 |
|
|
|||
Description
‘Bau der neuen Reichskanzlei’ (‘Construction of the New Reich Chancellery’)
Smaller version of Merckers painting displayed at the GDK 1940 room 12 (which is in the possession of the U.S. Army Center of Military History).
Displayed at the exhibition ‘Nazi Design’, Design Museum Den Bosch, The Netherlands, 8 September 2019 – 1 March 2020.
‘Bau der neuen Reichskanzlei’ by Mercker was displayed at the exhibition ‘Nazi Design’, Design Museum Den Bosch, The Netherlands, 8 September 2019 – 1 March 2020. This world-wide highly publicized exhibition attracted over 130.000 visitors in six months. The exhibition was covered on the front page of the New York Times and Bild, and i.a. in the Guardian, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Paris Match, Spiegel, Welt, Tagesspiegel, El Pais and all Dutch newspapers. On television the exposition was covered i.a. by the ARD, ZDF, DW News, Aljazeera, AFP News Agency, SBS World News, and all mayor television chanels in The Netherlands. Because of the enormous popularity of the exhibition, the museum extended opening hours, opened its doors also on Mondays, and finally it extended the exhibition by 6 weeks.
Extreme scarce work of art
Art works considered as overt propaganda were massively destroyed
As described below, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement of August 1945, the Allied Control Council laws and military government regulations, all collections of works of art related or dedicated to the perpetuation of German militarism or Nazism, were destroyed. Thousands of paintings were considered of ‘no value’ and burned. Around 8,722 artworks were shipped to military deposits in the U.S. In 1986 the largest part was returned to Germany, with the exception of 200 paintings which were considered as overt propaganda: depictions of German Soldiers, war sceneries, swastika’s and portraits of Nazi leaders.
Eric Mercker, ‘Bau der neuen Reichskanzlei’, also named ‘Voßstraße’. GDK 1940 room 12. Bought by Hitler for 4.500 Reichsmark. In the possession of the U.S. Army Military Center of Military History (the collection falls within the public domain). Size 150 x 125 cm.
‘One of the most significant paintings held by REME Museum is Erich Mercker’s The Building of the Reich’s Chancellery’
Erich Mercker, ‘The building of the Reich’s Chancellery’. In the possession of the REME Museum, UK. The REME Museum preserves the heritage of the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, -formed in 1942. The REME is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the ‘British Army’s Professional Engineers’.
REME Major Cliff Gough entered the Reich’s Chancellery in July 1945, as part of the British contingent in Berlin. He found evidence of looting, and of intense hand to hand fighting. He was accompanied by Major H G Roberts of the Second Army, who discovered this painting in Hitler’s own offices and took it back to England. For many years the painting hung it the REME Officer’s Mess, before it was given to the Museum in 1958. The painting is now permanently displayed in the Conference Room at REME Museum.
Left: construction of the New Reich Chancellery at 4 February 1938.
Right: another version of ‘Bau der neuen Reichskanzlei’ by Mercker. Depicted in ‘nationazosialstische Monatshefte’, 1939, nr. 108.
| – condition | : II |
| – size | : 60,5 x 50,5 cm, unframed 51 x 40,5 cm |
| – signed | : right under |
| – type | : oil on board |
============================================ § ============================================
BIOGRAPHY: ERICH MERCKER
Erich Mercker, ‘Autobahnbrücke’ (‘Highway Bridge’). GDK 1943 room 3. Bought by Albert Speer for 4,000 Reichsmark. Size 120 x 90 cm. Sold by a German auction house in 2020 for 22,500 Euro net. Signed with number 01138343 at the back.
At the back of the painting an original GDK medal and -sticker.
Erich Mercker, ‘Grossbaustelle der OT. I‘ (‘Large construction site of the Organisation Todt I’). GDK 1944 room 12. Bought by Albert Speer for 10.000 Reichsmark. Previously in the possession of the U.S. Army Center of Military History (collection/ depictions fall within the public domain). Nowadays owned by Deutsches Historisches Museum. Size 203 x 139 cm.
