As the Nazi party came to power it wanted as much control over the general public as it could have. Anything the Nazi's did not understand, or thought would undermine their power, it feared. So the Nazis began to eliminate "degenerate" art by putting on an "Exposition of degenerate art." The show began the day after Hitler's "Exposition of German Art". Hitler's Art show was put in a massive museum built by Hitler, while the Degenerate art show was in a cramped rundown building.
Dix and many other expressionist painters" works were gathered in a traveling exhibition put together to mock expressionists and what they were trying to accomplish. After the exhibit, many of Dix's paintings were seized by the government and later destroyed. Dix was even put in jail and later exiled for his art. But another man by the name of Walther Rathenau didn't have it as lucky.
Walther Rathenau was an educated well off industrialist. He was a friend of the Kaiser and leader Germany's on its financial front. When World War One began, Rathenau was uneasy, but then the Jewish man went about the task of stockpiling raw materials for the war effort. Rathenau also assisted funding the Freikorps and then became Minister of Reconstruction. While being the MR he said, "We must discover some means of linking ourselves with the world again." (103) In other words, he wanted the anguish about the Treaty of Versailles to end, and be accepted, even if it was unfair. This was his downfall because any rightist saw this as an act against the Fatherland. In other words, Walther Rathenau had many personal accomplishments because Germanys loss of the war, even if it was for the good of Germany. This made many fanatical rightists angry. A Jew getting recognized for accomplishments due to Germanys misfortune? Unheard of. This man Rathenau helped Germany through much of its darkest times yet was still mocked because of his religion.