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Caricature of Hitler and German historical figures as museum mannequins

Object | Accession Number: 1988.6.1

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    Overview

    Brief Narrative
    Postwar color caricature by Alfred Uzarski (1885-1970) depicting Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, a decapitated Jewish head, and other historical German military figures,as well as a decaptiated as mannequins on display in a museum hall. Uzarski was a successful writer and artist, known for satirical works critical of German bourgeois society and the radical right. He was co-founder of the avant garde Junge Rheinland group in Dusseldorf, which included Pankok, Schwesig, and Wollheim. After the Nazi regime gained power in 1933, art was expected to promote Nazi ideology. Modern art and those who created it were denounced as degenerate. Uzarski was forbidden from working as an artist and persecuted by the Nazi regime. He left for Belgium and it is believed that he living there in hiding for most of the war. After the war ended in May 1945, Uzarski returned to Dusseldorf and resumed his career.
    Artwork Title
    Im museum der deutschen geschichte
    Alternate Title
    In the Museum of German History
    Date
    creation:  1948
    Geography
    creation: Dusseldorf (Germany)
    Credit Line
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
    Signature
    front, lower right corner, black ink : Uzarski / 48
    Contributor
    Artist: Adolf Uzarski
    Subject: Adolf Uzarski
    Biography
    Adolf Uzarski was born on April 14, 1885, in Ruhrort, Germany. He attended the School of Architecture in Cologne. He moved to Dusseldorf in 1906 and trained as a commercial artist at the Dusseldorf Kunstgewerbeschule [School of Art and Crafts.] From 1913-1914, he studied in Paris, France. In 1916, Uzarski, along with Arthur Kaufman, had his work exhibited at the Dusseldorf Kunsthalle. He became head of the advertising department at Tietz Department store. In 1916-17, in the midst of World War I (1914-1918) Uzarski produced a celebrated series of lithographs, Totentanz [Danse Macabre.] From 1919-1920, he was associated with a group of Expressionist artists known as the Aktivistenbundes 1919. Also in 1919, Uzarski was a founder of Das Junge Rheinland [Young Rhineland], with other avant garde artists and intellectuals, including Max Ernst, Otto Dix, Otto Pankok, Karl Schwesig, and Gerd Wollheim. They were among the artists promoted by art dealer Johanna Ey (Mutter Ey), who exhibited their work in her gallery. From 1921, Uzarski wrote satirical pieces for the group's journal, Das Junge Rheinland. With Kaufmann and Wollheim, he organized the First International Art Exhibit in Dusseldorf. Uzarski was awarded the 1920 Plakat Prize for his graphic work. In 1923, Uzarski broke with Das Junge Rheinland, angry over what he perceived as Mrs. Ey’s preferential treatment of certain artists. He formed his own coterie, the Rheingruppe, with which he exhibited until 1930. In addition to his work as painter, engraver, and illustrator, sometimes of his own poetry and fiction, Uzarski was increasingly well known as a literary satirist, often criticizing bourgeois society. In 1924, he published a novel, "Tun Kwang Pipi", a political critique of the German radical right. Like members of both Rhineland groups, Uzarski was a modernist who rejected academic and classical styles of art. In 1928, he formed the Rheinischen Secession.

    In January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Under the Nazi regime, art and culture had to serve to promote Nazi ideology. In September, Hitler announced that it was time for a new, pure German art. Modern art was denounced as degenerate, a tool of the international Jewish conspiracy. Uzarski was designated a degenerate, decadent artist and was persecuted and censored by the Nazi regime. He left Germany for Robertville, Belgium, but was considered an undesirable by local authorities and placed under surveillance. In 1938, he returned to Germany. Life was difficult and he moved frequently. He was forbidden to work as an artist and under Gestapo surveillance. He may have gone back to Belgium and possibly lived there in hiding during the war, which ended in May 1945 with Germany’s surrender. Uzarski returned to Dusseldorf and resumed his career as a politically aware literary satirist and artist. Uzarski, 85, passed away on July 14, 1970.

    Physical Details

    Classification
    Art
    Category
    Drawings
    Physical Description
    Drawing in multi-color watercolor and black ink on heavyweight paper of a caricature of patrons viewing German historical mannequins on display. In the center, facing forward, is a group of 3 uniformed figures: Hitler with long wispy bangs and protruding ears, dressed in brown shirt and jodhpurs, Iron Cross, black tie, knee high boots, and red swastika armband. He is flanked by a very fat Goering in white cap and medal bedecked uniform, red sash, red swastika armband, and green cape and a very short Goebbels in a brown military cap and tunic. In the right foreground is a large mannequin of Kaiser Wilhelm with a bushy mustache in a blue military uniform with red collar and cuffs, knee high boots with spurs, and gold helmet with eagle, holding a scepter. In the front center is a display case with the severed head of a stereotypical Jewish man with a very big nose, blood dripping from the neck. On the right, a long aisle extends back through several rooms with military mannequins and patrons. In the left foreground is a caricature of a thickset, bored looking male German patron. Behind him stands a family group with a small child in a sailor outfit, gazing at Hitler. In the back left corner is a mannequin of an old man, Paul von Hindenburg, with a cane and a bushy mustache. The background has a light blue-gray wash. It is signed and dated by the artist.
    Dimensions
    overall: Height: 17.500 inches (44.45 cm) | Width: 13.625 inches (34.608 cm)
    Materials
    overall : paper, watercolor, ink

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    No restrictions on access
    Conditions on Use
    No restrictions on use

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Provenance
    The drawing was acquired by the United States as Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988.
    Funding Note
    The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
    Record last modified:
    2024-10-03 13:16:50
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn521117

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