The Gallery of Miracles and Madness: Insanity, Modernism, and Hitler's War on Art

Today’s nonfiction post is on The Gallery of Miracles and Madness: Insanity, Modernism, and Hitler's War on Art by Charlie English.  It is 336 pages long and is published by Random House. The cover is done in an art deco  style font and setting. There is mild foul language, discussions of sex and sexuality, and mild violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who wants to learn more about Germany pre and during World War 2.  There Be Spoilers Ahead. 

From the back of the book- As a veteran of the First World War, and an expert in art history and medicine, Hans Prinzhorn was uniquely placed to explore the connection between art and madness. The work he collected--ranging from expressive paintings to life-size rag dolls and fragile sculptures made from chewed bread--contained a raw, emotional power, and the book he published about the material inspired a new generation of modern artists, Max Ernst, Andre Breton, and Salvador Dali among them. By the mid-1930s, however, Prinzhorn's collection had begun to attract the attention of a far more sinister group.
Modernism was in full swing when Adolf Hitler arrived in Vienna in 1907, hoping to forge a career as a painter. Rejected from art school, this troubled young man became convinced that modern art was degrading the Aryan soul, and once he had risen to power he ordered that modern works be seized and publicly shamed in "degenerate art" exhibitions, which became wildly popular. But this culture war was a mere curtain-raiser for Hitler's next campaign, against allegedly "degenerate" humans, and Prinzhorn's artist-patients were caught up in both. By 1941, the Nazis had murdered 70,000 psychiatric patients in killing centers that would serve as prototypes for the death camps of the Final Solution. Dozens of Prinzhorn artists were among the victims.
The Gallery of Miracles and Madness is a spellbinding, emotionally resonant tale of this complex and troubling history that uncovers Hitler's wars on modern art and the mentally ill and how they paved the way for the Holocaust. Charlie English tells an eerie story of genius, madness, and dehumanization that offers readers a fresh perspective on the brutal ideology of the Nazi regime.

Review- This was a fascinating read about the art of the mentally ill and how it influenced Hitler’s ideas about art and purity. The book starts out with Dr. Hans Prinzhorn and his studies with psychiatric patients. He observed that their art was very similar to the art of modern artists. Prinzhorn made it his life’s work to study and display their art. When Hitler came to power, he was disgusted with modern art and he too saw the similarities between the two. To him it was a sign of degeneracy of both art and the human race. The book moves through the war and what happened to the patients and their art. At times very moving and at times hard to read, I would recommend this book for those who are looking for a new way to study World War 2.  

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.