Contrary to what German historians often claim, the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century did not peter out or even fail. Although the Nazi dictatorship destroyed the Bauhaus, Dada, and their legacy in Germany in the 1930s, it also triggered a wave of emigration. Many of those who were displaced went to the United States, where they contributed to the avant-gardization of the art world, and where subsequent generations were able to continue developing the project that had remained unfinished in Europe.

Walter Benjamin coined the term "politicization of art" to describe the efforts of avant-garde artists who opposed the "aestheticization of politics" by fascism. The cultural centers of the United States succeeded in picking up on the impetus of activist art practices. This study examines the characteristic differences between the art worlds on both sides of the Atlantic, which arose as a result of historical developments and continue to exist to this day.

Dr. Lutz Hieber is a professor of Art Sociology at the Institute of Sociology at Leibniz University Hannover.