A brouhaha has erupted in the West German parliament over the question of Nazi art.
Several opposition members of the Bundestag on Friday criticized Interior Minister Friedrich Zimmermann for his failure to reply to an eight-month-old question in the legislative body about the government’s ban on the display of Nazi art.
The opposition members said their intention was to stop the government’s practice of “demonizing” art produced during the Third Reich.
Antje Vollmer, a member of the left-wing Green Party, complained that nearly all the paintings created during Nazi rule have been banned in West Germany, although practically no limitations exist on the screening of Nazi propaganda films.
According to observers, the government has been trying to avoid dealing with the embarrassing issue of so-called “degenerative Nazi art” for both political and moral reasons. But the ongoing public debate will make it more and more difficult to postpone an official response to the concerns voiced by various critics.
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