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A Threat To Decency: “Degenerate Art” In Nazi Germany, Ann Taylor

Ann Connolly

As Europeans colonized the rest of the world between the 15th and 19th centuries, they encountered cultures and civilizations distinctly different from their own. These cultures were usually seen as “primitive,” “barbaric,” or “savage.” They tended to be either romanticized or demonized by the Europeans, but regardless of how these foreign cultures were portrayed, there was an unquestionable fascination with them. Over time, with the development of theories about genetics, evolution, psychology, and the rise of modern science in general, members of non-European cultures acquired the labels of “animals,” “degenerates,” and “sub-humans,” among others. The early 20th century saw the …