I think it’s underappreciated in going like “haha, ‘national socialism’??” that pretty much everything from the French Revolution on to WWII – “republicanism”, “democracy”, “socialism”, “communism”, “nationalism” was a way to angle “may the PEOPLE rule” that was only pinned down in retrospect

The thing about Hitler having been a painter that didn’t get picked up, the Entartete Kunst exhibition being so key, was there had been this dream of German nationalism so long, that all those von Huffins and zu Puffens patronizing art allegorically justifying their rule would give way to Steiners, Meullers, Hitlers depicting the honest glory of folkish burg life…

but instead it’s all -witzes and -bergs with disorienting paintings about alienation? This is not what Germany was supposed to be for!