Right: Erich Mercker, ‘Grossbaustelle der OT. II’ (‘Large construction site of the Organisation Todt II’. Depicted is the construction of a U-boat bunker. GDK 1944 room 12. Previously in the possession of the U.S. Army Center of Military History (collection/ depictions fall within the public domain). Nowadays owned by Deutsches Historisches Museum. Size 203 x 139 cm.
The extreme scarcity of National Socialistic art
Massive, systematic destruction of Nazi art since 1945: the Potsdam-Agreement
From 1933 to 1949 Germany experienced two massive art purges. Both the National Socialist government and OMGUS (the U.S. Military Government in Germany) were highly concerned with controlling what people saw and how they saw it. The Nazis eliminated what they called ‘Degenerate art’, erasing the pictorial traces of turmoil and heterogeneity that they associated with modern art. The Western Allies in turn eradicated ‘Nazi art’ and forbade all artworks military subjects or themes that could have military and/or chauvinist symbolism from pictorial representation. Both the Third Reich and OMGUS utilized the visual arts as instruments for the construction of new German cultural heritages.
The Potsdam Agreement of 2 August 1945, subparagraph 3, Part III, Section A stated that one purpose of the occupation of Germany was ‘to destroy the National Socialistic Party and its affiliated and supervised organizations and to dissolve all Nazi and militaristic activity or propaganda.’ In accordance with Allied Control Council laws and military government regulations, all documents and objects which might tend to revitalize the Nazi spirit or German militarism would be confiscated or destroyed. For example, Title 18, Military Government Regulation, OMGUS stated that: ‘all collections of works of art related or dedicated to the perpetuation of German militarism or Nazism will be closed permanently and taken into custody.’ As a consequence, thousands of paintings –portraits of Nazi-leaders, paintings containing a swastika or depicting military/war sceneries– were considered ‘of no value’ and destroyed. With knives, fires and hammers, they smashed countless sculptures and burned thousands of paintings. Around 8,722 artworks were shipped to military deposits in the U.S.
OMGUS regulated and censored the art world. The Information Control Division (ICD, the key structure in the political control of post-war German culture in the American zone) was in fact a non-violent version of the Reichskulturkammer (Reich Chamber of Culture). With its seven subdivisions (i.e. press, literature, radio, film, theatre, music, and art), the ICD neatly replaced the Reich Chamber of Culture. The ICD established through its various sections a system of licensed activity, with screening and vetting by Intelligence to exclude all politically undesirable people.
‘Free’ German artists producing ‘free German art’ after 1945
In the ideology of OMGUS, painting was conceived of as a strategic element in the campaign to politically re-educate the German people for a new democratic internationalism. Modern art allowed for the establishment of an easy continuity with the pre-Nazi modernist past, and it could serve as a springboard for the international projection of Germany as a new country interacting with its new Western partners.
‘Free’ artists producing ‘free art’ was one of the most powerful symbols of the new Germany, the answer to the politically controlled art of the Third Reich. Modern art linked Western Germany to Western Europe – separating the new West German aesthetic and politics from that of the Nazi era, the U.S.S.R., and East Germany – and suggested an ‘authentically’ German identity.
The Nuremberger Congress Hal
The Congress Hall (‘Kongresshalle’) is the biggest preserved national socialist monumental building. Planned by the Nuremberg architects Ludwig and Franz Ruff, it was intended to serve as a congress centre for the NSDAP and would have provided 50,000 seats. It was located on the shore of and in the pond Dutzendteich and marked the entrance of the Nuremberg Rally Grounds. The building reached a height of 39 m (a height of 70 m was planned) and a diameter of 250 m. The building is mostly built out of clinker with a facade of granite panels. The design is inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. The foundation stone was laid in 1935, but the building remained unfinished and without a roof. Since 2001, the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds, with the permanent exhibition ‘Fascination and Terror’, has been located in the northern wing.
Left: Erich Mercker, the construction of the Kongresshalle in Nürnberg. Sold by a German auction house in 2018. Size 39,5 x 50 cm. A larger version of ‘Kongresshalle Nürnberg’ (construction phase -spring 1938), hung in the Neue Reichskanzlei.
Right: a historical photo of the construction of the Congress Hall.
