1920s, turbulent and flourishing Weimar Republic, several paintings now in Thyssen collections entered German museums / 1933, Hitler chancellor of Germany / Immediate launch of policy of artistic purges / Stigmatization of avant-garde art, dramatic consequences / Expressionist artists branded “degenerate,” forced to emigrate or stop painting / Confiscation of public and private collections / Works burned, placed in storage or mocked, defamatory exhibitions / 1937, Entartete Kunst, exhibition of degenerate art in Munich / Effective Nazi propaganda machinery for ridiculing modern art / Works hung chaotically, topped with denigrating labels / Madness becomes method.