“Degenerate” no more: The art Hitler feared
The Maltz Museum’s take on “degenerate” art and censorship during Adolf Hitler’s regime.
Written by Izzy Aparicio
More than 87 years ago, the “Degenerate Art” exhibition was presented in Munich, where over 700 different artworks were displayed. The Nazi Party organized the exhibition as a traveling show intended to educate the public on what they deemed immoral, degenerate or provocative.
As the exhibit traveled, paid actors were often placed among visitors, voicing hateful remarks about the artwork in an effort to sway public opinion.
Today, the Maltz Museum in Beachwood, Ohio has dedicated their space to some of the very same art and artists that were once in Munich. The Maltz Museum is dedicated to celebrating the history of Jewish people, and their latest exhibition features artwork that was censored before and during the Holocaust, including German, non-German and Jewish artists alike.
The exhibition, “Degenerate! Hitler’s War on Modern Art,” is on display until April 10. The exhibit is open most days from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for visitors to explore at their own pace. Guided tours are available most Sundays and Tuesdays.
Located near the Maltz Museum, the Mishkan Or Museum of Jewish Cultures not only displays artwork, but is also connected to a synagogue established by members of the Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple and The Temple-Tifereth Israel.
The Mishkan Or Museum loaned several pieces to the Maltz Museum for this exhibit, including six lithographs by Marc Chagall from his 1966 “The Story of Exodus” portfolio and the 1948 painting “Warsaw Ghetto Defenders” by Israeli Dadaist painter Marcel Janco
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“[It is] important to revisit the historical episodes during which such labelling of art brought about far-reaching negative consequences, and it is important to understand why something like that could happen,” Katya Oicherman, director of the Mishkan Or Museum, said.
The Maltz Museum’s exhibition highlights this history by including original pieces displayed in Munich, along with work by other artists censored under the Nazi regime. From Chagall to Otto Dix, Surrealism to Cubism and everything in between, if a piece was not realistic and did not conform to Adolf Hitler’s German ideal, it was not allowed to be presented to the public – period.
Censorship is a political tool that can cause great danger, especially to the marginalized communities that are affected the most. Many visitors to the exhibit have expressed how evident this is when viewing the artwork.
“Had Hitler succeeded in his quest, we would have lost a huge layer of human visual culture,” Oicherman said.
The destruction of art erases perspectives, distorts reality and silences critical voices in such a way that diminishes the richness of human expression.
It is critical to remember that censorship happens in every era, including today. That is why it is imperative to continue giving a voice to these artworks and their perspectives.
Below are all images provided by Izzy Aparicio, taken at the Matlz Museum, on Feb. 25, 2025.
Hover or click on each image to see a description.
Martel Schwichtenberg, “Sitzende mit Blumen (Seated Woman with Flowers),” ca. 1920-1921. Credit: Izz Max Beckmann, “The Street,” 1919. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Käthe Kollwitz, “Death Seizes a Woman (Tod packt eine Frau),” 1934. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Karl Holtz, “Straße (Yorckstraße),” 1920. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Pol Cassel, “Friedhof (Cemetery),” 1925. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Lyonel Feininger, “Off the Coast,” 1951. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Fritz Burkhardt, “Dirne mit Stola (Prostitute with Boa),” 1929. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Ernst Fritsch, “Frau mit Kopftuch (Woman with Babushka),” 1927. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Various works by Ludwig Meidner. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Timeline of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party until the beginning of World War Ⅱ. Credit: Various artworks by Marc Chagall. His specialty was in Surrealism. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Depictions of women that were censored under the Nazi Party. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Close-up of the timeline featured in the exhibit of the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party unti Entrance to the exhibition. Credit: Izzy Aparicio Catalogs for the “Great German Art Exhibition” and “Degenerate Art” exhibition in Munich in 1937. Cr
