new book: An Artist Against the Third Reich

[pynchonoid]

An Artist Against the Third Reich by Peter Paret tells
the story of one artist’s struggle for creative
freedom in Nazi Germany

"Nothing can be more certain than that art is not
subject to the strictures of a political view of the
world."
Ernst Barlach, 1934

Ernst Barlach, a sculptor, printmaker and writer, was
one of the leading figures of German Expressionism.
His declarations of artistic independence and
determination to sculpt as he chose prompted Nazi
leaders to condemn him as "degenerate" – a traitor of
his race, who was determined to pollute German culture
with work that revealed an offensively un-German
spirit. 

An Artist Against the Third Reich by Peter Paret
reveals the conflict between National Socialism and
Barlach. Hitler’s interest in art touched the core of
his politics and demanded political expression. He
called for an art that celebrated the drama of
National Socialist struggle and triumph, and he
opposed the abstract nature of modernism. 
Official intervention in Barlach’s work was gradual
but he witnessed his professional world shrink.
Criticism by party leaders and denunciations in the
press intimidated some of his public. Agreements to
exhibit his sculpture and to stage his plays were
suddenly broken. By 1936, the Nazis had confiscated
hundreds of his works from German museums and
destroyed several of his large public sculptures.
Barlach was forbidden to exhibit, but remained defiant
in Germany, where his work was included in the
"Degenerate Art" exhibition of 1937. 

An Artist Against the Third Reich analyses the motives
and tactics of Barlach’s opponents. Hitler’s rejection
of modernism – often dismissed as absurd ranting – is
interpreted as an internally consistent and
politically effective critique of liberal Western
culture. Barlach’s work is seen to bear witness to the
years of the Third Reich and the threat of sudden and
extreme state intervention which hung over artists’
lives.

Advance praise
"Barlach’s struggles to persevere and the motives of
his enemies, venomous local hacks and ideologues as
well as members of the Nazi elite like Rosenberg,
Goebbels and Hitler, are carefully excavated,
thoughtfully interpreted, and elegantly presented…What
captured me, though, is the sheer suspense of the
unfolding story."
Michael Geyer, University of Chicago 



Notes for editor 

Ernst Barlach (1870-1938)
Ernst Barlach was a German sculptor, print-maker,
playwright and poet, closely identified with the
German Expressionist school of both art and drama. As
a sculptor, he was best known for his work in
woodcarving, which was influenced by Gothic sculpture
and folk-carving, and often portrayed human suffering.
He was also the author of 7 plays. The Nazis
confiscated almost 400 of his works from German
museums and destroyed several large public sculptures.
He was forbidden to publish or exhibit and was forced
to resign from the Berlin Akademie.
About the author

Peter Paret is Mellon Professor in the Humanities
Emeritus of the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton and Spruance Professor of International
History Emeritus of Stanford University. He is a
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a
member of the American Philosophical Society, and a
recipient of the Society’s Thomas Jefferson Medal. The
German government has awarded him the Officer’s Cross
of the Order of Merit. His previous books include The
Berlin Secession: Modernism and Its Enemies in
Imperial Germany, Art as History, German Encounters
with Modernism, and Imagined Battles: Reflections of
War in European Art.

An Artist against the Third Reich: Ernst Barlach,
1933-1938
by Peter Paret
Publication: 5 June 2003, Cambridge University Press
Bibliographical Information
Hardback	£25.00	ISBN 052182138X
2003 248 pages	38 half-tones



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