The current political landscape is undeniably shifting towards the right. Domestically within the UK itself, the rise of Reform UK echoes this, most worryingly reflecting the political direction of President Donald Trump. With the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis and the reign of fear ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) seem to be enacting throughout the states, there are many parallels to be drawn between the current situation in the US and 1930s Germany.
Taking this into consideration, the advertisement for the German Art Gallery, displaying vast amounts of art related to the Third Reich, on Donald Trump’s Truth Social seems slightly more sinister than just reaching a larger audience. The political weight of this art means its’ ownership is extremely important, and while the supporters of Trump cannot yet be compared to those of the Nazi Party, they have not gained themselves a trusting reputation.
The motivations of the German Art Gallery to advertise on a platform owned by Donald Trump, not a platform advertising to artists, or art collectors, but to users with far-right political views, leaning towards that of the Nazi’s, are also ambiguous. Why choose Truth Social? Due to the lack artistic content on the platform, and its overwhelmingly political content, the choice in itself must suggest the parallels of the rise of right-wing ideology and Nazi-era art.
While this choice may be the gallery ridiculing the supporters of Trump, it suggests an overall lack of responsibility. Art is proven to be a very powerful tool.
Art from the Third Reich, 1933 to 1945, was highly censored, dictated by the highly conservative and racially selective ideals of Hitler and his Nazi Party. Art was used as propaganda, largely against Jews, promoting Aryan supremacy and Nazi values, controlling the culture of the Third Reich. The Great German Art Exhibition, which took place eight times between 1937 and 1944, was a clear display of Hitler’s control. Regarding art from the Romans and Greek as pure and untouched from Jewish influence, the exhibition was structured around his racialised views of legitimate art.
To contrast this, and further establish German supremacy, Hitler also dictated modern art, the art of the Weimar Republic, as ‘degenerate’. This was associated with the failure of Germany in the First World War, not the supreme, world-dominating Germany envisioned by Hitler and the Nazi party.
Ultimately, the art displayed in the German Art Gallery is tied directly to Hitler himself. Boasting a sculpture from Arno Breker, an artist well-known for his public works in Nazi Germany and a supporter of the Nazi Party himself.
The use of Truth Social as an advertising platform strategically targets a right-wing audience, bringing into question their possible motivations for purchasing art from the Third Reich. With the gallery owning works by Adolf Hitler himself, this art must be treated with respect and sensitivity. The current rise in right-wing ideology and the extreme behaviour displayed by Donald Trump through his foreign policy and unquestionable racial discrimination towards immigrants, largely those from Latin America, means the ability of his supporters to be sensitive to these topics must be questioned.
The ever-growing powers of ICE and its protection through the law, displayed through the lack of prosecution of Jonathon Ross, the agent who shot and killed Renee Good, uproots memories of Nazi Germany and the use of a militant police force. Trump has also appointed himself as the head of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, controlling performances and excluding artists who don’t align with his values. Combining his censorship of the arts and weaponisation of ICE, the Trump administration becomes more nostalgic of the 1930’s with every passing day.
Given this concerning parallel between modern-day America and 1930s Germany, advertising art from the Third Reich to a right-wing platform is quite ironic.
“Arno Breker“, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