Left: a historical photo of the construction of the Congress Hall. In the construction phase, at one point a group of columns were placed to test the sturdiness of the built structure. Later this colonnade was pulled down.
Right: the Congress Hall, photo taken after 2010.
Left: Erich Mercker, ‘Im Reiche der Hochöfen’ (‘In the Realm of the Blast Furnaces’), postcard*. GDK 1942, room 12. Bought by Joseph Goebbels for 5.000 Reichsmark.
Right: Erich Mercker, ‘August-Thyssen Hütte’ (‘August-Thyssen Steel Works’), art-print*. GDK 1939 room 12. Depicted in ‘Kunst dem Volk’, 1939.
Erich Mercker, ‘Tirol baut Auf’ (‘Tyrol is Building’). GDK 1940 room 12. Bought for 2.500 Reichsmark by the ‘Hauptamt für Technik’ in Munich.
Erich Mercker, ‘Linz, Hermann-Göring-Werke im Bau‘ (‘City of Linz, the Herman-Göring-Werke under Construction’). GDK 1941 room 12. Size 120 x 150 cm. Bought by Hitler for 5.000 Reichsmark. According to the Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b, the painting hung in the Führerbau in Munich. In the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum.
Left: Erich Mercker, postcard, ‘Statten der Arbeit’.
Right: Erich Mercker, ‘Putzig bei Danzig’ (‘Putzig, small port-town near Danzig’). GDK 1943, room 5. Sold for 5.000 RM. World War II began with the shelling by the Germans of the Westerplatte, a peninsula in Danzig, on 1 September 1939. In 1941 Mercker, together with Claus Bergen, was ordered by the Reichspropagandaminsterium to paint cities and landscapes within the ‘Generalgouvernement’, the occupied area of the Second Republic of Poland that was under colonial administration of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It included much of central and southern Poland, and modern-day western Ukraine. During his journey in 1941 Mercker painted ‘Putzig bei Danzig’.
The Märzfeld (March Fields)
The Märzfeld was to be a representation and parade ground for the Wehrmacht. It was located at the southern end of the ‘Große Straße’ of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. Dimensions were 955 by 610 meters, or bigger than 80 football fields. The construction, never completed, began in 1938 with plans calling for 26 granite towers each about 40 meters in height. When the war began in March 1939 only eleven were completed. Tribunes for about 160,000 people were planned around the field. On the central grandstand a group of colossal statues was planned: a goddess of victory, warriors and horses, designed by Joseph Thorak. In the postwar years, the Americans used the March Field as a storage- and military training area. The March Field towers were blown up in 1966.
Erich Mercker, ‘Märzfeld, Nürnberg’ (‘Märzfeld, Nuremberg’). GDK 1941 room 12. Size 120 x 105. Bought by Hitler for 5.000 Reichsmark. According to the Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b, the painting hung in the Führerbau in Munich. In the possession of the Germanische Nationalmuseum in Nürnberg.
Erich Mercker, ‘Construction of the Märzfeld’, Nuremberg, around 1938. Size 189 x 124 cm. Sold by a German auction house in 2019.
The March Fields around 1960.
Erich Mercker, ‘Construction of the Zeppelin Field’. Size 185 x 124 cm. Around 1937. Sold by a German auction house in 2019.
The Zeppelinfeld is located east of the Great Road. It consists of a large grandstand (Zeppelinhaupttribüne) with a width of 360 metres and a smaller stand. It was one of Albert Speer’s first works for the Nazi party and was based upon the Pergamon Altar. Its square piers are inspired by the work of Franco-American architect Paul Philippe Cret. The huge swastika on top of the grandstand was blown up in 1945. The name ‘Zeppelinfeld’ refers to the fact that in August 1909 Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin landed with one of his airships in this location.
From 1947 to 1995 the Nurnberg American High School used the field for football practice. In 1967 the city authorities blew up the grandstand’s double row of pillars, causing severe damage to the rest of the building. In 2019 a 85 million euros plan to conserve the stadium was announced, with a target completion date of 2025.
Erich Mercker, ‘Hochofen im Bau’ (‘Blast furnace under construction’). GDK 1943 room 12; depicted in the exhibition catalogue. Bought by Albert Speer for 5.000 Reichsmark. 
