After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Lachnit's work was declared "degenerate" and confiscated by authorities. During this period he was not allowed to make art and worked as an exhibition designer. Much of his confiscated work was destroyed during the February 1945 firebombing of Dresden. His 1923 watercolours Man and Woman in the Window and "Girl at Table" were found in the Munich Art Hoard.[1][2]
Lachnit continued to paint after the end of World War II. In 1947 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Bildene Künste Dresden. Among his more important students were Jürgen Böttcher, Manfred Böttcher, and Harald Metzkes.
Ingrid Wenzkat (ed.): Dresden - Vision einer Stadt. Hellerau-Verlag Dresden, Dresden 1995.
Gabriele Werner: Wilhelm Lachnit, Gemälde 1899-1962; Ausstellung vom 12. Februar bis 30. April 2000 Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister, Albertinum Brühlsche Terrasse. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden 1999.
Wulf Kirsten und Hans-Peter Lühr (ed.): Künstler in Dresden im 20. Jahrhundert. Literarische Porträts. Verlag der Kunst Dresden, Dresden 2005.