On 23 September 1933, a momentous exhibition was opened in the atrium of Dresden City Hall. The Städtische Galerie commemorates this with a special presentation on the staircase galleries of the Landhaus.
The Dresden exhibition "Degenerate Art" was the first time the term "degeneracy" was used to denigrate early 20th century works of modern art. Although there had been more such shameful exhibitions in other German cities since the National Socialists came to power, the Dresden Degenerate Art Exhibition was the most significant of these. The works owned by the city of Dresden subsequently toured twelve other cities until 1937, before they were included in the large Munich exhibition "Degenerate Art" in 1937.