Control

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X is Heinrich Himmler and Y is the Gestapo.

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Interpretation A argues that the Nazis destroyed German culture, while Interpretation B argues that Nazi policies gave ordinary people more access to culture. A says the Nazis burned books, closed the Bauhaus, banned modern painting and drove out Jewish musicians, actors and scientists, leaving only 'cheap propaganda' and turning Germany into 'a cultural desert'. B says that the book burnings meant nothing to the people she knew, and that the 1930s brought them culture they had never had before: cheap theatre and concert tickets through Strength Through Joy, a works choir, a first radio and weekly visits to the cinema. Where A sees loss and propaganda, B sees new opportunities and enjoyment, and she 'never felt that anything had been taken away'.

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Nazi control of culture decided who could work. As Figure 1 shows, the Reich Chamber of Culture, under Goebbels, had separate chambers for the press, radio, film, theatre, music, fine arts and literature, and every artist, writer and musician had to belong to the right one. Jews, political opponents and those whose work the Nazis disliked were refused membership, which meant that they could no longer earn a living from their art.

It also decided what could be produced. Books by Jewish, communist and pacifist writers, such as Erich Maria Remarque, were burned in May 1933 and banned. Modern art was removed from galleries, the Bauhaus closed in 1933, and in 1937 modern paintings were mocked in the Degenerate Art exhibition. Jazz was banned from the radio and music by Jewish composers such as Mendelssohn was no longer performed.

For those who conformed, there were opportunities. The Nazis promoted realistic art showing heroic workers, peasants, soldiers and mothers, displayed at the Great German Art Exhibition of 1937, and favoured composers such as Wagner and Beethoven. Architects like Albert Speer received huge commissions, and film-makers such as Leni Riefenstahl were rewarded for propaganda films.

Many others chose or were forced into exile. Writers such as Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht, and scientists such as Albert Einstein, left Germany, while some who stayed chose silence. So Nazi control brought success to a few loyal artists, but censorship, unemployment or exile to many of Germany's most creative people.

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Removing Jewish, modern and 'un-German' influences was a key aim of Nazi cultural policy. The Nazis blamed Weimar culture for Germany's 'decadence', linking modern art, jazz and experimental theatre with Jews and communists. On 10 May 1933 books by Jewish, communist and pacifist authors were burned in public. The Reich Chamber of Culture, set up in 1933, excluded Jews and opponents from working in the arts, and the Bauhaus was closed the same year. Thousands of modern paintings were removed from galleries, and in 1937 the Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich mocked them. Jazz was banned from the radio in 1935 and music by Jewish composers such as Mendelssohn and Mahler was banned. Many of Germany's leading writers, artists and scientists went into exile.

Glorifying Nazi values and the regime was also an important aim. The Nazis promoted realistic art showing heroic workers, peasants, soldiers and mothers, celebrating race, family and the land, which was shown at the Great German Art Exhibition in the new House of German Art. Wagner and Beethoven were promoted as great German composers. Albert Speer's monumental architecture, such as the Nuremberg rally grounds and the new Reich Chancellery of 1939, was designed to show the power and permanence of the regime, and films such as Triumph of the Will glorified Hitler. Through Strength Through Joy, millions of workers were given cheap access to approved theatre and concerts.

Overall, glorifying Nazi values and the regime was the more important aim. Removing 'un-German' influences was the first thing the Nazis did, in 1933, and it was the more dramatic, but it was a means to an end. Goebbels wanted culture to serve the regime by spreading its values and building loyalty to Hitler, and the influences were removed so that nothing could compete with that message. This explains why the Nazis did not simply ban things but put so much effort and money into approved art, architecture, film and Strength Through Joy, and why the Degenerate Art exhibition was paired with the Great German Art Exhibition of approved art: the aim was to show Germans what their culture should be, not only what it should not be.