Rathausausstellung 2026 - Tafel 06: Ausgegrenzt aus dem Kulturbetrieb | Town-hall Exhibition 2026 - Panel 06: Excluded from cultural life

In 1933, the Nazi regime established the legal grounds for removing political opponents and people of Jewish origin from public service throughout the Reich. This measure also applied to museum and theatre employees. The Hamburg Office of Cultural Affairs, set up in 1933, also instructed artists’ associations in the private sector to exclude Jewish members. Artists were now only allowed to work if they were members of the Reich Chamber of Culture. Exclusion was tantamount to a professional ban. Not only Jews, but many Sinti and Roma were also affected. Artists actively involved in the resistance were at risk of arrest. Many went into exile; some died in custody. In 1938, all Jews were banned from cultural institutions. Deportations to the ghettos and extermination camps began three years later.