1933 – Paths to dictatorship
Fifty years after the Nazis’ “seizure of power,” political discourse in Germany was dominated by the view that the past was the past and enough had been done to come to terms with the country’s history. In 1983, Dieter Ruckhaberle, director of the Staatliche Kunsthalle, and the nGbK working group saw things differently. Their exhibition explored the deeper causes of the emergence of fascism and considered many aspects of society in the Weimar Republic including politics and business, labor movement, anti-communism, and anti-Semitism. The show included work by artists like Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Hannah Höch, and Paul Klee. In many cases, a certain amount of time must pass before it is possible to see a historical event clearly, to understand the circumstances surrounding it, or to bring new information to light, overcoming taboos and deliberate obfuscation. This extensive reader set itself the task of shedding new light on causes and effects, motifs, tactics, and strategies. And to find an answer to the most important question of all: How can fascism be prevented?

Arbeitsgruppe: Manfred Asendorf, Brigitte Domurath, Andreas Heinemann-Grüder, Karoline Hille, Gabriele Horn, Andreas Kaiser, Dieter Ruckhaberle, Karin Steinweh