In Relation to the Arts. Politics and Exhibition Policy in the Third Reich

NORDISK MUSEOLOGI 2007 G 1, S. 46-57

“The Nordic concept” in relation to the arts. Politics and exhibition policy in the Third Reich

HANNA PIRINEN*

Abstract: Nazi Germany used official cultural cooperation for ideological propaganda purposes. Germany did not enter into any distinct cultural agreements with the Nordic countries, but cooperated in separate projects such as art exhibitions. This article focuses on an exhibition of Finnish art organized in Germany in 1935 and on an exhibition of German art correspondingly organized in Finland in 1936. The article discusses the compilation of an exhibition as a statement of opinion. Compiling an exhibition is always a matter of making choices: decisions have to be made on the theme of the exhibition, any larger entity it is to be linked with, what should be included and what should be left out. An exhibition always represents something; it can thus never be non-aligned or ‘innocent’. An art exhibition that forms part of cultural cooperation organized by a totalitarian system is an example of an enforced display of ideology. Keywords: Exhibtions, cultural cooperation, cultural policy, Nazi Germany, political art, propaganda.

The rise to power of the National Socialist ments with Spain and several countries in eas- Party in Germany in 1933 heralded a massive tern Europe. As a result, a conscious political political upheaval which had an impact on all programme was created for national cultural segments of cultural and artistic life as well as exchange, with officials active in running it everywhere else. Nazi Germany’s domestic (Barbian 1992). Germany did not enter into and foreign policy both involved single-min- any cultural agreements with the Nordic ded politico-cultural propaganda. Propaganda countries, and there was thus no official basis aimed abroad was the responsibility of the ef- for widespread cooperation between cultural ficiently organized cultural administration organizations, university departments or other run by the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry institutions. Instead, cultural cooperation was for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, channelled into other forms of activity, such plus numerous associations subservient to the as arranging guest appearances, exhibitions party together with their various subdivisions. and trade fairs in various fields. Nazi Germany entered into cultural agree- This article explores the use of cultural co- “THE NORDIC CONCEPT” IN RELATION TO THE ARTS

operation by National Socialist Germany as a rough destruction of official German docu- 47 means of spreading Nazi propaganda. I shall mented sources in the final phase of the war. be focussing on two exhibitions in particular: The documents that are available are mainly an exhibition of Finnish art organized in Ger- contemporary printed sources such as newspa- many in 1935 and an exhibition of German per and magazine articles and printed exhibi- art correspondingly organized in Finland in tion catalogues, plus diaries and memoirs and a the following year. I shall also be touching on very small amount of correspondence from pri- an exhibition of Finnish graphic art that tou- vate archives (Hiedanniemi 1980; Wuorimaa red Germany in 1936. By analysing the exhi- 1967; Levanto 1991; Kruskopf 1998). bition organization, I shall discuss the coope- At the international level, research on the ration between the two countries and the poli- influence of National Socialism on the art tical role of cultural institutions in the public world in Finland is a theme of topical impor- sector. Using the two above exhibitions as case tance. In the last few years, such national rese- studies, I aim to analyse the political aims that arch has been carried out in several countries were propounded in official public cultural ef- as part of an international project. For example, forts. the Geschichte der Kunstgeschichte im National- During the period studied, the National So- sozialismus joint project carried out by German cialist political programme known as the ‘Nor- universities and research institutions has docu- dic concept’ (Nordische Gedanke), which was mented sources and collated the information rooted in race theory but which was expanded studied into a single database (www.welib.de/ into a varied and subtle tool for ideological pro- gkns/index.htm). The Swedish Sveriges förhål- paganda in the mid-1930s, had a key role. lande till nazismen, Nazityskland och förintelsen The programme was principally the crea- project is a broad undertaking made up of tion of Alfred Rosenberg, the party’s main ide- smaller research projects (www.historia.su.se/ ologist. This article analyses art exhibitions as swenaz/publ/ Nazismen.pdf). a means of implementing the aims of Rosen- berg’s ideology. My discussion is linked with BUILDING LINKS WITH THE NORTH American analytical historical research. Hay- den White has highlighted the emphasis on a The terms ‘national’ and ‘racial’ were key con- romantic vision of history so typical of Fas- cepts that were used as rhetorical instruments cism and the dominance of ‘visionary politics’ in the National Socialist theory of history. In as a response to a Realpolitik presentation of relations with Scandinavia, one of the key history (White 1987: 72-75). terms was ‘Nordic’. In Nazi race theory, the A scientific study in the field of history on ‘Nordic’ race, as defined by race theoretician Nazi German cultural propaganda in Finland Hans F.K. Günther in his writing on the between 1933 and 1940 has been published by Nordic concept in 1925, was ranked the hig- Britta Hiedanniemi. The roles of key figures hest. The party’s principal ideologist, Alfred from cultural life and the world of art who co- Rosenberg (1893-1945), developed and re- operated with Germany have been charted in shaped the definition of the Nordic race in his monographs. Detailed research on cultural ex- ideological best-seller Der Mythus des 20. Jahr- change has been complicated by the fairly tho- hunderts (The Myth of the Twentieth Centu- HANNA PIRINEN

