Hitler’s Art and WW2

Who knows how the world would have changed if Hitler had gotten his first wish - to be an artist.  Denied entrance to art school he was forced to change direction. They maintained his work was not original, his people needed work, and his work was inconsistent (some good, some not so good, as the dog sketch example I have here.) They suggested he go into architecture. 

It is a most fascinating study to see how his attention was divided in the 30s and 40s. 1. Conquer the world; 2. Identify, pinpoint and specifically plunder Europe’s art; and 3. Plan the building and planning of his hometown, Linz, Austria, which would feature the Fuhrer Museum.  To the very end, he and his architects poured over the scale models of this town.  It has been said many times that the world would be a different place if he hadn’t spent so much time stealing art.

This week my students and I wrestled especially with this painting of Mary and Jesus. First, to imagine that Hitler painted it, and second to remember that in God’s eyes, all sins are equal.  That means my sins are equal to those of Hitler. Also reminds us that no man can judge another’s heart. We couldn’t, for instance, look at this painting and judge a person’s heart by the work he produced.

Joseph Goebbels - “The Fuhrer loves art because he himself is an artist.  Under his blessed hand a Renaissance has begun.”

These are a couple postcards Hitler painted when he was 19. He copied them from tourist postcards and sold his watercolors to make money to eat.  He was trying to live the artist’s life, and it didn’t turn out very well.

It’s illegal to buy and sell Hitler’s art in many European countries.  These little watercolor cards didn’t sell for much.  One of my students said she’d like to buy them to burn them.