“Divinely Gifted”
National Socialism's favoured Artists in the Federal Republic
Many renowned protagonists of the National Socialist art establishment continued to work full-time as visual artists after 1945. They produced works for public spaces, received lucrative commissions from the state, business and the church, taught at art academies, were represented in exhibitions and took part in competitions. The exhibition "Divinely Gifted". National Socialism's favoured Artists in the Federal Republic, on view at the German Historical Museum until December 5, 2021, examines for the first time the postwar careers of formerly "Divinely Gifted" visual artists. Their networks are examined as well as the reception of their works.
The WDR documentary Die Kunst im Dritten Reich (Art in the Third Reich, 1975) and the documentary Zeit der Götter (Time of the Gods, 1993) will be shown in the Zeughauskino, accompanied by conversations between the exhibition's curator Wolfgang Brauneis and longtime WDR editor Wibke von Bonin and filmmaker Lutz Dammbeck, respectively. Admission is free.
