Why Fascism Hates the Arts

I. A Bonfire in Berlin: History’s Warning

On May 10, 1933, Berlin witnessed a chilling spectacle of ideological violence. Students from the Wilhelm Humboldt University, aligned with right-wing organizations, gathered at Franz Joseph Platz to stage a mass book burning. They hauled volumes from university collections and libraries, denouncing authors before casting thousands of works—by Jews, leftists, pacifists, sexologists, liberals, and others deemed subversive—into a towering bonfire.

Nazi anthems rang out. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels delivered a fiery speech, punctuating an event that symbolized the regime’s contempt for intellectual freedom.

But this wasn’t an isolated act. It was part of a broader war on artistic and cultural expression.

In the shadow of Nazi rule, modern art was condemned as Entartete Kunst—“degenerate art.” Rooted in pseudoscientific theories of racial and moral decay, this term was used to vilify works that strayed from the regime’s ideological and aesthetic norms. In 1937, the infamous Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich displayed over 650 confiscated artworks—not to celebrate creativity, but to mock and discredit it.

In place of modernism, the Nazis promoted art that glorified nationalism, racial purity, militarism, and blind obedience. Thousands of works were destroyed or hidden. Artists were censored, imprisoned, exiled, or killed.

II. Why Fascism Fears Art

Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian ideology centered on dictatorial power, the suppression of dissent, and the regimentation of society under an ultranationalist agenda. It rejects democracy, liberalism, and pluralism in favor of a centralized, homogeneous state led by a "strongman" who claims to embody the will of the people.

Core features include authoritarian control, extreme nationalism, glorification of the military, and deep distrust of intellectuals, artists, and the free press. Fascist regimes censor culture and media, manipulate education, and scapegoat minorities to unite the majority against perceived internal enemies.

Why is art such a threat? Because fascism fears what it cannot control.

The arts inherently promote subjectivity, emotional nuance, and diverse perspectives—all of which run counter to the enforced uniformity that fascism demands. Where authoritarianism thrives on obedience, art invites questioning. Where fascism imposes conformity, creativity champions individuality.

From book burnings to banned exhibitions, history reveals a pattern: fascist regimes silence expression to protect their power. Art becomes dangerous not because it incites violence, but because it sparks thought.

III. The War on Culture Didn’t End in 1945

While the fascist regimes of the 20th century fell, the authoritarian impulse to control culture is far from gone. Today, across the globe, we witness a resurgence of ultranationalism, populist strongmen, and state-sponsored censorship—all bearing the hallmarks of fascist ideology.

In Russia, the government has labeled independent theater groups and filmmakers as “foreign agents,” shut down LGBTQ+ exhibitions, and imprisoned artists for “promoting extremism.”

In Hungary, Viktor Orbán’s government has brought cultural institutions under direct state control, rewritten history curricula, and shut down progressive art schools, branding dissent as "unpatriotic."

In India, artists and filmmakers critical of Hindu nationalism have faced harassment, censorship, and mob threats—often with tacit state approval.

In Turkey, President Erdoğan’s regime has jailed poets, banned plays, and censored Kurdish artists under the guise of national security.

Meanwhile, in liberal democracies, the arts face more subtle, but no less corrosive, forms of suppression. Public funding for the arts is slashed under the pretense of “fiscal discipline,” while reactionary media outlets stoke culture wars by portraying inclusive or progressive art as “degenerate” or “woke propaganda.”

The term “cancel culture” has been weaponized by authoritarian-leaning voices to conflate legitimate critique with censorship, portraying marginalized communities demanding accountability as tyrants. This false equivalency—between community backlash and state repression—obscures the real danger: those in power using cultural grievance to suppress dissent.

IV. Art as Resistance

Throughout history, artists have stood at the front lines of resistance. In authoritarian regimes, where speech is policed and dissent punished, art becomes a covert language of defiance.

Graffiti scrawled on city walls during uprisings.

Subversive theater performed in secret basements.

Protest music echoing through public squares.

These forms of expression bypass censorship and speak directly to people’s emotions, hopes, and frustrations.

Banned books and underground artistic movements hold immense symbolic power. To read a forbidden novel, to perform a silenced play, or to share a censored song is to reclaim agency from a regime that seeks to erase it.

As George Orwell wrote, “Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism.” Repressive governments understand this truth: art carries the power to awaken, to mobilize, and to inspire rebellion.

V. The Urgency of Now

Fascism hates the arts because they are instruments of liberation, imagination, and defiance. Where authoritarianism seeks control, art fosters empathy. Where regimes demand silence, creativity speaks truth.

That is why fascist governments burn books, censor films, ban performances, and persecute artists. And that is why defending artistic freedom is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Today, the battleground for cultural freedom spans from government censorship to social media algorithms, from funding boards to school libraries. Wherever expression is policed, the seeds of authoritarianism are being sown.

To protect the arts is to protect the soul of a free society. It is to defend our collective right to dream, to question, to resist—and to be human.