48 ry, 1930). The book mixed together mythical inavian culture. The third trend in the Nordic and racial elements of history with theories of concept covered the fairly practical operating art. The mystification of Nordic and Germa- concept of the National Socialist Nordische nic race and blood had a key role in this. Gesellschaft of Lübeck. This association ran its Rosenberg adopted the term nordisch (‘Nor- own business operations and managed a net- dic’), derived from Günther’s racial theory, as work of businesses which traded in the Nord- part of his own cultural and political pro- ic countries. The association also took an acti- gramme, which was given the name ‘The Nor- ve part in Nordic cultural work with the Baltic dic concept’ in line with its model. Unlike Gün- countries and organized a total of 200 separa- ther, Rosenberg included the Finnish-speaking te events in Baltic coastal towns, including the ‘East Baltic’ portion of the Finnish population annual Nordische Tage event in Lübeck, which in the Nordic race; Günther had only inclu- was launched in 1934 (PA, Letter from Dr. ded the Swedish-speaking population of Fin- Timm to the AA 7.5.1934; Wuorimaa 1967: land. Rosenberg considered the Finns’ task as 59-60; Hiedanniemi 1980: 27, 36-37; 60-63). guardians of the eastern corner of the new Eu- The German National Socialists invested rope a very important one and took the view substantial resources into fostering Scandina- that the opposition to Communism demon- vian relations. Alfred Rosenberg became the strated in the Finns’ struggle for independence key figure, and his influence extended to all in 1918 supported the acceptance of the Finns sub-areas of Nordic cooperation. Among ot- as one of the leading nations on the European her things, he was in the leadership of the mainland. In Nazi ideology, the term ‘Nordic’ Nordische Gesellschaft, the regionally organized thus became separated from its racialist roots party association focusing on Scandinavian re- to become characterized as a political and lations. indeterminate ideological qualifying concept. Alfred Rosenberg was an avowed anti-Semi- Thus also the Nordic concept programme, as te who felt a deep repugnance not only to Ju- managed by different users, developed into a daism but also to the Christian Church. Inde- complex tangle in which two other distinct ed, he became the spiritual leader of the Na- strands could be distinguished, in addition to tional Socialist neo-pagan movement. His the Rosenberg core. dream of the future was to distil symbols from The party’s foreign policy agency, Aussenpo- Nordic tales and legends to replace the Old litisches Amt der NSDAP, set up a special de- Testament symbols of the Judaeo-Christian partment to handle relations with the Nordic religion. This National Socialist religion was countries in 1934, with Thilo von Trotha, Al- to have cherished the tales of Odin, linking fred Rosenberg’s private secretary, as its head. them with ancient legends and the teachings The cultural history trend was specifically per- of Meister Eckehart, and also with a wide sonified by von Trotha and his interpretation range of Germanic cultural tradition up to the of the Nordic concept, and many other ingre- time of Walter von der Vogelweide. Rosenberg dients were mixed in with the race theories of believed that these ingredients would later Günther, including nineteenth-century Nor- metamorphose into religious symbols. Rosen- dic Romanticism, which in its day had explor- berg’s writings aroused considerable opposi- ed links between Germanic and ancient Scand- tion from the Church and in cultural circles. “THE NORDIC CONCEPT” IN RELATION TO THE ARTS

