In the Museum of German History Caricature of Hitler and German historical figures as museum mannequins

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.

The drawing was acquired by the United States as Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1988.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.