July 19, 1937
Thus at this time I would like to make the
following observation: Before National Socialism acceded to power, there was a
so-called “modern” art in Germany, i.e., just as the word itself indicates, a
new art every year. National Socialist Germany, in contrast, wishes to
re-establish a “German art,” and this art shall and will be eternal, just as is
every other creative merit of a people. If it lacks such eternal merit for our
Volk, then it is today without significant merit as well.
When the cornerstone was laid
for this building, it marked the beginning of construction of a temple not for
a so-called modern, but for a genuine and eternal German art-or better: a building
for the art of the German Volk and not for some international art of 1937, ’40,
’50, or ’60. For art is not established in terms of a time, but only in terms
of peoples. Thus the artist does not so much erect a memorial to a time, but
rather to his people. For time is something changeable: the years come and go.
Whatever would exist only within a certain time would have to be as transient
as time itself. And not only what was accomplished before our time would fall
prey to this transience; it would also encompass what is being accomplished
today or will be shaped at some future time.
We National Socialists
acknowledge only one type of transience, and that is the transience of the Volk
itself. We know the reasons. As long as a Volk prevails, it constitutes the
calming influence in the world of fleeting phenomena. It is that which is
abiding and permanent! And hence art, too, as the characteristic feature of
this abiding, constitutes an immortal monument, itself abiding and permanent,
and thus there is no such criterion as yesterday and today, or modern and out
of date; instead, there is but the single criterion of “worthless” or
“valuable,” and hence “immortal” or “transient.” And this immortality lies
anchored in the life of the peoples as long as these themselves are immortal,
i.e. prevail. [-] The question has often been asked what it really means “to be
German.” Among all the definitions which have been put forth by so many men
throughout the centuries, there is one I find most fitting; one which makes no
attempt whatsoever to provide any basic explanation, but instead simply states
a law. The most marvelous law I can imagine as the lifelong task for my Volk in
this world is one a great German once expressed as: “To be German means to be
clear!” Yet that would signify that to be German means to be logical and above
all to be true.
A splendid law-yet also one
that puts every individual under an obligation to subordinate himself to it and
thus abide by it. Taking this law as a startingpoint, we will arrive at a
universally applicable criterion for the correct character of our art, because
it will correspond to the life-governing law of our Volk.
A deep-felt, inner yearning
for such a true German art bearing the marks of this law of clarity has always
been alive in our Volk. It inspired our great painters, our sculptors, those
who have designed our architecture, our thinkers and poets, and perhaps above
all our musicians. On that fateful sixth of June, 1931, when the old Glass
Palace went up in flames, an immortal treasure of truly German art perished
with it in the fire. They were called “Romantics” and yet were the most
splendid representatives of that German search for the real and true character
of our Volk and for a sincere and decent expression of this inwardly-sensed law
of life.
What was decisive in
characterizing the German being was not only the choice of subject matter they
portrayed, but also their clear and simple way of rendering these sentiments.
And thus it is no coincidence
that these masters were closest to the most German-and hence most natural-part
of our Volk. These masters were and remain immortal, even today when many of
their works no longer exist in the original but have been preserved only as
copies or reproductions. Yet how far removed were the deeds and works of these
men from that pitiful marketing of so many of our so-called modern “creative
artists,” from their unnatural smearing and dabbling which could only be
cultivated, sponsored and approved of by the doings of characterless and
unscrupulous men of letters and which were always completely alien-and in fact
detestable-to the German Volk with its sound instincts? Our German Romantics of
yore had not the slightest intention of being or wanting to be ancient or even
modern. Feeling and sensing as Germans, they naturally assumed their works
would correspondingly be valued permanently- corresponding to the lifetime of
the German Volk.
In 1931, the National
Socialist takeover was still so far off in the distant future that there was
scarcely a chance to provide for the construction of a new exhibition palace
for the Third Reich.
In fact, for a while it did
seem as though the “men of November” would provide an edifice for the
exhibition of art in Munich which would have had as little to do with German
art as it, conversely, reflected the Bolshevist affairs and circumstances of
their time. Many of you perhaps still recall the plans for that building which
was intended for the old Botanical Garden which has now been given such a
beautiful design. A building quite difficult to define. An edifice which could
just as easily have been a Saxon thread factory as the market hall of a
mid-sized city-or perhaps a train station, or then again even an indoor
swimming pool. I need not press upon you how I suffered at the thought back
then that the first misfortune would be followed by yet another. And that
therefore, in this case in particular, I was truly glad, really happy about the
fainthearted lack of determination on the part of my political opponents at the
time. In it lay perhaps the only chance of maybe ultimately saving the erection
of a palace for art exhibitions in Munich to become the first great undertaking
of the Third Reich.
