Benno von Arent

Who was Benno von Arent?

Benno von Arent was a German Nazi, a member of the Nazi Party and SS, responsible for art, theatres, movies etc.

Arent was born in Görlitz, Prussia, on 19 July 1898. Self-taught, after various apprentice positions he obtained his first theater job in Berlin in 1923 and became a stage designer. He joined the SS in 1931 and the Nazi Party in 1932. The same year, he was one of the founders of the "Bund nationalsozialistischer Bühnen- und Filmkünstler", which was renamed "Kameradschaft deutscher Künstler" after Hitler's rise to power in 1933.

Arent was appointed "Reichsbühnenbildner" in 1936 and "Reichsbeauftragter für die Mode" in 1939. He designed the diplomatic uniform of the Nazi diplomatic service. In 1944, he was given the rank of SS-Oberführer.

He is listed under 'Kunstlerische Mitarbeiter' in the 1938-39 catalog issued by Porzellan-Manufaktur Allach, Munich.

Arent died in Bonn on 14 October 1956.