Bauhaus and National Socialism

Today, 8 May, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar’s exhibition “Bauhaus and National Socialism” opens. For the first time, the three-part exhibition offers a detailed look at the ambivalent relationship of former Bauhaus members and the Nazi regime. Even today, the Bauhaus is considered by many to be the antithesis of National Socialism. However, early 20th-century modernism was by no means immune to the seductive ideology of the Nazis.

Some 450 works of fine art, design and handicrafts, including numerous loans from renowned museums in Europe and the United States, illustrate the political clashes within the Bauhaus and the later entanglements of Bauhaus members with National Socialism, as well as the balancing acts performed by members of the Bauhaus as they navigated the political tides after 1933. The exhibition brings important works by Lyonel Feininger and Paul Klee back to the place they originally debuted.

“This exhibition completely rewrites the history of the Bauhaus’s relation to politics and its fate after its 1933 closure. By focusing on the biographies and work of a range of Bauhaus members – some well known, others new to Bauhaus history – “Bauhaus and National Socialism” reveals the diverse paths taken and choices made by Bauhaus members under Nazism. Contrary to popular belief, no one was persecuted simply for being a member of the Bauhaus. However, many Bauhäusler were indeed persecuted, primarily for their politically leftist beliefs or for being Jewish. The works of some of these victims of Nazi rule are on display in this exhibition”, explained Elizabeth Otto, curator and professor at Buffalo University (New York, USA).

Curator Dr. Anke Blümm from Klassik Stiftung Weimar emphazises: “The show reveals a range of contradictions: many Bauhaus members that the regime derided as “degenerate” were still able to build successful careers under the Nazis. Conversely, some who were enthusiastic early adopters of Nazism were labelled as “degenerate” and struggled to show their work.”

The exhibition opens on 8 May 2024 with an official ceremony held in cooperation with the newly opening Museum of Forced Labor under National Socialism of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation. In view of the upcoming elections in 2024 (EU and regional elections in Thuringia), the two foundations invite the public to learn about the aesthetics and strategies of totalitarian systems and look ahead to the future. Situated in Weimar’s Quarter of Modernism, the Museum of Forced Labor shows the pan-European dimension of Nazi forced labor in over 60 documented and photographically illustrated cases. The museum specifically analyses the problematic history of the relationship between Germans and forced laborers and examines the scope of action afforded to those involved.

Bauhaus and National Socialism. An exhibition in three parts:

Part I “The Bauhaus as a Site of Political Contest, 1919 – 1933” at the Museum Neues Weimar addresses the artistic and political conflicts which accompanied the design school in its early days in Weimar and later continued in Dessau and Berlin. From its founding in Weimar in 1919 until its closure in 1933, the Bauhaus was the target of artistic and, above all, political attacks. Based on works from the early Bauhaus and biographical insights, the presentation examines the personal and professional paths of the Bauhaus members, who – at least in the beginning – were united in their mutual enthusiasm for the Bauhaus. The works include Peter Röhl’s wildly colourful painting “Kosmische Komposition” (Cosmic Composition) from 1920, which captures the enthusiastic spirit of renewal and awakening of that time

Part II “Removed – Confiscated – Assimilated 1930/37” at the Bauhaus Museum Weimar highlights the confiscation of so-called “degenerate art” in 1937 and the campaign that preceded it in Weimar. The city of Weimar played a rather inglorious role with respect to National Socialist cultural policy. As early as 1930, after the Nazi party secured majority rule in the state government, authorities banned the public display of modern artworks by Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, László Moholy-Nagy and other artists. In 1937 more than 450 works were confiscated from Weimar’s collections as part of the “Degenerate Art” campaign, including pieces by Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky and other Bauhaus artists. A number of these outstanding, formerly confiscated works have returned to Weimar for the exhibition.

Part III “Living in the Dictatorship, 1933 – 1945” at the Schiller Museum examines the lives and careers of the Bauhaus members. Some students and instructors of the Bauhaus had successful careers under National Socialism, while others were persecuted. Overall, their stories paint a multi-perspective picture of the political and social history of the long 20th century. Selected biographies shed light on how the artists adapted to the new political circumstances after 1933. The works by Franz Ehrlich are especially relevant examples in light of the exhibition. In addition to his design of the famous Buchenwald camp gate as a political prisoner himself, Ehrlich’s “family cradle”, created for the Buchenwald camp commander Karl Otto Koch and adorned with Nazi symbols and oak wreath décor, is also on shown.

Data, facts and related projects: The Bauhaus was a school of avant-garde art and design which operated between 1919 and 1933, and ultimately disbanded under pressure from the Nazi regime. Its members comprised just under two-thirds men and over one-third women. There were 119 instructors, nine of whom were female. More than half of the students were enrolled at the Bauhaus for a maximum two semesters. One in seven students earned an official degree.

According to a recent estimate, approximately 900 of the total 1,400 Bauhaus members remained in Nazi Germany. Quite of few – especially former instructors – were impacted by the “Degenerate Art” campaign of 1937 and were sanctioned. More than 130 left the Third Reich for political reasons, and 24 were persecuted and murdered under National Socialism.

There were areas, however, in which modern design was desired and strategically wielded by those in power. The Nazi regime sought to present itself to the international community as a modern and technically highly developed country – and the works by Bauhaus members fit the narrative perfectly. This was evident for example in the area of exhibition design: more than a dozen former members of the Bauhaus participated in the exhibition “German People – German Labour” of 1934, including Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Herbert Bayer and Lilly Reich. Glass goods were also in high demand, such as those designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld, who became the artistic director of the United Lausitzer Glass Works in 1935.

A legendary Bauhaus exhibition returns in virtual reality (VR) – The 1938 show “Bauhaus 1919-1928” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York 

The Bauhaus presentation at MoMA in 1938 was the first comprehensive exhibition of the Bauhaus since its closure in 1933. The political situation presented enormous difficulties to the organisers of the MoMA exhibition. As it so happened, the reviews of the show were very mixed. Nonetheless, the show is still considered a milestone in the field of exhibition design. With the aid of VR glasses, visitors can walk through the exhibition as it appeared in 1938 and experience it again 86 years later.

Education project “Monument to Honesty” 

The design researchers Friedrich von Borries, Frieder Bohaumilitzky and Jens-Uwe Fischer used the famous furniture type 602 by Franz Ehrlich, whose last name literally means “honest”, to create a “Monument to Honesty”. The installation deconstructs the complex biography of the architect and designer Ehrlich (1907-1984), who not only belonged to the Bauhaus, but was also a resistance fighter, Buchenwald prisoner, SS architect, Stasi informant and con man. Based on his history, the monument highlights one of the pervasive questions facing society today: When it comes to our self-image, how honest are we? 

For more information on Ehrlich, visit: http://franzehrlich.hfbk.net

Curators

Dr. Anke Blümm, Klassik Stiftung Weimar 

Prof. Elizabeth Otto, University of Buffalo 

Prof. Patrick Rössler, University of Erfurt