Rosenberg wrote a pamphlet to counter were above all shaped by Classical Antiquity 49 Christian opposition. Indeed, a good deal was (Bollmus 1989: 226-227; Demandt 2002: 282- written about the National Socialists’ rela- 283, 291, 297). tionship with the Church, in the Finnish press as elsewhere. Sentencing Evangelical priests to EXHIBITIONS AS INSTRUMENTS OF NAZI PRO- jail or concentration camp received substanti- PAGANDA al news coverage (Rosenberg 1936: 614; Ro- senberg 1935; Denzler & Fabricius 1993). Confused in its basic concept and split up into There was considerable competition for in- several different schools of thought, the fluence amongst the Nazi élite. Propaganda ‘Nordic concept’ programme soon plunged Minister Josef Goebbels and Alfred Rosenberg into a political crisis. In the Nordic countries, represented opposing views on art and were overt Nazi propaganda was met with repug- heated opponents in many disputes on other nance. Effectively, the only instrument left to matters, too. Goebbels’ influence grew as the the Germans was cultural exchange, subtly in- Nazi cultural administration expanded, and fused with elements of propaganda. Official he gained control of the Reichskulturkammer. art exhibitions in Finland and Germany were Correspondingly, Rosenberg’s influence decli- organized as harmonious demonstrations of ned by 1935 as the organization he headed, cultural cooperation. Kampfbund für Deutsche Kultur, lost its signi- A major exhibition of Finnish art was orga- ficance as the field of political action changed. nized in Germany in 1935, showing 220 pic- Once the National Socialists had achieved a tures and 50 pieces of sculpture. The main or- dominant position, the operating practices ganizer of the exhibition was the Finnish go- used in the combative stage were no longer re- vernment, with the Nordische Gesellschaft and quired. (Brenner 1963: 78-86; Lane 1985: 176- the N.S. Kulturgemeinde as partners in charge 177; Petropoulos 1996: 34). The eclectic ideo- of the practical organization. The patrons of logical aspects espoused by Rosenberg were si- the exhibition were Reichsleiter Alfred Rosen- delined in party policy: the public reasons given berg for the Germans and the Finnish Ambas- for this were political arguments veiled in ratio- sador in Berlin, Aarne Wuorimaa, for the nalism, though privately and unofficially Ro- Finns. Both countries appointed an honorary senberg’s mystical writings were laughed at and committee of the great and good for the exhi- considered to be a hotchpotch of humbug. Hit- bition. The group that actually did the work ler’s and Rosenberg’s views on the importance in Finland included representatives of the Mi- of race to ideology differed from each other. nistry for Foreign Affairs and the art world Rosenberg was keen to develop racial doctrine and a representative from the Ateneum Art into a mystic cult, whereas Hitler declared Museum. The commissioner for the exhibi- that Nazi racial doctrine was a matter of ten- tion was Dr. Bertel Hintze, who held the post ding and guiding the moral stature of a peop- of Chief Curator at the Helsinki Kunsthalle. le defined by blood. Hitler did not warm to The text in the exhibition catalogue was writ- the notion of Scandinavia as the racial home- ten by Edvard Richter, secretary to the Natio- land of the purest Germanic people. He tur- nal Art Committee (Exhibition catalogue ned his gaze to the south, as his own ideals 1935; Hiedanniemi 1980: 92-94). HANNA PIRINEN

Fig. 1. The gala opening of the exhibition of Finnish art in Berlin in May 1935. Aarne Wuorimaa, the Finnish ambassador, is speaking, and Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg can be seen in uniform in the front row. Photo: Central Art Archives, Finnish National Gallery.

