The Hunting down Modernism Exhibition is a joint project of the International Cultural Centre and Landschaftsverband Rheinland which presents works categorised by the Nazis as entartete Kunst (“degenerate art”). On display there are works of the following artists: Emil Nolde, Max Ernst, George Grosz, Otto Freundlich, Hans Arp, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Else Lasker-Schüler, Georg Meistermann, Ewald Mataré. The Exhibition also presents works of the Polish artists - like Karol Hiller, Jankiel Adler, Władysław Strzemiński, Katarzyna Kobro, Jan Rubczak, and Bruno Schulz - who also found themselves under the adverse influence of the Nazi cultural policy.

With the acquisition of power by Adolf Hitler in 1933 the fate of German artists deteriorated dramatically, later the Nazi infamous cultural policy reached Poland too. One of the very first decisions Hitler made after gaining his office was setting up the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda or Propagandaministerium) which was to impose the Nazi Party ideology in Germany and regulate its culture and society. The Ministry, founded on March 13, 1933, was headed by Dr. Joseph Goebbels and was responsible for controlling the press and culture of Nazi Germany. Soon afterwards, in September 1933, Hitler created the Reich Culture Chamber (Reichskulturkammer) a propaganda body composed of the Reich Film, Music, Theater, Press, Literary, Fine Arts, and Radio Chambers to supervise and regulate all fields of German culture. In consequence, many fantastic works of art were destroyed and a great number of artists had to flee abroad.

Venue: International Cultural Centre in Cracow

Time: 19th Oct. 2011 – 29th January 2012

The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am - 6 pm

Recommended by the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency 2011

More at: mck.krakow.pl