In 1937 the Nazi party assembled, from art that they had removed from German museums, the Degenerate Art Exhibition, an exhibition of mostly modern art that toured Germany until early 1939. The exhibition was intended to show the deterioration in art brought about by Jewish and Bolshevik influences. The creation of the exhibition was followed up by a far larger exercise to collect "degenerate art" from throughout Germany. On the instructions of Joseph Goebbels, German Reich Minister of Propaganda, attempts were made to sell some of the more valuable "degenerate" works abroad to raise foreign currency to help the war effort. Dealers were appointed in Germany for this purpose and Theodore Fischer was instructed to hold an auction of "degenerate art" in Switzerland. This took place on 30 June 1939 at the Fischer Gallerie.