The Haus Der Kunst: What Is An Art Museum?

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The Haus der Kunst, or House of Art, is an art museum located in Munich, Germany. The rich history of the museum and the city in which it lies is strongly tied to the Nazi party’s rise to power. The construction of the exhibits and the museum itself was strongly propelled by Hitler’s efforts and his opinions on art: on what to preserve and what to destroy. The museum and what it portrays has changed in many ways from the original vision Hitler held for it, survived through WWII, and still remains a prominent museum in Germany today (“Historical Documentation”). The Haus der Kunst was originally designed as a replacement for a previous art museum. Its predecessor, the Glass Palace, was built in 1889 and burned down in 1931, at which point the …show more content…

It became the “showcase of official state-run art of the Nazi regime.” The museum included the great achievements of German art, as well as some Nazi propaganda. Hitler himself bought hundreds of pieces every year to display, as he was highly involved in the selection process. Exhibits were mostly landscape and genre paintings, and no modern art was included (“Historical Documentation”). On the day following the opening of the museum, an exhibit was opened up across the street entitled “Entartete Kunst,” or “Degenerate Art.” This exhibit was a mocking and degrading display of works of modern art that the Nazis had confiscated right off the walls of other German museums (“Nazi Plunder”). Another protest of this “degenerate art” by the Nazis was the exile of any avant-garde artists of the time. All of their works were confiscated, and either sold abroad or burned (“Historical …show more content…

Salt mines and caves offered appropriate humidity and temperature for storing artwork, as well as protection from bombings. Many others were stored in what was named the “Martyr’s Room” at the Jeu de Paume. Many of these hidden works of degenerate art have continued to be recovered throughout the years, including a 2010 discovery of sculptures in a cellar. A larger discovery took place in 2012, when 200 to 300 pieces from the original Entartete Kunst exhibition were uncovered in the home of Hildebrand Gurlitt’s son (“Nazi

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