degenerate art

The RKK played a significant role in the Nazi oppression of

Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

, defamed as " Cultural Bolshevism". One notable project of the ''Bildende Künste'' (Fine Arts) division under Adolf Ziegler was the '' Entartete Kunst'' exhibition, of works deemed " degenerate." Opened in July 1937 at the Hofgarten in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

, touring exhibitions were held from 1938 to 1941 in several major German cities such as Berlin,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Attendance was measured in the millions (perhaps largely because entrance was free), and the so-called degenerate art may have been more popular with the public than the Nazis anticipated. Goebbels had supported German

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

s until Hitler intervened and expressed his disgust at artists such as

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

and Emil Nolde. To raise cash for the Nazi war effort, certain art dealers were authorised to emigrate to New York to sell the art.

References

Notes Bibliography * {{Authority control Arts in Germany Nazi culture Government agencies established in 1933 Organizations disestablished in 1945 German words and phrases 1933 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Joseph Goebbels

Structure and organisation

Degenerate art

See also

References