| Reichskulturkammer | |
%2c_1935%2c_mono.svg) | |
 MinisterGoebbels andWalther Funk, at theReich Ministry of Propaganda.Referent des MinistersKarl Hanke is in the background (1937). | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 22 September 1933 (1933-09-22) |
| Dissolved | 8 May 1945 (1945-05-08) |
| Jurisdiction | Nazi Germany |
| Headquarters | Wilhelmplatz,Berlin |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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TheReich Chamber of Culture (Reichskulturkammer, abbreviated asRKK) was agovernment agency inNazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of theGleichschaltung process at the instigation of Reich MinisterJoseph Goebbels as a professional organization of all German creative artists.[1] Defying the competing ambitions of theGerman Labour Front (DAF) under Goebbels' rivalRobert Ley, it was meant to gain control over the entire cultural life in Germany creating and promoting Aryan art consistent withNazi ideals.
Every artist had to apply for membership on presentation of anAryan certificate. A rejected inscriptionde facto resulted in an occupational ban.
The RKK was affiliated with theReich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda with its seat onWilhelmplatz inBerlin. Headed by Goebbels himself, astate secretary of his ministry served as vice president:
SS officerHans Hinkel was one of the officers in charge of the chamber and Goebbels' special commissioner for the removal ofJews from German cultural life.
Different subdivisions of the RKK dealt withfilm,music, visual arts, theatre, literature, media, and radio, organized in seven departments:[2]: 4
Nazi authorities established the RKK to further control public expression and performance.[2]: 4
The RKK initially permitted Jews, but Nazi authorities purged Jews from the RKK in mid-1935.[2]: 4
After the March 1938German annexation of Austria, the RKK extended its cultural control to Austria.[2]: 5
The RKK was ultimately dissolved and its assets confiscated byLaw no. 2 (October 10, 1945) of theAllied Control Council. Footage and archives material are kept by theGerman Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv) and theBerlin Document Center.
The RKK played a significant role in the Nazi oppression ofModern art, defamed as "Cultural Bolshevism". One notable project of theBildende Künste (Fine Arts) division under Adolf Ziegler was theEntartete Kunst exhibition, of works deemed "degenerate."[3] Opened in July 1937 at theHofgarten inMunich, touring exhibitions were held from 1938 to 1941 in several major German cities such as Berlin,Leipzig,Düsseldorf,Salzburg, andHamburg. 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 Germanexpressionists until Hitler intervened and expressed his disgust at artists such asMax Liebermann andEmil Nolde. To raise cash for the Nazi war effort, certain art dealers were authorised to emigrate to New York to sell the art.[4]
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.
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