Totalitarianism and the Arts in the 20th Century ( Review)

Did the arts thrive or get worse through the dictatorships of Hitler and Stalin?

Hitler, Stalin, the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Shostakovich, all of these are things that Paul Cantor discusses in his 7th lecture on Commerce and Culture.

Shostakovich was a composer in the Soviet Union during the time of Stalin’s dictatorship. In many ways, he was controlled by Stalin. Stalin took on the role of “patron” for Shostakovich. However, Stalin was a little bit more of a serious patron than your average. He wasn’t the kind of patron that would stop supporting you monetarily if he didn’t like you, he would simply kill you and your family. A very intense kind of patronage that caused Shostakovich high pressure at many times.

Shostakovich put together some of the most beautiful pieces in history yet much of what he composed for Stalin was then used as propaganda for the Soviets.

People think that Totalitarianism must be opposed to arts? After all, with Totalitarianism being horrible in so many ways, how could it be anything or support anything good? However, Hitler and Stalin were very supportive of the arts in their government. Hitler was an artist before the war and had wanted to go to school for art. This I’m sure helped him have a reason to continue giving to these

In fact, when these totalitarianism governments were starting, there was an artist explosion. It produced so many people who were wanting to contribute to the market with arts from everywhere. However, what Cantor mentions is that even though there was this initial support of the arts, Stalin and Hitler killed more artists than anybody in history. So while there was a positive effect on “the arts, there was a much stronger negative one.

Another thing that people may think is that Totalitarianism supports modernism. They have in common that they both love tech, power, new things, etc. They’re both trying to be the cutting edge. However, we find that Hitler and Stalin adamantly opposed modernism. Especially Hitler.

Cantor believes that this, in turn, is what spread the popularity of the modernist movement in the mid 20th century. After Hitler was gone, there was almost this rebellion or spite against Hitler. America and places in Europe had to get away from Hitler’s style, so they picked something he hated and went full into it.

Amazing what can cause whole interests and changes in culture. Sometimes change can come from something as simple as doing the opposite of the guy who went before you.