Art Deco & Nazi Germany

The link between Nazi Germany and the Art Deco period (which is so popular these days), has long made me uncomfortable. 

First I learned about the Neiger Brothers of Gablonz, Bohemia and their assassination at the hands of the Nazi’s.  These brothers were glass artisans from Bohemia, only just enjoying the fruits of their labour when killed by the Nazi war machine in Auschwitz.

It is interesting to read how the two – the ‘Third Reich’ and the global Art Deco style movement interacted.  The text which follows owes its origins to the narrative provided by Ilonka Wenk in the hardback reference book “Art Deco Schmuck” by Christianne Weber in German.

The book is a revelation to me and one wonders, if the general population knew of the background of Art Deco and the casualties inflicted by the Third Reich, would they be quite so keen to embrace everything Art Deco?  

With the North Americans, there would be an unequivocal ‘Yes!’.  With other perhaps more thoughtful Europeans there may at the very least be a huge question mark.   

But when there is a quick buck to be made in hard times, who can ignore a sale purely on the grounds of moral ethics?  I suspect there are very few indeed.

In the ‘Roaring Twenties’ lesbianism was embraced as ‘avant-garde’, during the 1930’s it was increasingly frowned upon following the play ‘Girls In Uniform’ where the heroin commits suicide after an unrequited infatuation with another female in uniform.

But many more women would soon be seen in uniform following the rise of Hitler in 1933, particularly the ‘BDM’ (the League of German Girls), who served in the Reich Works Corporation.  They carried out duties such as menial medical orderlies as well as lowly positions as tram conductors.

I suspect that the creation  (in 1933) of the German Fashion Office (Meutsches Modeamt) whose remit was to make all women’s’ clothing conform to the ethnic Nazi ideology, was doomed to failure from the very start.

The German Fashion Office was ordered to release propaganda of all kinds to ensure that only ‘pure blooded’ German fashion and accessories were made in accordance with  nationalist folklore which  should be accepted by all true Germans.  

They were also instructed by the Third Reich to ensure that they promoted fashion manufacture in order to keep up with international trends. 

This is surely a double whammy ordered by  the German Fashion Office (Meutsches Modeamt) - neither of which they could possibly deliver or enforce.

Vintage Costume Jewellery Owes Bohemia A Giant Debt

Without the contributions of the craftsmen of bohemia, the world of Vintage costume jewellery would be very different.  For five hundred years (probably longer) the greatest manufacturers of costume jewellery have been ignored, tucked away in the heartland of Europe.  Their work has not been credited and is conveniently dismissed by some.

I am talking about the artisans of Bohemia, that country of many names, who provided the world with designs and materials far ahead of their times and yet who today remain largely ignored and forgotten.

It is my experience that North Americans who are inordinately proud of their vintage costume jewellery heritage, pay little respect or waste little admiration upon the unseen heroes of Gablonz and the surrounding regions. Do any Americans know for example that Daniel Swarovski came from Gablonz?

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, let us say that they do not know that findings, components and parts for costume jewellery, were shipped by the ton to highly respected makers of vintage costume jewellery throughout the world – including in large part the United States of America.

 Because the components (and the jewellery itself) was rarely marked, these providers of parts to the likes of the much revered Miriam Haskell (for example) remain ignored, hidden and little appreciated. 

 One would assume that North America, being such a very young country itself, would revel in the fact that the people providing the elements for their esteemed costume jewel makers were mostly from Bohemian glass dynasties who were around for centuries – hundreds of years (unlike America itself).

It is an even greater tragedy that the ‘authorities’ of Germany lead by the leader of what was called the “National Socialist Party” during World War II, deemed it necessary to expel these artisans from their homeland and disperse their expertise. 

Hitler himself derided the ‘trinkets’ produced by craftsmen of this area, which in itself showed him to be entirely ignorant of ecomonic facts since ‘bijouterie’ production made a huge income for the region.

The more I read about how the ‘National Socialist’ party of the Third Reich effected the production of costume jewellery, the more disgusted I am.   The company of Jakob Bengal was forced to carry on its trade ‘under the radar’ of the Third Reich for fear of retribution.  

The extermination camps of Nazi Germany were responsible for wiping out the Neiger family, Gablonzer craftsmen of the highest order and great contributors to costume jewellery.

Lovers of vintage costume jewellery should forever mourn the loss of these exceptional craftsmen and women, the like of whom the world will never see again.   

At the very least, they should accept and appreciate the huge contribution that the Gablonzers and artisans from Bohemia gave to designers of vintage costume jewellers worldwide.