On 19 July, 1937 the exhibition “Entartete Kunst” (Degenerate Art) opened in Munich. In preparing for the exhibition, the President of the Reichskammer der bildenden Künste (Reich Chamber of Fine Arts) had surveyed the great collections of German modernism, seized exhibits and had them brought to Munich. Among the approximately 700 works exhibited were works by Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Otto Pankok, Hans Grundig and Max Ernst.

A central part of the exhibition’s concept was to evoke negative feelings among the visitors and a sense of chaos. To this end, the works were hung in dimly lit rooms close together and defamatory descriptions were provided on the wall next to the works. The prices paid for the works were displayed alongside them – this was supposed to demonstrate the waste of taxpayers’ money. It is not known how the concept was received by the three million visitors. 

The exhibition travelled throughout Germany, Austria and the occupied territories until 1941. The exhibits changed several times during this period as “internationally exploitable art” was sorted out and sold for foreign cash abroad or was exchanged for old masters. In order to close the gaps, the curators went back to the stock of a second confiscation from 1937, when approximately 21,000 works of art were removed from public collections. After the exhibition came to an end, the exhibits were handed over to the Ministry of Propaganda. The works were not returned to the museums – the seizure had been retroactively legitimized by law in 1938.