Reich Chamber of Culture

{{Infobox government agency

| name = Reich Chamber of Culture

| native_name = Reichskulturkammer

| type =

| seal = Reichsadler der Deutsches Reich (1935–1945).svg

| seal_width = 100px

| seal_caption =

| logo =

| logo_width =

| logo_caption =

| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H29353, Joseph Goebbels im Arbeitszimmer.jpg

| image_size =

| image_caption = Minister Goebbels and Walther Funk, at the Reich Ministry of Propaganda. Referent des Ministers Karl Hanke is in the background (1937).

| formed = {{Start date|1933|09|22|df=y}}

| preceding1 =

| preceding2 =

| dissolved = {{Start date|1945|05|08|df=y}}

| superseding1 =

| superseding2 =

| jurisdiction = Nazi Germany

| headquarters = Wilhelmplatz, Berlin

| coordinates =

| motto =

| employees =

| budget =

| minister1_name = Joseph Goebbels

| minister1_pfo = Reich Minister of Propaganda

| minister2_name =

| minister2_pfo =

| deputyminister1_name =

| deputyminister1_pfo =

| deputyminister2_name =

| deputyminister2_pfo =

| chief1_name = See list

| chief1_position = Vice president

| chief2_name =

| chief2_position =

| public_protector =

| deputy =

| parent_department =

| parent_agency =

| parent_agency_type =

| child1_agency =

| child2_agency =

| keydocument1 =

| website =

| agency_id =

| map =

| map_size =

| map_caption =

| footnotes =

| embed =

}}

The Reich Chamber of Culture (Reichskulturkammer, abbreviated as RKK) was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the Gleichschaltung process at the instigation of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels as a professional organization of all German creative artists.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005207|title=Culture in the Third Reich: Overview|date=June 10, 2013|encyclopedia=Holocaust Encyclopedia|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|access-date=9 March 2014}} Defying the competing ambitions of the German Labour Front (DAF) under Goebbels' rival Robert Ley, it was meant to gain control over the entire cultural life in Germany creating and promoting Aryan art consistent with Nazi ideals.

Every artist had to apply for membership on presentation of an Aryan certificate. A rejected inscription de facto resulted in an occupational ban.

Structure and organisation

The RKK was affiliated with the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda with its seat on Wilhelmplatz in Berlin. Headed by Goebbels himself, a state secretary of his ministry served as vice president:

File:Reichsmusikkammer1001.jpg decree to the Berlin musician Werner Liebenthal dictating the immediate cessation of his professional activity.]]

Walther Funk (1933–1938)
Karl Hanke (1938–1941)
Leopold Gutterer (1941–1944)
Werner Naumann (1944–1945)

SS officer Hans Hinkel was one of the officers in charge of the chamber and Goebbels' special commissioner for the removal of Jews from German cultural life.

Different subdivisions of the RKK dealt with film, music, visual arts, theatre, literature, media, and radio, organized in seven departments:

Reichsfilmkammer, headed by Carl Froelich from 1939
Reichsmusikkammer, headed by Richard Strauss, from 1935 by Peter Raabe
Reichskammer der bildenden Künste ("Reich Chamber of Fine Arts") (de), headed by Eugen Hönig from 1933, by Adolf Ziegler from 1936, and by Wilhelm Kreis from 1943
Reichstheaterkammer, headed by Rainer Schlösser 1935–1938, by Paul Hartmann from 1942
Reichsschrifttumskammer, headed by Hans-Friedrich Blunck, from 1935 by Hanns Johst
Reichspressekammer, headed by Max Amann
Reichsrundfunkkammer (tasks assigned to Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft in 1939)

The RKK was ultimately dissolved and its assets confiscated by Law no. 2 (October 10, 1945) of the Allied Control Council. Footage and archives material are kept by the German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) and the Berlin Document Center.

Degenerate art

File:Ausstellung entartete kunst 1937.jpg

The RKK played a significant role in the Nazi oppression of Modern art, defamed as "Cultural Bolshevism". One notable project of the Bildende Künste (Fine Arts) division under Adolf Ziegler was the Entartete Kunst exhibition, of works deemed "degenerate."{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007519|title=Culture in the Third Reich: Disseminating the Nazi Worldview|date=June 10, 2013|encyclopedia=Holocaust Encyclopedia|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|access-date=9 March 2014}} Opened in July 1937 at the Hofgarten in Munich, touring exhibitions were held from 1938 to 1941 in several major German cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Salzburg, and Hamburg. Attendance was measured in the millions (perhaps largely because entrance was free), and the so-called degenerate art may have been more popular with the public than the Nazis anticipated. Goebbels had supported German expressionists until Hitler intervened and expressed his disgust at artists such as Max Liebermann and Emil Nolde. To raise cash for the Nazi war effort, certain art dealers were authorised to emigrate to New York to sell the art.{{Cite web|last=Cohan|first=William D.|date=2011-11-17|title=MoMA's Problematic Provenances|url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/momas-problematic-provenances-477/|access-date=2022-01-22|website=ARTnews.com|language=en-US|quote=By November 1936, Valentin had made his deal with the Nazis that would allow him to emigrate to New York and to sell “degenerate art” to help fund the war effort.}}

Reich Chamber of Culture

Structure and organisation

Degenerate art

See also

References

Further reading