Art - People - Power

From the beginning of their rule in Germany, the National Socialists denounced modern art as “degenerate” or “art of decay.” In July 1937, they had numerous works of art transported from German museums to Munich to be displayed in a mocking manner in the “Degenerate Art” exhibition. Subsequently, in a further campaign, over 20,000 works of art were confiscated from around a hundred museums and brought to Berlin. Beginning in August 1938, a selection of approximately 3,750 works of art arrived at Schönhausen Palace. From there, they were to be sold abroad in exchange for foreign currency.

The expanded permanent exhibition provides insight into the cultural policies of National Socialism and highlights Schönhausen Palace as a key site of these policies.

In the existing permanent exhibition—which covers the palace’s use as Queen Elisabeth Christine’s summer residence through to its role as a guesthouse for the GDR government—this fills a gap in the presentation of the site’s history.

In five rooms, visitors can explore the events that took place in the palace. They learn about key figures involved in the “exploitation” and discover how the sale was organized and carried out. They gain insight into the biographies, motivations, and scope of action of those involved: the staff of the Nazi administration, the dealers who facilitated the art sales, and the collectors who purchased the artworks stored in the palace.

One room is dedicated to the artists affected. There, the fates of several artists are presented as examples, and their diverse experiences are made accessible through diaries and letters.

Selected original works of art and the accounts of their journeys to the present day illustrate the facets of Nazi art policy and its consequences.