The Magdeburger Ehrenmal from
Ernst Barlach was declared to be "
degenerate art" due to the anti-war motive. Degenerate art (from the
German: "entartete Kunst") is a term that became notorious during the
Nazi rule of
Germany to refer to any art reflecting values or
aesthetics contrary to the
Aryan ones. It is therefore somewhat ironic that the concept of "degenerate art" was first proposed during the late
nineteenth century by
Max Nordau, the
Zionist leader. In
1937, Nazi authorities purged German
museums of art they considered "degenerate". They then took 650 of the works so condemned, and sent them on tour as a special exhibit of "degenerate art".
Photo credit: Chris 73