Art of the Third Reich was characterized by a style of Romantic realism based on classical models. While banning modern styles as degenerate, the Nazis promoted paintings that were narrowly traditional in manner and that exalted the "blood and soil" values of racial purity, militarism, and obedience. Other popular themes for Nazi art were the Volk at work in the fields, a return to the simple virtues of Heimat (love of homeland), the manly virtues of the National Socialist struggle, and the lauding of the female activities of child bearing and raising symbolized by the phrase "Kinder, Küche, Kirche" ("children, kitchen, church").