The Gallery of Miracles and Madness: Insanity, Art and Hitler's First Mass-Murder Programme

Charlie English

The Gallery of Miracles and Madness: Insanity, Art and Hitler's First Mass-Murder Programme
Format
Hardback
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Country
United Kingdom
Published
27 October 2021
Pages
336
ISBN
9780008299620

The Gallery of Miracles and Madness: Insanity, Art and Hitler’s First Mass-Murder Programme

Charlie English

‘A riveting tale, brilliantly told’ Philippe Sands

The little-known story of Hitler’s war on modern art and the mentally ill. In the first years of the Weimar Republic, the German psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn gathered a remarkable collection of works by schizophrenic patients that would astonish and delight the world.

The Prinzhorn collection, as it was called, inspired a new generation of artists, including Paul Klee, Max Ernst and Salvador Dali. What the doctor could not have known, however, was that these works would later be used to prepare the ground for mass-murder.

Soon after his rise to power, Hitler-a failed artist of the old school-declared war on modern art. The Nazis staged giant ‘Degenerate Art’ shows to ridicule the avant-garde, and seized and destroyed the cream of Germany’s modern art collections. This action was mere preparation, however, for the even more sinister campaign Hitler would later wage against so-called degenerate people, and Prinzhorn’s artists were caught up in both.

Bringing together inspirational art history, genius and madness, and the wanton cruelty of the fanatical artist-Fuhrer , this astonishing story lays bare the culture war that paved the way for Hitler’s first extermination programme, the psychiatric Holocaust.

This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 2 weeks

Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.