Paul Klee und die »Entartete Kunst«

PAUL KLEE AND »DEGENERATE ART« This essay is devoted to the Nazis' stigmatization of Paul Klee as a »degenerate« artist. Klee, who was dismissed from his professorship at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf a few weeks after they took power, was represented in several of the »chambers of horror« in 1933/34, which pilloried modern art. Klee's works were also presented in the travelling Degenerate Art Exhibition (1937 to 1941). The article's second focal theme is an investigation into the seizure of Degenerate Art from German museums (including 134 of Klee's works) and its »exploitation« by the Nazis, which is illustrated using sample provenances. It is clear that all aspects of Nazi art policy and its consequences can be demonstrated using the example of Paul Klee. The essay relates to the book currently in preparation, »Paul Klee and ›Degenerate Art‹ — the controversy surrounding modern art in Germany during the twenties and thirties«, which the author plans to publish, together with Stefan Frey.