The exhibition opened at the N.S. Kultur- the Aussenpolitisches Amt. The event brought gemeinde gallery on Tiergartenstrasse in Berlin together all the front-line politicians and cul- on May 11, 1935. From Berlin, the exhibi- tural bodies involved in propaganda. In re- tion went on to Düsseldorf and Hamburg in sponse, the Finnish ambassador gave a tea par- its entirety. Altogether, 16 German cities ex- ty at the Finnish embassy. Those present in- pressed an interest in hosting the exhibition. cluded diplomats from the Czech, Lithuanian Besides the opening celebrations, the party and Latvian embassies and staff from the Ger- organizations arranged a series of other events. man Foreign Ministry and the party’s foreign Reichsleiter Rosenberg hosted a breakfast at affairs agency. “THE NORDIC CONCEPT” IN RELATION TO THE ARTS

A corresponding exhibition of German art Chief of the Air Force, and Reichsleiter Alfred 51 was organized in Finland in 1936, with some Rosenberg. The Finnish side was represented 400 works by 64 artists on display at the Hel- by the Finnish Ambassador in Berlin, Minis- sinki Kunsthalle. A lecture associated with the ter Aarne Wuorimaa. exhibition was given by the German professor In projects such as these exhibitions, it was of art history Alfred Stange (1894-1968), il- the party cultural organizations that did the lustrating National Socialist ideas about art. actual work. In both the Finnish exhibition in Stange, who had been appointed to his post at Berlin and the German exhibition in Helsin- the University of Bonn the previous year, had ki, the same two party organizations – the carried out a thorough political overhaul of Nordische Gesellschaft and the N.S. Kulturge- his department in accordance with National meinde (particularly the department of visual Socialist ideology. He was also instrumental in art) – were in charge of the arrangements. bringing about a wider process of change in Conflicts of interest had arisen between the the realm of science throughout the Third two organizations, and in fact funding had Reich. Stange’s department carried out studies been obtained from other German sources in the geography of art with the aim of de- too, to cover the escalating exhibition costs monstrating “the German heritage” in French (Hiedanniemi 1980: 92-94). art. Stange was in close contact with Alfred The exhibition of Finnish art only visited Rosenberg. During the war, the art depart- Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hamburg, even ment at the University of Bonn was involved though many cities besides these three would in campaigns to photograph French art and have been happy to host it. In order to cater architecture in occupied France. It was at to this demand, the Lübeck head office of the Stange’ s initiative that a research centre for Nordische Gesellschaft turned its attention to art history was set up in Paris. At this centre, Finnish graphic art. A successful exhibition of German National Socialist art historians wro- Finnish graphic art had been held in Prague te scientific evaluations and conveyed infor- and Bratislava in 1935, and the Nordische Ge- mation exploited in the seizure of works of art sellschaf was interested in bringing this exhibi- and items of cultural heritage (www.welib.de/ tion to Germany, since the organization had a gkns/tkg-bonn.html). comprehensive network of branch offices At the exhibition of German art in Helsin- throughout the country and the resources to ki, a good deal of attention was paid to make the practical arrangements. The graphic looking after official relations between the artists agreed to the request, and the aim was two countries. German officials were repre- to open the exhibition in Lübeck in conjunc- sented on the honorary committee by Kon- tion with a national meeting of the Nordische stantin Freiherr von Neurath, Reich Minister Gesellschaft. The organization planned to infor Foreign Affairs; Dr. Wilhelm Frick, Reich vite the chancellor of the Third Reich, Adolf Minister of the Interior; and Bernhard Rust, Hitler, and the President of the Finnish Re- Reich Minister for Science, Education and public, P.E. Svinhufvud, to be patrons of the Culture. The political élite, on the other hand, exhibition (STG, letters from Dr. Timm to was represented by Hermann Göring, Minis- Lennart Segerstråhle 21.5.1935, 1.6.1935; ter President of Prussia and Commander in CCA, STY II, file 1, exhibition catalogue; HANNA PIRINEN

Fig. 2. The exhibition of German art was hung in the Helsinki Kunsthalle in March 1936. Bertel Hintze is here having lunch with the Germans Alexander Funkenberg and Günther Thaer.

