View source for Benno von Arent

{{Short description|German artist & member of the Nazi Party}}
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{{Infobox person
| name               = Benno von Arent
| image              = File:Benno_von_Arent.jpg
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1898|7|19|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Görlitz]], [[Province of Silesia]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1956|10|14|1898|7|19| df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Bonn]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[West Germany]]
| restingplace       = 
| nationality        = [[Germans|German]]
| party              = [[Nazi Party]] 
| spouse             = 
| children           = 
| occupation         = Architect<br>Stage designer
}}

'''Benno von Arent''' (19 July 1898 – 14 October 1956) was a [[Nazi Germany|German]] film director, artist, architect, designer and a member of the [[Nazi Party]] and [[SS]].

== Early life ==
Arent was born '''Benno Georg Eduard Wilhelm Joachim von Arent''' in [[Görlitz]] on 19 July 1898, the son of a [[Prussia]]n Lieutenant Colonel also named Benno von Arent (1868–1904) and grandson of a Prussian Lieutenant General likewise named Benno von Arent.

Arent fought in the [[World War I|First World War]] and then joined the [[Freikorps]] and [[Reichswehr]]. In the time of high unemployment he  had a number of jobs including car salesman, while teaching himself to be an architect. In 1923, he worked as an outfitter in various theatres across Berlin, initially without success. He also became a member of the [[Völkisch movement|völkisch-minded]] and [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] [[Militant League for German Culture]].

== Career ==
In 1931, he joined the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] and 1932 in the [[Nazi Party|NSDAP]]. That same year, he became one of the founders of the ''Bund nationalsozialistischer Bühnen- und Filmkünstler'' ("Union of National Socialist Stage and Movie Artists"), which was renamed ''Kameradschaft der Deutschen Künstler'' ("Fellowship of German Artists") after [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]'s rise to power in 1933.

After some personal assignments for Adolf Hitler in 1936, Arent was appointed ''Reichsbühnenbildner'' ("Reich Stage Designer"), a title intended primarily to underscore Arent's exemplary position as a set designer and outfitter. Occasionally, Hitler imposed his own stage designs in a kind of teacher-student relationship, a relationship that would greatly benefit Arent's career. Hitler described him as one of the greatest stage designers. Arent, whose artistic views were shared and probably influenced by Hitler, favored a realistic, often monumental style in his own sets and costumes. Nevertheless, he was ultimately unable to develop his own style, partly due to the outbreak of [[World War II]], and because of competition in his field of expertise.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

His task as a designer of street decorations during major marches also had an effect on his stage style. He was also the designer of the diplomatic uniforms for the Foreign Ministry. On 20 April 1937, he received the title of professor, like many other leading Nazi culture officials. In addition to his party responsibilities, Arent continued to work as an architect. His most famous work was the design of the Berlin House of the [[German Labour Front]] (DAF). In the spring of 1939, Arent was appointed "Reich Commissioner for Fashion", an office that was soon terminated due to the war.

== Wartime years and death ==
During World War II, Arent, who had been a member of the SS since 1931, joined the staff of [[Heinrich Himmler]]. On 15 August 1941, he witnessed the murder of partisans and Jews near Minsk. In 1944, he fought in the [[Waffen-SS]] and was appointed ''[[Oberführer|SS-Oberführer.]]'' Near the end of the war, he fell into Soviet captivity, from which he was released in 1953. In 1956, a [[denazification]] process was started against Arent in Berlin. Shortly after his sentencing, Arent died in [[Bonn]], [[West Germany]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}}

== See also ==
* [[Nazism and cinema]]

== Sources ==
* Ernst Klee: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, S. 19.
* ''Benno von Arent'' in ''Internationales Biographisches Archiv'' 50/1956 vom 3. Dezember 1956, im Munzinger-Archiv (Artikelanfang frei abrufbar)
* Sebastian Werr: ''Heroische Weltsicht. Hitler und die Musik''. Boehlau, Wien 2014, S. 172–175.

== External links ==
* [https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&query=116339950 Literatur von und über Benno von Arent] (in German)
* Literatur von und über Benno von Arent

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Arent, Benno von}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Architects in the Nazi Party]]
[[Category:People from Görlitz]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Silesia]]
[[Category:Nazi Party politicians]]
[[Category:Militant League for German Culture members]]
[[Category:Nobility in the Nazi Party]]
[[Category:20th-century Freikorps personnel]]
[[Category:SS-Oberführer]]
[[Category:Waffen-SS personnel]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union]]