Rathausausstellung 2026 - Tafel 34: Nachwirkungen und späte Aufarbeitung | Town-hall Exhibition 2026 - Panel 34: Aftermath and Aufarbeitung

From the National Socialist Office of Cultural Affairs tot he Hamburg Ministry of Culture and Media The Hamburg Office of cultural Affairs, founded in 1933, was the predecessor of today’s Ministry of culture and Media. During the Nazi era, it implemented the Reich-wide cultural policy guidelines prescribed by the National Socialist regime. It introduced few aspects of its own; indeed, its favoured art trends such as Heimatkunst and Volkstumskunst had already been firmly anchored within the cultural scene before 1933. It nonetheless represented an important controlling authority for Hamburg's cultural institutions. For decades there was no critical appraisal of the authority’s Nazi past. But since the 1980s, the Hamburg Ministry of cultural has been committed to commemorating those persecuted under the Nazi regime. In 2024, it commissioned the Foundation of Hamburg Memorials and Learning centres commemorating the Victims of Nazi crimes to investigate the role of the National Socialist cultural authorities.