(Berlin, Germany, 1891 - 1968, East Berlin, Germany)
1933
Photogravure
14 3/4 x 10 3/8 in. (37.6 x 26.4 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Roger R. Smith
1991.24
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
The concept of the Superman – an extraordinary individual who transcends the limits of traditional morality to live purely by the will to power – comes from the 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). German poet and novelist Rudolf Georg Binding (1867-1938) wrote texts defending the Third Reich against foreign critics. Romain Rolland (1866-1944) was a French writer who denounced the Nazis in a publicized letter written May 14, 1933. It is not known whether the paragraph attributed here to Binding is an actual text of his or a satirical invention by Heartfield.