World War I took
its toll on Germany lasting from 1914 to 1918.
After the war, and leading up to World War II, many different events
took place which caused a lot of pain and struggle for the people living in
Germany at the time. The period between
the two world wars was represented by world-wide tensions and saw the rise of
mass political movements such as communism, fascism, and national
socialism.
In 1918, woman
in Germany got the right to vote because of the universal equal suffrage.
There were many
different territorial changes with different states taking power and others
being thrown out and not considered states anymore and so a lot of power issues
were arising in Germany.
Along with the
territorial power issues were the issues of political power. Up until the end of World War I, the Liberal
and Radical parties in combination with the so-called Majority Social
Democratic Party held most of the power.
After voting, these parties stayed in power but the elections of
different presidents and members caused much turmoil and controversy.
Near the end of
the 1920s, the Great Depression started which really hit Germany hard and
caused a lot of changes to the monetary system.
The big German
election took place in 1930 and later after Adolf Hitler was elected which
began the Nazi Germany and degenerative art.
At this time and many years later, there was a lot of upturn from the
government and the Nazi Party. A big
happening was the thought that art was a waste of time and something that was looked
down upon. Many things were banned from
museums or different places causing no art to be made or shown. Many painters at the time were not even
allowed to touch a paint brush and many dancers were not allowed to produce
works. Along with this banning of art,
there was a exhibit that was called Degenerative Art where many of the modern
art was hung on the walls with descriptions underneath that were meant to
provoke the public outlook against modernism.
A few years after Hitler was elected began the start of World War II in Germany.
This is some great information. It is interesting to hear how the ban of "degenerative art" happened in Europe because of the totalitarian views beginning at that time. It is something that I just more recently learned about, especially with taking this class and Laban Movement Analysis. (I wish it were covered in more depth within my regular history classes) I wonder how much art was lost in this period of time? How much art we never got to see? I'm also curious as to how much different the arts would be today if this "ban on art" never existed. I know that many famous paintings and artwork was hidden away during this period of time. There is a documentary on Netflix called "The Rape of Europa" I think it would relate very well to the history posts for both Laban and Wigman in relation to how bad this cultural overtaking by Hitler was. It really gives a glimpse into which steps were taken to ban art and protect it. I cannot even imagine how difficult it would have been to be an artist in Europe at that time. The only thing that I would want to know more about would be where you sourced your information from so I could read up more about it. Thanks guys! -Nadin
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