CCA, ABH, file 13, letter from NG Reich- tion to art reviews in a variety of contexts, and skontor Lübeck to Bertel Hintze 20.12.1935). this led to a ban on the publication of art criticism towards the end of 1936. Criticism “after the fact”, and assessments that projected GERMANIC IMAGES art expertise, were forbidden. The National There was a good deal of coverage of the exhi- Socialist party felt that its worldview offered a bition of Finnish art in Germany and the ex- comprehensive ideology which allowed the hibition of German art in Finland in both the evaluation of works of art in the context of an Finnish and German press. When reading the overall concept of culture. Instead of reviews German newspaper articles, the contemporary written by critics, newspapers published ex- political restrictions on public speech should planatory and descriptive texts written by ‘art be borne in mind. Goebbels, the propaganda editors’ (Kunstschriftleiter). These writers were minister, had brought the German media not allowed to hide behind pseudonyms; their under his control. He expressed his opposi- whole names had to be published. Art editors “THE NORDIC CONCEPT” IN RELATION TO THE ARTS

had to be well informed about the field of art The art historian Waldemar Hartmann, 53 they were writing about and at least thirty who was editor of the culture section of Völ- years old (Wulf 1963: 126-131; Brenner kischer Beobachter, the main mouthpiece of 1963: 108). the National Socialist party, had written for Newspaper articles provide a more extensi- the catalogue of the One Hundred Years of Ger- ve source for investigating how Finnish and man Art exhibition held in Helsinki. The pre- German art was actualised. To today’s reader, face outlines national contacts in trade and these exhibition reports and criticisms seem culture. The Finnish war of independence and naïve and appear to be dictated by the politi- the political Nordic concept programme were cal situation. However, the newspaper articles highlighted as factors that cemented friendly reveal the kind of network of consciousness, relations. Hartmann makes a case for the poli- narrative and openly expressed goals in which tical idiom of the exhibition, reflecting the national art was actualised. German national tradition in general and its The commentary on the Finnish exhibition appearance in German Romanticism in parti- as a whole highlighted the visionary power of cular. Nationally, the focus is on portraiture Akseli Gallen-Kallela as an interpreter of the and landscape painting. National Socialist art Kalevala epic. Appreciation of folk poetry was history emphasised the realisation of national ranked high in the National Socialist concep- values in art. Relinquishing foreign models tion of art. Thus the links between Gallen- and alien themes was considered a good thing: Kallela’s works and the Finnish narrative tradi- the world of Antique myth had been supplan- tion and the imagery of the Kalevala were ted by German landscapes and images of na- highly praised. The artist was extolled as a tional life (Hartmann 1936, 6-7). mystic from the Finnish forests and an inter- At the Helsinki exhibition, the German or- preter of Finnish tales. The fighting spirit of ganizers gave particular attention to a newco- the heroic figures described in the epic was ad- mer who was ideologically suited to the Natio- mired, and similarities were identified betwe- nal Socialists. Wilhelm Petersen (born 1900), a en its characters and those of the ancient Ger- fairly young painter from northern Germany, manic tradition. The monumental style of submitted 23 paintings to the exhibition. His Gallen-Kallela’s frescoes and his sizable major work consisted of seascapes and coastal sub- works was admired, as too were the clear sur- jects and mythological themes. Because of his face compositions and dramatic lines of his Nordic racial and spiritual heritage, he was ex- symbolist paintings. pected to become a national-epic painter, and German influences on the work of Finnish his independence from all foreign influences artists who had studied in Germany – such as was considered an asset. Petersen had had an Fanny Churberg, who had studied in Düssel- exhibition at home in Germany in 1936, at- dorf, – were emphasised. Individual artists tracting a good deal of attention in the Ger- highlighted included the painter Sulho Sipilä, man press. He was generally seen to embody both for his career as captain of a battleship the ‘Nordic concept’, and on the orders of Al- and for the almost mystical nature of his mat- fred Rosenberg methodical efforts were under- ter-of-fact style (Thaer 1935a: 402-403; Thaer taken to hail him as the greatest artist in the 1935b; Scholz 1935). Third Reich. HANNA PIRINEN

