Nazi Art As Propaganda Essays - Adolf Hitler, Fascism, Nazism

Nazi Art As Propaganda Nazi Germany regulated and controlled the art produced between 1933 and 1945 to ensure they embodied the values they wished to indoctrinate into the German people. The notion of ?volk' (people) and ?blut und boden' (soil and blood) was championed in paintings to glorify an idealized rural Germany and instill a sense of ?superiority' in the Nordic physicality. Highly veristic and asthetisized works romanticized everyday subjects and reiterated redundant stereotyped Nazi ideals of the human body and its purposes in the Reich. Paintings of Adolf Hitler valorized and his image to heroic status, even to the extent of deification, elevating him to a god-like status. By promoting Hitler as superior to the average person, the artist made Hitler a mythological being who, if followed with unconditional religious piety, would lead the Germanic race to an ideal future. The architecture, or so-called ?ideology in stone', was also a vessel for political ideology. The monumental buildings served to construct a pseudo-history to authenticate the stable, strong and righteous nature of the ?thousand year Reich'. Thus, art in the Third Reich was merely a form of propaganda that insidiously promoted the superiority of the Nordic race, the need for loyalty and obedience and the invulnerability of the German nation. Images of the Nordic peasant endorsed a return to a pre-industrial idyllic rural Germany. The oil painting ?Kalenberg Farm Family', by Adolf Wissel, depicts an intimate domestic situation of a family relaxing, presumably after a day of ?working the land', in a tranquil natural setting. It is an easily accessible work, that the Dadaist Duchamp would label ?retinal art', as it is an aesthetically motivated and stylistically anti-modernist piece. The rich warm colours are inviting, serving to emphasize the serenity and timelessness of the scene. The composition is extremely ordered, controlled, and dignified, there is no indication of social unrest under the rule of the Third Reich, it is an ideal Utopia where the every day person a subject worthy of intense interest. This is a blatant celebration of the virtues of a simple rural life (that in reality did not exist) as it presents the family in such positive and reverent way, a stereotyped ?perfect' standard for German families to aspir e to. This was an extremely popular subject as indicated by the multitudes of paintings that were similar in genre, for example ?Rest During the Harvest' by George Gunter, and ?Farm Girls returning from the Fields' by Leopold Schmutzter. Hitler said that art should be the ?expressions of the soul and ideals of the community' and these painting certainly do present the ideals of life that the National Socialists chose to privilege. These values in turn, like a circulatory motion encouraged the feelings and values of the German people who saw it, by instilling a sense of national pride in a wholesome and righteous life dictated by the Nazi values. Nazi ideology is also illustrated by ?Ploughing', by Julius Paul Junghan; this is more specifically linked to the notion of ?blood and soil'. A person who works with the land achieves a spiritual unity with it, so that they become a part of the natural world and integral to both the continuances of its fertility and yours. The painting displays this ancient German ideology that was appropriated and extended by the Nazis to rationalize the policy of Lebensraum or ?living space' so that the superior Nordic race could control over and order the land of other inferior nations. The oil landscape painting depicts a man reigning three sturdy workhorses with an archaic plow. The eyes are drawn from the three horses to the ?intellectual' force behind the action with sweeping converging lines, thus ploughing the land is a collective action, shared between farmer and animal, working towards a better field, or in symbolic terms a better Germany. Again a highly romanticized image of life entwined with nature is presented to manipulate the viewer, it forces them to connect hard work to achieve a collective goal (plowing the soil ready for planting) with moral righteousness. This theme is reiterated repeatedly almost to exhaustion in such works as ?Ploughing in the Evening' by Willy Jackel, and ?The Sower' by Oskar Martin-Ambach. The Nazi ideals are

Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid with Personal Pronouns

Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid with Personal Pronouns Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid with Personal Pronouns Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid with Personal Pronouns By Maeve Maddox Among the oldest words in English are the personal pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. Two of the personal pronouns, you and it, have only one form that is used as either subject or object: See that goat? It bit me. (It is the subject of the verb bit.) I hear a bee. Do you see it? (It is the object of the verb see.) There’s a poisonous spider. Step on it! (It is the object of the preposition on) You agree with Charlie on everything. (You is the subject of the verb agree) That car just missed you. (You is the object of the verb missed.) This information must remain between you and me. (You is the object of the preposition between.) Five of the personal pronouns have two forms each: a subject form (I, he, she, we, they) and an object form (me, him, her, us, them). The most common errors occur when subject and object forms are reversed. Two additional errors that seem to be increasing are 1.) replacing a personal pronoun with a pronoun ending in -self and 2.) using a personal pronoun in a context that calls for a possessive adjective. Mistake #1: Object form used in place of subject form Incorrect: In the next several weeks, my colleagues and me will be discussing the appropriate way to do that. (Jay Inslee, Congressional Record) Correct : In the next several weeks, my colleagues and I will be discussing the appropriate way to do that. The subject forms I, he, she, we, and they are used as the subject of a verb. Here are models of correct usage: We went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. (subject of the verb went) The children and I had a lovely time. (subject of the verb had) My colleagues and I will be discussing the plan. (subject of the verb will be discussing) Mistake #2: Subject form used in place of object form following a preposition Incorrect: She made each child feel special by taking pictures and spending quality one on one time with they and the dog. (A testimonial written by a person who has an M.A. degree) Correct : She made children feel special by taking pictures and spending quality one on one time with them and the dog. When the object of a preposition is a pronoun, the object form is required. Reminder: Prepositions include such words as with, to, in, on, under, and between. Here are two examples of correct usage: The butterfly alighted on her. (object of the preposition on) She gave the horse to Jack and me. (object of the preposition to) In the sample sentence, a social worker made children feel special by spending time â€Å"with them.† Misake #3 Subject form used in place of object form following a transitive verb Incorrect: Rodgers then followed she and her daughter out of the grocery store. (New York Daily News) Correct : Rodgers then followed her and her daughter out of the grocery store. When the direct object of a transitive verb is a pronoun, the object form is required. Here is an example of correct usage: The supervisor commended him for his contribution. (direct object of the verb commended.) The transitive verb followed requires the object form her. Mistake #4 Subject form used in place of the corresponding possessive adjective Incorrect: Susan announces she and her husband’s plans to divorce in front of Atticus’s family. (Downtown Abbey site) Correct : Susan announces her and her husband’s plans to divorce in front of Atticus’s family. Note: The personal pronouns have corresponding possessive forms. The possessive adjective forms are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. They stand in front of the noun that is â€Å"possessed.† For example: Jack is his friend. (possessive adjective that corresponds to personal pronouns he and him) Sally is her friend. (possessive adjective that corresponds to personal pronouns she and her) She is a subject form and cannot be used as a possessive adjective. Susan announces plans for the impending divorce. They are â€Å"her husband’s plans.† They are â€Å"her plans† as well. Mistake #5 Reflexive pronoun used in place of personal pronoun Incorrect: Both  my wife and myself felt  so much happier after watching this movie. Correct : Both  my wife and I felt  so much happier after watching this movie. Pronouns that end in -self or -selves are called â€Å"reflexive pronouns† or â€Å"emphatic pronouns.† Here are examples of their correct use: The boy cut himself with the hedge clippers. (reflexive pronoun) The mayor herself delivered my newspaper today. (emphatic pronoun) There may be occasions when the emphatic form is wanted for a rhetorical flourish, but in ordinary speech, replacing a personal pronoun with one ending in -self or -selves is nonstandard usage to be avoided. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Common Mistakes category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing Prompts 101For Sale vs. On SaleForming the Comparative of One-syllable Adjectives