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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Art, National Socialism and the ‘Degenerate’ Art Show

Following the Nazis’ ascent to power, efforts began to purge German culture of so-called “degeneracy.” In 1937, the Nazis mounted the Great German Art Exhibition, a celebration of art which they had approved. As a counterpoint to this celebration of state-approved art, the Nazis organized the Degenerate Art Exhibition. The exhibition featured works of art confiscated from German museums and drew more than 2 million visitors. Many of these confiscated works were subsequently sold off (including Henri Matisse’s masterpiece, “Bathers with a Turtle,” now in the collection of the St. Louis Art Museum) and many thousands of others were subsequently burned. At 10 a.m., Dan Reich, curator & director of education at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, will discuss the Nazi assault on art and the importance and legacy of the Degenerate Art Exhibition. Reich served for 14 years as head of adult programs in the education department at the St. Louis Art Museum. This program is co-sponsored with the Holocaust Museum. To register for this online Mirowitz Center program, visit http://bit.ly/Mirowitz-registration, call 314-733-9813 or email [email protected].

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