On May 28, 1943, 80 years ago a large pile of a few hundred paintings considered “Degenerate” was set ablaze just outside the Jeu de Paume in the Jardin des Tuileries. Our heroine Rose Valland could do nothing but watch in horror as the canvases of Picasso, van Gogh, Chagall, Matisse, and more burned.
Degenerate art was anything Hitler deemed to “insult German feelings” and was created by immoral artists. To Hitler and the Nazi officials “pleasing” art consisted of landscapes, still lives, and appropriate portraits. Fauvism, Surrealism, Symbolism, Expressionism, Post-Impressionism, and the biggest of all ism’s, Impressionism was thought immoral.
In 1937 the museums and galleries of Germany were cleaned of all degenerate art, more than 20,000 works, and in July a small and crowded exhibition opened with over 600 works on display. The exhibit was deliberately put together haphazardly. Small rooms, art hanging from ropes from the ceiling without frames, incorrect info, and Nazi propaganda scribed on the wall. Nazi officials wanted to unnerve the viewer but instead, it saw over 2 million visitors and in the final month the exhibit was open 24 hours a day to accommodate people.
The objection to rid Europe of degenerate swept across the continent. Hermann Goring arrived in Paris in 1941 with one thing on his mind, stealing all the art he could for Hitler and himself. Goring didn’t have the same hatred for degenerate art and kept some for himself but not all the art could be saved from ruin.
As crates of looted art arrived, those unacceptable were placed aside. As Goring made his choices the others were piled in a back room. Rose Valland, the amazing woman who watched it all unfold, stood helplessly, unable to do anything. When we think of what was lost that day, it’s unimaginable but in the larger picture, the lives of the owners were also extinguished during WWII due to hatred and cleansing of what the Nazis thought was acceptable.
Today, when you visit the Jardin des Tuileries pop up to the northern corner and give a moment of thought to Rose Valland and what was lost. Listen to the newest episode of the podcast to learn more about this dark period.