1938-1945: Inner Emigration

Numerous creative artists left Germany after the Nazi seizure of power and also Austria following the “Anschluss” (“annexation”) in 1938. Many were forced to since they were no longer able to continue living in their home country due to racist or political persecution. Others went “voluntarily” in order to make a political statement and continue their artistic lives in freedom. Some remained, despite internal opposition to Nazi policies. This is what the term “inner emigration” stands for – a term for artists and intellectuals who were opposed to the Nazi regime, but nevertheless chose not to emigrate for various reasons. The respective degree of their “external” adaptation differed and for some the term may have served as a justification in retrospect. Room for manoeuver, however, was narrow: Nazi cultural policies did not allow any oppositional behaviours.