"Cain - or Hitler in Hell", George Grotz, 1944.  Grotz waa a noted satirical artist/caracturrist in the Weimar Republic in Germany.  Following his emigration to the US in 1933, his  work generally retreated into more conventional (indeed, boring) work  However, he clearly had not lost his abhorrence of Naziism - as this work of 1944 shows.

Apart from the "Hellish" aspects of the scene, and the swarm of little skeletons rising towards the Hitler figure, an interesting feature is the dragon-like feature to Hitler's left.  In his earlier paintings, Grotz had exhibited an awareness of earlier (indeed, very early) literature The concept of "The Wanderer", incorporated in an early Anglo-Saxon poem, is very relevant.  The hero Beowulf defeated a dragon defending a golden hoard, at the cost of his life. By the time this painting was executed, the Nazis were confronted with the inevitability of. defeat.  Notwithstanding his standard of painting nudes and other conventional subjects in this period, he had clearly not lost his  hostility to Naziism.  Best regards, JR

Hitler in Hell.

Someone mentioned "burning" in relation to the "maypole" post ... The City Palace was seriously damaged by Allied bombing in the latter part of the war.  In fact, it was reduced, like many other of the more "solid" buildings of Berlin, to a partially-upright shell of its former self.

Things did not improve much with the assumption of responsibility for the building by the administration of East Berlin (German Democratic Republic).  The Communist regime, which regarded the palace as a symbol of Prussian imperialism, reduced the remains to rubble with explosives, converting the site (surprise, surprise) to a parade ground, upon which they subsequently constructed a new State Council building, and a "Palace of the Republic".  The latter turned out to have been heavily contaminated with asbestos, which, after 2003, took until 2003 to strip out.  Meanwhile, a debate on the future of the site (of epic length, typical of the unified Germany on such issues) as to the future of the site finally came to a conclusion with a decision (in 2007) to demolish the East German buildings and reconstruct three facades of the old palace using, to the greatest possible extent, architectural elements surviving from the demolition in various quarries and dumps.  Interiors will, however, be "modern" or "postmodern".  The budget for this project,  which is still at a very early operational stage, is estimated at some 600 million Euro.  I am sure that the plan will be seen through.  But as to the budget, precedents for such projects suggest that a large overrun can be expected ... Best regards, JR.

Stadtschloss, Berlin, 1945.

1943 poster aimed at recruiting/praising Hitler Youth members in the Luftschutz (Air Raid Protection) service.  The time from which this poster dates is interesting, since it coincided with a substantial expansion of the air raid protection service involving - among other things the recruitment of women for the first time to the service (in many cases on a compulsory basis).

The boy in this poster is comprehensively well-equipped for a Luftschutz member, carrying a short-handled fire axe, a "people's" gas mask, a stirrup pump and a "Luftschutz pattern" "gladiator helmet".  One would hope that he had developed his muscles well in the HJ; stirrup pumps (used in conjunction with a bucker of water) would have been very hard work for a juvenile to use, on the basis of his/her weight alone.

Luftschutz helmets are a subject in themselves.  Most Luftschutz members wore the "gladiator" helmet, which came, from a number of manufacturers, in one, two and three piece variants.  Luftschutz members were expected to buy their helmet for RM5.  The "gladiators" were relatively light, a weakness discovered in the course of early war air raids.  As a result, a limited number of combat-type helmets, many in a two-piece format, were made available.  Also, some Luftschutz avoided the RM5 charge by obtaining old pattern combat helmets as well as captured Russian, Czechoslovak, Polish etc helmets and (later) Italian helmets.  British "Brodies" do not seem to be popular, although this is not unknown.  Since the Luftschutz was organized on a local level, down to "blocks" in cities regarded as particular targets, there is also considerable variation in decal insignia, although helmets specifically made for the organization usually carry the official Luftschutz insignia at the front.

In areas of high bombing threat, Luftschutz contingents were expected to operate on a shift basis, with the "off" shift sleeping (if possible) in bunkers, bomb shelters and "bomb-proof basements".  Their duties were generally similar to those of British Air Raid Wardens - assisting the police and fire service (also part of the Ordnungspolizei), directing civilians to shelters in the event of an impending air raid, enforcing the blackout and acting as a "first instance" fire extinguishing service where possible (hence the stirrup pumps).  By contrast with the British ARP, the task of the Luftschutz became progressively more difficult as the war progressed.  Its activity could only be effective in conjunction with effective fighter and anti-aircraft cover, and these were progressively overwhelmed by the establishment of Allied air superiority and, ultimately, air supremacy.  For example, the business of directing people to bunkers and shelters became increasingly ineffective when heavy bombing with incendiaries turned these shelters into what amounted to gas chambers, and a stirrup pump is not very useful against a firestorm.  Many of the HJ Luftschutz members eventually found themselves manning anti-aircraft guns, or dragooned into the Volkssturm to reinforce Nazi Germany's last stand.  Best regards, JR.