Now, you will all understand
that I am presently filled with truly painful concern that Providence has not
allowed us to witness this day with that man who, as one of the greatest German
architects, drew up the plans for this work immediately after the takeover.
When I approached Professor
Ludwig Troost, who was already working on the Party buildings at that time,
with the request to erect an edifice for exhibiting art on this square, that
exceptional man had already produced a number of grandly-conceived sketches for
such an edific-ecorresponding to the specifications given at the time-on the
site of the old Botanical Garden. And these plans, too, revealed his masterful
skill! He nonetheless did not even send these plans to the jury as part of the
competition-for the sole reason, as he bitterly confessed to me, that he was
convinced it would have been a completely futile endeavor to submit such work
to a forum which regarded all sublime and decent art as detestable, and whose
sole aim and ultimate purpose was the Bolshevization-in other words, the chaotic
infiltration-of our entire German and hence cultural life. Thus the public
never became aware of these plans at all. Later it did come to know the new
draft which now stands consummated before you.
And this new concept of
building-you will all have to concede this today- is a truly great and artistic
success. This edifice is so unique and so original that it cannot be compared
to anything else.
There is no such thing as a
building of which one could say that it is the original, and this here is the
copy. As all truly great creative works of architecture, this building is
unique and memorable; not only will it remain, in its originality, in
everyone’s memory-moreover, it is in itself a symbol, yes, I might even say it
is a true monument to this city and above and beyond that to German art.
At the same time, this
masterpiece is great in beauty and practical in its design and features,
without allowing any utilitarian technical requirements to dominate the work as
a whole. It is a temple of art, not a factory, not a district heating plant,
not a train station, and not an electric reversing plant! This great and unique
artistic structure matches the specifications and the site itself; moreover,
the precious materials used and the painstakingly exact execution do so as
well. I am talking about the careful execution which is part of the great
school of that departed master who wanted this building not to be a market
place for artistic goods but rather a temple of art. And it has been in
accordance with his wishes that his successor, Professor Gall, has loyally
adhered to this legacy and brilliantly continued construction, advised and
accompanied by a woman who has a proud right not only to bear the name but also
the title of her husband.156 Master
builder Heiger later became the third to join the group. Its plans have now
been carried out and completed by the industriousness and artistry of German
workers and craftsmen.
Hence an edifice has been
built which is worthy of providing the highest accomplishments of art the
opportunity to show themselves to the German Volk. And therefore the
construction of this building shall also mark a turning point, putting an end
to the chaotic architectural bungling of the past. This is one of the first new
buildings to take its fitting place among the immortal achievements in the
history of German art-life.
You will, however, understand
that it cannot suffice to donate this building to the German fine arts, this
building that is so decent, clear-cut and genuine that we can rightly call it a
Haus der Deutschen Kunst; the exhibition itself must now work toward bringing
about a change from the deterioration we have witnessed in art, sculpture and
painting.
When I presume at this time to
pass judgment, to voice my views and to take action corresponding to these
insights, I am claiming the right to do so not only because of my attitude
toward German art as such, but above all because of the contribution I myself
have made to the restoration of German art. For it was this modern state-which
I won over and organized with my fellow fighters in a long and difficult
struggle against a world of adversaries- that has provided the great basis upon
which German art can blossom new and strong.
It has not been Bolshevist art
collectors and their literary henchmen who have laid the foundations for the
establishment of a new art or even ensured that art can survive in Germany; we
have been the ones, we who breathed life into this state and have been
allocating immense sums to German art ever since, funds it needs to ensure its
survival and its work, and above all: we are the ones because we ourselves have
assigned to art new and great tasks.
Had I accomplished nothing
else in my life but this one structure here, I would already have done more for
German art than all the ludicrous scribblers in our former Jewish newspapers or
the petty art-dabblers (Kunstkleckser) who, anticipating their own
transience, have nothing to recommend themselves but their own praise of the
modernity of their creations.
