Nicolas

Sawicky Paper 3 Professor Bakhmetyeva The Arts have always been a way to escape reality and live in the moment. From paintings, to music, to film; you are sent into the world the artist has created for his audience. This escape from reality is usually meant to entertain, but every once in a while art is used for something far more evil. Two of the most diabolical uses of art for hidden motives are the former totalitarian regimes of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Nazi Germany is one of the most notorious governments the modern world has ever seen. With Adolf Hitler as its leader, Nazi Germany committed terrible acts on the people of Europe, most notably the Jews. Through the use of art propaganda, Hitler was able to hide Germanys atrocities or even convince the German people that the governments actions were just. Some tactics included: promoting classical art, suppressing modern art, promoting anti-Semitic arts, creating Art with Nazi marches, releasing films that advance the cause of the Nazi party, and creating posters that furthered the Nazi ideals. Since a very young age, Hitler had been an art enthusiast. After becoming the supreme ruler of Germany, Hitler took his knowledge and passion of art and created a museum to put the great German art from the Bismarck era on center stage (Nazi Art documentary). This museum displayed the great art of Germany, as decided by the Fuhrer. Hitler announced this museum opening as an end to modern art and a

return to the great classical art of old Germany (Nazi Art documentary). This biased favoritism towards one type of art put a cloak over the many different art forms, making a unified culture for the German people. In addition to only displaying certain works of art, Nazi Germany attacked any art they did not see fit for the people of Germany. The National Socialist Society for German Culture was created to control what art people were not allowed to view (Nazi Art documentary). This government run society fought against modern art, saying madmen created it. They even used pictures of deformed humans and mental patients to compare the art with (Nazi Art documentary). This type of comparison gives a completely unfair criticism to legitimate works of art, making them nearly illegal in Germany. Hitler also promoted art that furthered his belief that the Jews were corrupting the country of Germany. The famous German composer and theater director, Richard Wagner, shared this view (Nazi Art documentary). Richard Wagner was extremely anti-Semitic and incorporated that racism into his operas. Hitler idolized these operas and after coming to power, he put them on center stage in German theaters as part of the Nazi propaganda movement (Nazi Art documentary). This favoritism corrupted the art of Germany, making it a weapon of hate, instead of a medium for entertainment. Adolf Hitler also made the Nazi rallies into his own art form. With himself as the director, he created a unique and jaw dropping visual experience (Nazi Art documentary). There were thousands of perfectly groomed uniform men marching

in unison, with huge Nazi flags over looking it all. This image showed the people of Germany the perfection and power that the Nazi party employed. Nazi propaganda film was another medium that the party used to convince the population of Germany that the Nazi party was what the German people needed. One example of this technique is the film Triumph of the will. At the beginning of the film, Hitler comes down from the sky, as if he is the savior of the German people (Triumph of the will). The films also brought the before mentioned Nazi marches to the masses, showing clean military men and the power of the Nazi party (Triumph of the will). It was moves like this that could be edited to display anything the Nazi high command wanted the people to see, making them slaves to Nazi propaganda. The Nazi regime understood that is was also important to make propaganda for the women and children of Germany. During mothers day, the Nazi regime would but up posters of women taking care of young German boys. One of the posters even shows that her child will one day become a soldier for Germany (Nazi Posters). In all the pictures, it shows that a German womans main priority is the raising of her children, so that they can grow up to be strong German citizens (Nazi Posters). This type of propaganda made sure that everyone was doing their part to further the nation of Germany, instilling family values as a foundation to a great German empire. The Soviet Union is also guilty of using propaganda against its own people. In the case of the Soviet Union, it was more geared to covering up reality, instead of

promoting a successful regime. Stalins favorite way to trick the Russian people into believing Russian life was good, was through the art form of film. The Soviet film, The Circus, is a prime example of ridiculously false propaganda films. The story follows a young circus girl from America who has to flee from an angry mob after giving birth to a black child (Circus). Now in the Soviet Union, she is stuck working for a German circus that treats her like a slave. The German ringleader is purposely displayed as evil and fake, showing him having to blow up his muscles before a show (Circus). A strong and handsome Russian man eventually rescues her and they both become part of a much larger and over-the-top Russian circus (Circus). The girl even stops wearing a wig, showing that her true self is very beautiful. In the climax of the film, the German ringleader reveals to the crowd that she is the mother of a black child (Circus). The Russian people laugh it off, saying they believe in equality and even begin to sing to the child (Circus). With the main themes of the Soviet Union being all-accepting and greater than the nations of Germany and America, it is clear that although a comedy, The Circus has a very strong propaganda element to it as well. As you can see, both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union used art as form of political propaganda. The Nazi propaganda preached about family values and the evil of the Jews. The Soviet Union tried to create a faade, covering up the terrible life that the Russian people actually were forced to live. This propaganda furthered the goals of each regime, making their respective citizens know only what they wanted them to know.