PARIS WORLD EXHIBITION, 1937
The 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (‘International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life’) was held in Paris: the French capital’s sixth and latest International Exposition, after fairs held in 1855, 1867, 1878, 1889, and 1900. It took place between 25 May and 25 November, centered upon the Trocadéro, just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The 1937 event was to showcase the best of the world’s contemporary scientific and technological achievements. Pavilions, decorated and designed by top artists and architects, were devoted to the cinema, to radio, light, the railway, flight, refrigeration and printing. The 1937 Exposition Internationale faced some of the most important dualisms that divided humanity against itself: the split between France and her colonies, between art and science, between socialism and capitalism, between fascism and democracy. The official philosophy of the exposition still paid homage to the twin gods Peace and Progress, as all parties at the great ceremony in Paris intoned the faith: no matter how bleak the world seems to be, the twin gods will see humanity through to a glorious future. By June of 1940, Paris would belong to the conquering Nazis.
Mercker, most represented German painter in the Paris World Exhibition 1937
Mercker won the ‘Grosse Goldene Medaille’ (‘Grand Gold Medal’) in 1937 at the World Exhibition in Paris for four monumental paintings of 5 by 4 meters in the German Pavilion:
– ‘Nürnberg’ (‘City of Nuremberg‘);
– ‘Pfannlochbrücke‘, Deutsche Alpenstrasse bei Gästhoff Mauthäusl (‘Pfannloch-bridge/ Bad Reichenhall);
– ‘Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow´ (‘Ship Hoist Niederfinow’);
– ‘Reichsparteitag Nürnberg’ (‘Party Congress in Nuremberg’).
In total 22 large-format paintings by German artists were displayed in the German Pavilion. With four paintings at Sections 7, 8, 10 and 11, Mercker was the most represented German painter in the Paris World Exhibition 1937.
Left: Erich Mercker, 1937, working at ‘Nürnberg’, one of the four monumental paintings created for the German Pavillion at the World Exhibition in Paris. Right on the photo is visible: ‘Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow‘; another version of this work hung in the GDK 1937.
Right: ‘Nürnberg’ by Mercker, displayed at the World Exhibition 1937. Size 500 x 400 cm. In the possession of the ‘Germanische Nationalmuseum’, Nürnberg.
Left: Erich Mercker, ‘Pfannlochbrücke‘, Deutsche Alpenstrasse bei Gästhoff Mauthäusl (‘Pfannloch-bridge, near Bad Reichenhall). Displayed at the World Exhibition 1937. Size 500 x 400 cm. Art print. Depicted in ‘Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte‘, 10 Jahrgang, 1939.
Right: ‘Pfannlochbrücke’ by Mercker depicted on a postcard. At the back the text: ‘Die Strassen des Adolf Hitlers, -die Deutsche Alpenstrasse, -Erich Mercker, Bau der Pfannlochbrücke’.
A work by Mercker named ‘Queralpenstrasse Pfannlochbrücke’ hung in the Neue Reichkanzlei, sublocation: Voss-Strasse 1 (Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b).
‘Pfannlochbrücke‘ at the World Exhibition 1937 (in the middle).
Left: Erich Mercker, ‘Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow´ (‘Ship Hoist Niederfinow’). Displayed at the World Exhibition 1937. Size 500 x 400 cm. Art print. Depicted in ‘Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte‘, 10 Jahrgang, 1939. Another version of ‘Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow’ was displayed at the GDK 1937 room 12.
Right: Hitler and Joseph Goebbels looking at a model of Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow at the exhibition ‘Deutsches Volk – Deutsche Arbeit’, 1934.
At the left: ‘Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow’ by Mercker, displayed at the World Exhibition, 1937, Paris, German Pavillion.
At the right: ‘ ‘Reichsparteitag Nürnberg’ (‘Party Congress in Nuremberg’). Displayed at the World Exhibition 1937. Size 500 x 400 cm (listed as ‘Reichsparteitag Nürnberg’ in the exhibition catalog).
Map of the German Pavillion, Paris World Exhibition 1937 (appendix of the exhibition catalog).