54 Finnish reviews of the exhibition took note In the independent cultural magazine Fo- of phenomena in the National Socialist con- rum, V. Arti (a pseudonym for Kaarlo Väinö cept of art. Besides cautious criticism and di- Valve) took the view that the Germans were plomatically veiled phrases, there were also miles ahead of the Finns in terms of both sympathetic views of National Socialist arts technique and cultural ideas. He considered policy. Ludwig Wennevirta, art critic for the their artistic outlook to be powerful, direct, extreme right-wing paper Ajan Suunta, explai- free from sentimentalism, honest and aware of ned the basis for the National Socialist con- nature. According to Arti, German art was not cept of art described by the German guest lec- overburdened with refinement in comparison turer Professor Alfred Stange in a separate arti- with Romanesque art, particularly Italian. cle before the actual commentary on the exhi- The reviewer considered this to be a unifying bition, in which he gave special attention to factor between Finnish and German art. Arti the new German painting. Wennervirta na- was ready to put German art forward as a med Wilhelm Petersen as the chief exponent paradigm for the future (Arti 1936). of this, and in his summary he confesses his ad- That the National Socialist conception of miration for the National Socialist worldview art prioritized the emotional projection of the (Wennervirta 1936). viewer, “the human proximity of art and its et-

Fig. 3. Wilhelm Petersen: Thor and the Midgard Serpent. Paavolainen 1936, page 107. “THE NORDIC CONCEPT” IN RELATION TO THE ARTS

hical values”, over artistic value bemused cri- had failed, National Socialist cultural propa- 55 tics accustomed to the conventional evalua- ganda aimed at other countries was changed. tion approach in art history. Stiff criticism was The Nordische Gesellschaft magazine Der Nor- avoided, however, and reviews were couched den stopped employing overt Nazi propagan- in cautious turns of phrase – or, as one of the da after noting the criticism it had attracted in most influential characters in the Finnish art the Nordic countries. world of the 1930s, professor of art history, No sooner had the political concept come cultural-political persona and art critic Onni to a dead end than Nordic mythology as a Okkonen (1886-1962) put it, they focussed subject for the visual arts began to wear out. on technique. Okkonen’s general assessment Subsequently, the focus of National Socialist of the official art of the Third Reich was cau- art shifted to sculpture. tious in the extreme although he considered National Socialist admiration for sculpture contemporary German graphic art to be of a could be seen in foreign relations, too. Ger- technically high standard (Okkonen 1936a; man desires for a presentation of Finnish Okkonen 1936b). sculpture were repeated in various contexts. In the exhibitions organized in German- Sculpture was already prominently featured at Finnish cooperation in 1935 and 1936, Na- the Finnish exhibition in Berlin in spring tional Socialist propaganda exploited the 1935. Wäinö Aaltonen’s statue of the runner ‘Nordic concept’ as the ideological basis of the Paavo Nurmi had been installed in the exhibi- foreign policy programme . The Finnish wri- tion gallery courtyard, and more of Aaltonen’s ter and critic Olavi Paavolainen reported on major works were on show inside. One of the- his experiences in Germany in spring 1936 in se was even bought by Alfred Rosenberg him- his book Kolmannen Valtakunnan vieraana (A self. Correspondingly, a bronze statue of a sea- Guest of the Third Reich). He saw the ‘Nord- ted girl by Fritz Klimsch was purchased for ic concept’ as a sort of immense flight from the Ateneum collection at the exhibition at reality into the world of illusion. One of his the Helsinki Kunsthalle (Catalogue nr. 138, contemporaries had defined it as ‘Gothic ro- 50cm, inv. B I 416). German interest in Fin- mance’. Similarly, in Sweden the ‘Nordic con- nish sculpture can also be seen in cultural ex- cept’ was rejected right from the start “with changes: Dr. Bertel Hintze was invited to lec- icy disdain for this expedient myth.”(Paavolai- ture on contemporary Finnish sculpture in nen 1936: 93, 98). Germany in 1942 (CCA, ABH, file 13, letters Nazi cultural propaganda aimed at the from NG Reichskontor Lübeck to Bertel Nordic countries failed to achieve the desired Hintze 30.5.1942, 5.8.1942). result. The volume of criticism increased, and Contemporary sculpture was also at the the Germans had to admit that the ‘Nordic forefront of the German exhibition in Helsin- concept’ had foundered. In 1937, Rudolf ki in 1936. Fritz Klimsch, Thorak and Ri- Holsti, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Af- chard Scheibe had established themselves in fairs, began building a more neutral public the field of monumental sculpture. In heroic image for Finnish foreign policy, which led to imagery, a fighting spirit and an athletic body a cooling in relations with Germany. were much admired. They portrayed Wehrhaf- By 1938, after the propaganda programme tigkeit, a valiant and militant bearing, and HANNA PIRINEN

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