MARY LANE: George Grosz Tried to Use His Art to Warn About Hitler, the World Ignored Him. It's Time to Listen
... most Germans dismissed Grosz’s anti-Nazi
work as hyperbolic and offensive to Christianity, a feeling that far-right
activists exploited to distract from what he was saying. Then the death threats
began. One night in the early 1930s, Grosz discovered an iron pipe at his front
door with a note attached. “This is for you, you old Jew-Pig, if you keep going
with what you’re doing.” The artist knew that the reality that he was not
Jewish would make scant difference to violent extremists.
When Adolf Hitler took charge of Germany 85 years ago this summer, he did not, contrary to popular belief, “seize power.” Rather, Germans elected him their Führer, or leader, in a referendum on Aug. 19, 1934 and subsequently chose to subscribe to the cultural narrative that he created: that Germany had become too open, too tolerant of cultural diversity in the early 20th century. This openness, Hitler argued, had caused their recent national identity crisis.
The Pillars of Society, George Grosz, 1926; Bildagentur; Nationalgalerie, SMB / Art Resource, NY / Artists Rights Society / Estate of George Grosz
When Adolf Hitler took charge of Germany 85 years ago this summer, he did not, contrary to popular belief, “seize power.” Rather, Germans elected him their Führer, or leader, in a referendum on Aug. 19, 1934 and subsequently chose to subscribe to the cultural narrative that he created: that Germany had become too open, too tolerant of cultural diversity in the early 20th century. This openness, Hitler argued, had caused their recent national identity crisis.
The Pillars of Society, George Grosz, 1926; Bildagentur; Nationalgalerie, SMB / Art Resource, NY / Artists Rights Society / Estate of George Grosz
Hitler knew that to
conquer the wounded hearts of a broken citizenry, he must first conquer culture
itself. Dozens of artists faced his persecution when he pushed “Degenerate
Art” out of museums and into a derisive exhibition in
1937, but very few tried to warn against it through their work. One notable exception
was George Grosz, a spirited rabble-rouser who risked his career, family,
physical safety and mental health to sound the alarm as early as 1923,
parodying Hitler’s view of aggressive nationalism in “Hitler the Savior,” a
work that mocks Hitler as a Teutonic warrior in a one-shoulder tunic.
In his 1926 painting “Pillars of Society,” the then-33-year-old artist warned his fellow Germans that, if petty government sniping and extremist Christianity were not nipped in the bud, Hitler’s rise would be the likely consequence. Grosz further warned against radical far-right religious views in 1927’s “Shut Up and Do Your Duty,” a work that shows Jesus Christ nailed to the cross wearing combat boots and a gas mask—a criticism of politicizing Christianity that drew praise from pacifist Quakers in the United States.. read more:
https://time.com/5672506/hitler-art-activism/
In his 1926 painting “Pillars of Society,” the then-33-year-old artist warned his fellow Germans that, if petty government sniping and extremist Christianity were not nipped in the bud, Hitler’s rise would be the likely consequence. Grosz further warned against radical far-right religious views in 1927’s “Shut Up and Do Your Duty,” a work that shows Jesus Christ nailed to the cross wearing combat boots and a gas mask—a criticism of politicizing Christianity that drew praise from pacifist Quakers in the United States.. read more:
https://time.com/5672506/hitler-art-activism/
