Reich Chamber of Culture
Reichskulturkammer | |
Reich Ministry of Propaganda. Referent des Ministers Karl Hanke is in the background (1937). | |
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 22 September 1933 |
Dissolved | 8 May 1945 |
Jurisdiction | Nazi Germany |
Headquarters | Wilhelmplatz, Berlin |
Minister responsible | |
Agency executive |
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The Reich Chamber of Culture (Reichskulturkammer, abbreviated as RKK) was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the Gleichschaltung process at the instigation of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels as a professional organization of all German creative artists.[1] Defying the competing ambitions of the German Labour Front (DAF) under Goebbels' rival Robert Ley, it was meant to gain control over the entire cultural life in Germany creating and promoting Aryan art consistent with Nazi ideals.
Every artist had to apply for membership on presentation of an Aryan certificate. A rejected inscription de facto resulted in an occupational ban.
Structure and organisation
The RKK was affiliated with the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda with its seat on Wilhelmplatz in Berlin. Headed by Goebbels himself, a state secretary of his ministry served as vice president:
- Walther Funk (1933–1938)
- Karl Hanke (1938–1941)
- Leopold Gutterer (1941–1944)
- Werner Naumann (1944–1945)
SS officer Hans Hinkel was one of the officers in charge of the chamber and Goebbels' special commissioner for the removal of Jews from German cultural life.
Different subdivisions of the RKK dealt with
- Reichsfilmkammer, headed by Carl Froelichfrom 1939
- Reichsmusikkammer, headed by Richard Strauss, from 1935 by Peter Raabe
- Reichskammer der bildenden Künste ("Reich Chamber of Fine Arts") (de), headed by Eugen Hönig from 1933, by Adolf Ziegler from 1936, and by Wilhelm Kreis from 1943
- Reichstheaterkammer, headed by Rainer Schlösser 1935–1938, by Paul Hartmann from 1942
- Reichsschrifttumskammer, headed by Hans-Friedrich Blunck, from 1935 by Hanns Johst
- Reichspressekammer, headed by Max Amann
- Reichsrundfunkkammer (tasks assigned to Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft in 1939)
The RKK was ultimately dissolved and its assets confiscated by Law no. 2 (October 10, 1945) of the Allied Control Council. Footage and archives material are kept by the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) and the Berlin Document Center.
Degenerate art
The RKK played a significant role in the Nazi oppression of
See also
References
- ^ "Culture in the Third Reich: Overview". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. June 10, 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "Culture in the Third Reich: Disseminating the Nazi Worldview". Holocaust Encyclopedia. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. June 10, 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Cohan, William D. (2011-11-17). "MoMA's Problematic Provenances". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
By November 1936, Valentin had made his deal with the Nazis that would allow him to emigrate to New York and to sell "degenerate art" to help fund the war effort.
Further reading
- Petropoulos, Jonathan. Art as politics in the Third Reich (UNC Press Books, 1999) online.
- Schoeps, Karl-Heinz. Literature and film in the Third Reich (Camden House, 2004). online
- Steinweis, Alan E. "The professional, social, and economic dimensions of Nazi cultural policy: the case of the Reich Theater Chamber." German Studies Review 13.3 (1990): 441-459. online
- Steinweis, Alan E. (1996). Art, ideology, & economics in Nazi Germany: the Reich chambers of music, theater, and the visual arts. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4607-0.