In pictures: Vienna faces its Nazi history in art exhibit

On display at the Vienna Museum, the art exhibit “Auf Linie”, or "Vienna Falls in Line - the Politics of Art under National Socialism", is the result of four years of research on 3,000 artists under the Nazi regime.

The curators, Ingrid Holzschuh and Sabine Plakolm-Forsthuber, have undertaken this effort to reconcile Austria, a country that considers itself a victim of Nazi Germany, with its dark past.

Following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938, known as the “Anschluss”, over 65,000 people from Austria’s Jewish population were killed, making the country an accomplice in the Holocaust.

"Since the late '80s a big change of mood has taken hold... a big process of reflection has taken place," historian Gerhard Baumgartner, head of the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance, said.

"There is a great need to come to terms with history. There are still many gaps, and these gaps have to be closed," curator Holzschuh says.

The exhibition provides insights into the cultural aspects of the Reich by displaying paintings, sculptures, pottery, and even textiles, along with biographical details of the pro-Nazi artists behind the artworks.

"This can't be like other exhibitions in the classical sense... it had to be broken up," Holzschuh added.

In the wake of Austria’s annexation, the Nazi regime intervened in the country’s cultural affairs as per the Gleichschaltung (Nazification) process.

The regime dissolved Austria’s artistic associations by force, and gathered all artistic endeavours under the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts, which was a branch of the Reich Culture Chamber.

Membership to the chamber was an obligation for artists to resume their work professionally.

The curators relied on the membership files of around 3,000 artists to prepare the exhibit, which “provides insight into the political power structures, processes, networks, and artistic attitudes of the Nazi regime, the actors, and their artworks,” according to the museum.

According to the curators’ research, the Nazi regime kept a close eye on artists, vetting their compliance with the regime.

"The Nazi regime secured control of the art world and steered it in accordance with its ideological and racist vision," according to the exhibition catalogue.

As for the inner workings of the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts, “aspiring members needed to meet the Nazi regime's artistic, political and racial criteria."

Political dissidents and Jewish artists, along with artists the regime considered “too avant-garde” were barred from becoming members, and consequently practicing their art.

Another goal of the curators was revealing how artists such as sculptor Wilhelm Frass, who had asserted his loyalty to the German Reich, continued to be influential even after World War II.

Frass himself did not only continue his work after the war, but even had the city of Vienna commission his works.

The exhibition “Auf Linie” opened on 14 October 2021 and will continue until 14 April 2022. According to Vienna Museum spokeswoman Konstanze Schaefer, it has already attracted "a very big interest".

However, displaying Nazi artwork does not come without a cost. The museum has been criticised by an Austrian daily newspaper, Kurier, for spending a fortune on Nazi art.

However, city councillor Veronica Kaup-Hasler agrees with the museum’s goal to expose and reconcile with the past, saying "A culture of remembrance and dealing with one's own history play an important role in the city's cultural policy."