Between 1933 and 1945, artistic creativity within the German Reich was almost totally under the control of the National Socialist state. Many artists emigrated. But what about the ones who remained in Germany? Under what social and economic conditions did they focus on their art and what options for activity were open to them? For artists who did not conform to the system, the years of National Socialism were an era of standstill and isolation. This volume questions this blanket judgement through 15 artist personalities and shows how differently they dealt with ostracism, the lack of audience and the absence of exchange, what possibilities they had for selling and exhibiting their works and to what extent they adapted to the requirements of the Nazi regime. Some 150 paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs reflect graphically the contradictions of this time.

Wilhelm Kuhnert was a pioneer. He was one of the first European artists to travel to the largely unexplored savannahs and jungles of the German colonies in North and East Africa. Under hazardous conditi ons he documented at close quarters the fascinating animal and plant world and then created in his Berlin studio monumental paintings which were much sought - after on the art market. Like no other artist of his time Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865 - 1926) has moulded our image of Africa. In his seductively realistic drawings, watercolours and paintings he recorded with almost scientific accuracy the characteristics of the animals and their habitat. It is not surprising, therefore, that his pictures illustrated on the o ne hand legendary reference works like Brehms Tierleben and adorned on the other the popular collector cards of the chocolate manufacturer Stollwerck. The volume shows a comprehensive, exciting portrait of Kuhnert's unusual life and works and takes into account at the same time the current debate on attitudes to Germany's colonial past.