Background: The Nazis placed high value on art. Two glossy art
magazines, Kunst im Deutschen Reich and Kunst dem Volk
were published late into the war, despite desperate paper shortages.
Over half of the artworks pictured consisted of pastoral scenes, nude
women, or otherwise relatively nonpolitical art. There was, however,
a significant amount of military art as well. There were always a number
of pieces of war art at the annual exhibition of German art in Munich.
Here are sixteen examples. The best collection of such art, by the way,
is held by the U.S. Army. More examples of Nazi
war art are available on Geoff Walden's Third Reich in
Ruins site.
The source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich and Kunst
dem Volk, 1940-1944.
Nazi War Art: 1940-1944
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This painting by Wilhelm Sauter is titled “The
Eternal Soldier.” The left frame shows German soldiers from
World War I, the right frame soldiers from World War II. The
Nazis regularly argued that both wars were part of the same struggle,
and that in World War II, the work of German soldiers who had
fought in World War I was being carried on.
Source: Kunst dem Volk, July/August 1940.
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Franz Eichhorst, “Advancing Artillery in Poland.”
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, February 1940.
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Franz Eichhorst, “Artillery Firing on Warsaw.”
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, February 1940.
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Georg Lebrecht’s painting of Luftwaffe planes bombing
an unnamed English city.
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, August/September 1941.
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Otto Engelhardt-Kyffhauser, “Dunkirk.”
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, August/September 1941.
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This painting by Ernst Kretschmann is titled “Tank
Scout.”
Source: Kunst dem Volk, March 1942.
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This painting by Hans Schmitz-Wiedenbrück
is titled “Workers, Farmers, and Soldiers.” The suggestion
is that all are part of the same battle for Germany.
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, August/September 1941.
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This painting by Otto Engelhardt-Kyffhäuser
is titled: “Troops Entering Riga.” This appeared when
Germans could reasonably think the campaign in the Soviet Union
was going well.
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, August/September 1942.
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This painting, titled “Air Raid Alarm,”
is from a book of paintings on flak defenses published for those
manning the guns. Citizens head for air raid shelters.
Source: Flak an Rhein und Ruhr (Münster: Luftgaukommando
VI, 1942).
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This painting is titled “Flak Firing.”
Source: Flak an Rhein und Ruhr (Münster: Luftgaukommando
VI, 1942).
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In this painting, a wounded bomber is coming down.
The troops are firing at it with around weapons. The title: “Ground
Defense.”
Source: Flak an Rhein und Ruhr (Münster: Luftgaukommando
VI, 1942).
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This painting, titled “Before the Crash,”
depicts an Allied bomber about to crash.
Source: Flak an Rhein und Ruhr (Münster: Luftgaukommando
VI, 1942).
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Klaus Berger, “In the Atlantic.”
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, January 1943.
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This painting by Franz Eichhorst is titled “Remembrance
of Stalingrad.” The painting was displayed at the 1943 “Great
German Art Exhibition.” According to Kunst dem Volk: “The
pale colors, the splendid presentation, and the solemnity of
the moment are emphasized in this picture, which has an almost
monumental character. Although the painting demonstrates the
artistic understanding of the painter and also his mastery of
drawing, one forgets it all because of the artist's splendid
work, accepting it as obvious and given. That is probably the
best that a painting can do.”
In February 2012 this painting and six others from Hitler’s personal
collection were
found in a Czech monastery.
Source: Kunst dem Volk, September 1943.
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Theo Ortner, “The Atlantic Wall.” German
propaganda emphasized the impregnability of German fortifications
in the months before the D-Day landings, though the defenses proved
less effective than promised.
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, April 1944.
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Theo Ortner, “U-Boat Pens.”
Source: Kunst im Deutschen Reich, April 1944.
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[Page copyright © 2006 by Randall Bytwerk.
No unauthorized reproduction. My email address is available on the
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