What was the role of high culture in the newly unified societies of Germany and Italy amid the ideology of nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th century? More specifically the question at hand is how did the visual artspaintings and monuments, in particularreflect and inform politics and society in both liberal and illiberal European states in the age of mass politics, mass culture, and total war? Further, what is high cultures relationship to the development of the totalitarian state? This thesis presents a historical study of the art and monuments considered significant to the development of fascist Germany and Italy. High culture in Italy and Germany worked alongside other social, political realities and eventually became the pinnacle of the nation-state relationship, providing a well-defined road linking the distant benign intentions of 19th century nationalism and 20th century extremism.

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http://archive.org/details/thecultureofnati1094539031

Lieutenant, United States Navy