Union des Artistes Allemands Libres

The Union des Artistes Allemands Libres was a federation of exiled German artists living in Paris, France after the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the establishment of the Third Reich after the Nazis seized power. It was founded in autumn 1937 as the Union of Artistes Allemands (Union of German Artists, or Freier Künstlerbund in German) and adding the French word for "free", was later called the Union des Artistes Libres Allemands and then the Union des Artistes Allemands Libres. In spring 1938, it became the Union des Artistes Libres.[1]

Some of the Union's members were defamed in the Nazis' Entartete Kunst exhibit. In 1938, the Union organized an exhibit called Cinq Ans de Dictateure Hitlerienne ("Five Years of Hitler Dictatorship") that was held in a trade union building.[2] Josef Breitenbach participated in the show.[3] Members of the Union included Max Ernst, Otto Freundlich, Hans Hartung, Heinz Kiwitz and Gert Wollheim,[4] who was a co-founder.

The Union published Freie Kunst und Literatur, a newsletter that was later taken over by the Cartel Cultural Allemand, also founded in Paris.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Jean Michel Palmier, Weimar in Exile: The Antifascist Emigration in Europe and America Translated by David Fernbach. Verso (2006), p. 216. ISBN 1-84467-068-6 Retrieved February 13, 2012
  2. ↑ Siegfried Gnichwitz, "Heinz Kiwitz: gekämpft · vertrieben · verschollen" (PDF) Stiftung Brennender Dornbusch. Folder from an exhibition in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kiwitz' birth. Liebfrauenkirche, Duisburg (November 7 – December 5, 2010), p. 2. Retrieved February 10, 2012 (German)
  3. ↑ "Josef Brietenbach: Visages de l'exil" (PDF) Mémorial de la Shoah / Musée, Centre de documentation juive contemporaine. Press packet. (May 18 – September 11, 2005), p. 7. Retrieved February 13, 2012 (French)
  4. ↑ Gnichwitz, p. 5 (PDF) (German)
  5. ↑ Palmier, Fernbach (2006) p. 218

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