The two sources discussed in this paper are “Joseph Goebbels: Life and Death” by Toby Thacker and “German Artists and Hitler’s Mind: Avant-Garde Art in a Turbulent Era” by Wayne Andersen. Both of these books cover the events that revolved in Germany during its Nazi era. The sources describe the regime from a variety of angles and take into consideration diverse factors that formed the political and social events of the time. The book by Thacker focuses on the events from the point of view of Joseph Goebbels – the historical figure responsible for the propaganda in Nazi Germany. The book by Andersen explores the history of art in Germany during the Second World War that was tightly intertwined with the social phenomena and trends. The development of art can be traced using both of these sources, but the first one covers it in a narrower way whereas the second one depicts it using a broader scope of factors.
“Joseph Goebbels: Life and Death” by Toby Thacker
“Joseph Goebbels: Life and Death” is a biography of Joseph Goebbels – a very prominent historical figure in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. To be more precise, Goebbels was the Propaganda Minister in Germany of the time. Being in charge of propaganda that was so powerful it was able to launch the Holocaust and genocide of the Jewish people in Europe, Goebbels also had a massive impact on the other social trends in Germany (Thacker 67). In particular, the information that was presented in the mass media was heavily censored by the Propaganda Ministry, and so was art. In that way, art became a part of the entire system of forming people’s mindsets and ideas. In the book by Thacker, the reader is able to follow this tendency learning about the life of the main person behind it all – Joseph Goebbels, and all the factors that were a part of his life journey of becoming one of the world renowned war criminals in history. However, the book does not concern art as a separate subject, and one would have to make their own conclusions and connections between the biography and Goebbels’ impact on art.
“German Artists and Hitler’s Mind: Avant-Garde Art in a Turbulent Era” by Wayne Andersen
From the title of the book by Andersen, it is obvious that it specifically focuses on the development of art in Germany in the period of Nazi regime. The author explores the lives and artistic paths of versatile artists of the time and the challenges they faced due to the political situation in the country and in the world in general. The book describes how the social trends and the interest towards art developed in Germany and were regulated by the government. In particular, how the support of arts led to the attraction of multiple new people in this career field who ended up having insufficient educational background and training to work as professional artists and found themselves in poverty due to the lack of skills (Andersen 124). The author explores the development of different trends in art such as Romanticism, Expressionism, and Modernism and follows the factors that contributed to their formation in Germany and the influence they had on the society. The book is very informative for a reader willing to learn about art in Nazi Germany and covers the topic fully.
Works Cited
Andersen, Wayne. German Artists and Hitler’s Mind: Avant-Garde Art in a Turbulent Era. Boston, Massachusetts: Editions Fabriart, 2007. Print.
Thacker, Toby. Joseph Goebbels: Life and Death. New York, New York: Springer, 2016. Print.