Yet I know that, quite
independent of this new work, the new German Reich will bring about a
tremendous blossoming in German art, for never before has it been assigned more
gigantic tasks than is the case in this Reich today and will be the case in the
future. And never before have the funds thus required been appropriated more
generously than in National Socialist Germany.
Yet when I speak before you
here today, I am also speaking as the representative of this Reich, and just as
I believe in the eternity of this Reich- which is to be nothing other than the
living organism comprised of our Volk - I am likewise capable only of believing
in and hence working on and for an eternal German art.
The art of this new Reich
therefore cannot be gauged by the standards of ancient or modern; rather, as
German art, it will have to secure its immortality in our history.
The fact is, art is not a
fashion. Just as the essence and blood of our Volk does not change, so must
art, too, dispose of its transient character in order to embody instead in its
constantly improving creations a graphic and worthy expression of our Volk’s
course of life. Cubism, Dadaism, Futurism, Impressionism, etc. have nothing to
do with our German Volk. For all these terms are neither ancient nor are they
modern: they are merely the affected stuttering of people from whom God has
withheld the grace of a truly artistic talent and instead whom He endowed with
an ability to talk rubbish and to deceive.
Therefore I wish to pledge a
vow in this hour that it is my inalterable decision to now purge-just as I have
the field of political confusion-the life of German art of phraseology. “Works
of art” which cannot be understood in and of themselves but require, as
justification for their existence, a bombastic set of instructions as to how to
finally discover that shy creature who would patiently accept such stupid or
insulting nonsense will from now on no longer find their way to the German
Volk! All these catchwords such as, “inner experience,” “strong cast of mind,”
“powerful intention,” “promising sensation,” “heroic attitude,” “sympathetic
significance,” “time experienced as order,” “primal crudeness,” etc.-all these
stupid, false excuses, phrases and prattles will no longer be able to absolve
or even recommend themselves for products that show no talent and are hence
merely worthless.
If a person has a powerful intention
or an inner experience, let him prove it in his work and not in driveling
phrases.
Basically, we are all much
less interested in so-called intention than in ability. Hence an artist who
anticipates exhibiting his work in this building or playing any public role
whatsoever in tomorrow’s Germany must have ability.
The intention goes without
saying from the very onset! It would be absolutely unthinkable for a person to
pester his fellow citizens with works with which he ultimately pursues no aim
at all. When these drivelers attempt to make their works attractive by
presenting them as the expression of a new age, they must be told that it is
not art which creates new times; rather the peoples’ life in general takes on a
new shape and therefore frequently attempts to find a new form of expression.
Yet those who have been talking about a new art in Germany in the past decades
have not understood the new German age. For a new epoch is not shaped by
litterateurs but by the fighters, i.e. by those contemporaries who truly shape
and lead peoples and hence make history.
These pitiful, muddled artists
and scribblers can hardly be deemed as belonging to this group. Furthermore, it
is either an insolent affront or a nearly inconceivable stupidity to present
works, above all in an age such as ours, which could have been done ten or
twenty thousand years ago by a Stone-Age man.
They talk about the primitive
nature of art-and completely ignore the fact that it is not the task of art to
detach itself backwards from the evolution of a Volk; instead, its task can
only be to symbolize the living evolution.
The opening of this exhibition
marks the beginning of the end of German infatuation with art (Kunstvernarrung)
and with it the destruction of our Volk’s culture. From now on we will wage
a ruthless war to eradicate the last few elements that are subverting our
culture.
And when one day in this field
as well, sacred conscientiousness has been restored to its rightful position, I
have no doubt that the Almighty will once more choose those few from among the
masses of decent artists and elevate them to the heights of the eternal starry
skies where the immortal, divinely-gifted artists of great ages dwell.
For we do not believe that,
with the great men of past centuries, the age of the creative power of gifted
individuals has ended and will, in the future, be replaced by a respective
power of the collective masses! No, we believe that today above all, at a time
when superlative individual achievements are being accomplished in so many
areas, the most highly-valued power of the individual will once more become
triumphantly manifest in the field of art. Therefore, the sole desire I wish to
express at this moment is that this new building may be fortunate enough to be
able to house within its walls many more works of great artists in coming
centuries and to show them to the German Volk, thereby making a contribution
not only to the fame of this truly artistic city, but also to the honor and
standing of the entire German nation.
With
that I hereby declare the 1937 Great German Art Exhibition in Munich open to
the public!
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