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John Heartfield

(Berlin, Germany, 1891 - 1968, East Berlin, Germany)

PROGRAMM DER OLYMPIADE BERLIN 1936 (PROGRAM OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES BERLIN 1936)

1935

Photogravure

15 x 21 in. (38.1 x 53.3 cm)

Collection of the Akron Art Museum

Museum Acquisition Fund

1979.26

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

More Information

The Summer Olympics, which had been awarded to Berlin before the Nazis came to power, provided an opportunity to show the world German efficiency and prove Nazi theories of racial supremacy. Only “Aryans” were allowed on the German team. Heartfield proposed sports at which Nazis could excel, including rope-pulling, where Nazis drag a bound Jew, and a “fireworks” finale where the German air force bombs a town. In the bottom left photograph, the central figure is Neville Chamberlain, British Chancellor of the Exchequer. Joseph Goebbels, Germany’s Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, and Hermann Göring are on his right.

Keywords
World War II
Germany
Commercial Art
Propaganda
Politics
Photogravure
Photomontage