Freedom to Express, Freedom to Create

I was astonished by the recent announcement of a massive treasure trove of art which was discovered by accident during a police investigation. Roughly 1,400 pieces of art by an array of the 20th century's great artists, as well as some from earlier centuries, was found in a squalid apartment in Germany. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/11/slideshow-the-nazi-looted-art-trove.html#slide_ss_0=1 This was artwork seized by the Nazis during World War II, labeled as "degenerate." The artists included are Picasso, Beckmann, Chagall, Matisse, Renoir and a host of others whose work is on display in the great art museums of the world. I stood and admired their work while in New York City recently, both in the MOMA and the Met. While the monetary value is estimated at a staggering 1.4 billion dollars it is the thrill of discovery in the case of some pieces, and rediscovery of works which were assumed destroyed.

Of course, the confiscation of this art was tied by the Nazis to Judaism. Before the war began, in 1937, there was an exhibition of this so-called degenerate art meant to mock and demean the artists who produced it and the movements they supposedly represented. The Nazis claimed that degenerate art was the product of Jews and Bolsheviks, although only six of the 112 artists featured in the exhibition were actually Jewish. The art was divided into different rooms by category - art that was blasphemous, art by Jewish or communist artists, art that criticized German soldiers, art that offended the honour of German women. Go figure.


The year following the exhibit, 1938, the Nazis and many ordinary citizens attacked Jewish homes and businesses and Jews themselves across Germany. Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass, left more than a 1,000 dead, and began the persecution of Jews in earnest. Today marks the 75th anniversary of http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2013/11/08/november-8-2013-kristallnacht-anniversary/20981/

The control of artistic expression is often the precursor to suppression of ideas and religious freedom in totalitarian states.I am thrilled that these works of art still exist. I hope that we are also aware of the importance of freedom of expression in our culture. Perhaps this speaks to us about the control of religious dress and adornment under the guise of values.

Thoughts?