(Berlin, Germany, 1891 - 1968, East Berlin, Germany)
1933
Photogravure
14 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. (37.6 x 26.2 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Roger R. Smith
1991.15
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Hitler was attempting to merge the German Protestant and Catholic churches into a single state church. The figure of Christ may have been taken from a photograph of a painting by Danish artist Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), whose ecclesiastical art was popular in the nineteenth century. The Nazi inelegantly transforming the cross into a swastika is Rudolf Diels (1900-1957), founding chief of the Gestapo (contracted from Geheime Staatspolizei), which was the Secret State Police.