When Nazi officials opened their infamous "Degenerate Art" exhibition in 1937, they labeled modern art as culturally corrupt and ideologically impure. Now, nearly 90 years later, Donald Trump's latest executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution uses strikingly similar language about "improper ideology" and "divisive narratives."
The former president's directive, as reported by AP News, puts Vice President JD Vance in charge of purging supposed ideological impurities from America's premier museum complex. The order specifically targets the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Women's History Museum, and the American Art Museum. Trump claims these institutions promote "distorted narrative[s] driven by ideology rather than truth."
This crusade against "improper ideology" bears an unsettling resemblance to historical attempts to control cultural narratives. Just as the Nazi regime sought to define "proper" German art by deriding modernist works as "degenerate," Trump's order aims to reshape how American museums present history, particularly regarding race, gender, and social justice.
The order's scope is sweeping. It threatens funding for programs deemed ideologically incorrect and demands the reinstatement of Confederate monuments removed since 2020. When asked for comment, Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas responded, "We have no comment for now."
As Trump declared in the executive order: "Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history."
Whose version of history gets to be "shared?"
Previously:
• Smithsonian's Open Access now has over 4 million free-to-use images
