In March, I visited the Musee national Picasso-Paris. It was deeply important that I spend time at the museum to see the current exhibit, “Degenerate” Art: Modern Art On Trial Under The Nazis. The description below is excerpted from the museum’s exhibit booklet.
In this exhibit, the paintings and sculptures on display had one thing in common. They were described as “degenerate” art and condemned by the National Socialist Regime (the Nazis) in Germany between 1933 and 1945. The Nazis used this term to attack the most inventive artworks of their time, comparing modern art to a form of dangerous disease.
In their view, modern art had been created by inferior humans. The Nazis borrowed the term “degenerate” from biology and medicine. In their view, the art of the early 20th century was a form of dangerous disease. At the time, Nazi Germany art historians went as far as to compare works of art to the bodies of people suffering from serious disorders. The artists themselves were described as insane or sick, criminals and subhuman.
The aim of the Nazi regime was to make the German population believe that the art of their time was dangerous for society and that it could contaminate them. Exhibitions of “degenerate” art were a way for the Nazis to spread their ideas. This was a form of propaganda. The Nazis used a wide range of means of communication, including newspapers, exhibitions, films and scientific journals.
Propaganda is not about the truth but about making people believe things so they act in a certain way. By spreading hatred, the Nazis trained people to hate others, depriving them of their humanity, and to imprison and murder them. Their battle against what they called “degenerate art” was part of their wider hatred of all those they considered enemies: Jews, foreigners, Communists, artists…
Now, in 2025, under the current administration, we are seeing arts and culture coming under attack. From the dismantling of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (ILMS) to attacks on the Smithsonian Institution, NPR, PBS, VOA, and the National Gallery of Art (NGA). We’re being told to return to “patriotic” art and to remove any signs of diversity, equality, or inclusiveness.
What is happening today feels like an echo of what happened between 1933 and 1945. That is why seeing this exhibit was so important to me. To be reminded of what happened when we ostracize and other groups of people.
Below are some of my favorite paintings in the exhibit. All of these drawings and paintings, including the Picasso painting at the top of this post, were considered “degenerate” art by the Nazis.