Section 7 : ‘Reichsparteitag Nürnberg’
Section 8 : ‘Mangfallbrücke’
Section 10 : ‘Niederfinow’
Section 11 : ‘Nürnberg’
Erich Mercker, ‘Aus Deutschlands Schmiede‘ (‘From Germany’s Forge’), art-print. GDK 1940 room 12; depicted in the exhibition catalog. Also depicted in ‘Kunst dem Volk’, 1940, and in ‘Das Bild’, July 1940. Sold for 4.000 Reichsmark. 
Left: Erich Mercker, ‘Thomas-Stahlwerke’ (‘Thomas Steel Mill’), oil on canvas. Size 101 x 101 cm. GDK 1938 room 12. In private possession.
Right: Erich Mercker, ‘Havelbrücker bei Werder’ (‘Havel-bridge near Werder’). Depicted in ‘Nationsozialistische Monatshefte’, 1939, Heft 110. Art-print.
‘Cave di marmo a Flossenbürg’
At the XXIII Venice Biennale, 1942, Mercker displayed two works, including ‘Cave di marmo a Flossenbürg’. This painting, ‘Granitbrüche Flossenbürg’ (‘Granite Quarry’) was earlier displayed at the GDK 1941, room 12 and bought by Hitler for 4.000 RM. According to the Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b, the painting hung in the Führerbau in Munich. Size 120 x 120 cm (the depicted workers came from the nearby concentration camp Flossenbürg). In the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin.
Displayed in 2012/13 at the the exhibition ‘Geschichten im Konflikt‘, 2012/13, held in the Haus der Kunst, Munich.
Again displayed at the exhibition ‘Artige Kunst, Kunst und Politik im Nationalsozialismus‘ (‘Compliant Art, Art and Politics in the National Socialist era’) held at Museum Situation Kunst, Bochum (November 2016 – April 2017), Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock (April – June 2017) and at Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg (July – October 2017); depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
‘Ponta sulla valle dell‘ Alm‘
Erich Mercker, ‘Ostmark, Almtalbrücke der Reichsautobahn‘ (‘Ostmark, the Almtal Bridge‘). GDK 1941 room 12. Size 120 x 120. Bought by Hitler for 3.500 Reichsmark. Displayed under the name ‘Ponta sulla valle dell‘ Alm‘ at the ‘XXIII Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d’Arte – 1942. According to the Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b, the painting hung in the Führerbau in Munich. In the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum.
The Mercker-paintings in the Neue Reichskanzlei and in the Führerbau
Between 1936 and 1940, the German government purchased for more than 97.000 Reichsmarks seventeen of Mercker’s paintings to embellish Hitler’s New Chancellery in Berlin; Mercker painted another 8 works that were installed in the Führerbau in Munich (Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b).
Placed in the Neue Reichskanzlei, Berlin:
– Haus der Deutschen Kunst (Voss-Strasse 1);
– Königlicher Platz 1, München (Voss-Strasse 1);
– Queralpenstrasse Pfannlochbrücke (Voss-Strasse 1);
– Mangfallbrücke (Voss-Strasse 2);
– Zeppelinfeld Nürnberg im Bau (Voss-Strasse 4);
– Reichskanzlei Neubau (Voss-Strasse 4, Flure);
– Reichskanzlei Neubau, Richtfest Baustadium (Voss-Strasse 4 ,Flure);
– Reichskanzlei Neubau, Baustadium Ecke Hermann-Göring-Strasse (Voss-Strasse, Flur/ Kammer);
– Reichskanzlei Neubau, Baustadium Gartenseite (Kammer);
– Westbefestigung (Voss-Strasse 4, Flure);
– Kongresshalle Nürnberg, Baustadium Herbst 1938 (Kammer);
– Limburger Brücke der Reichsautobahn (Voss-Strasse, Flur/Kammer);
– Reichsautobahn im Pfälzerwald (Voss-Strasse, Flur/Kammer);
– Werrabrücke bei Kassel der Reichsautobahn (Voss-Strasse, Flur/Kammer);
– Aetna von Taormina (Voss-Strasse 4, Flure);
– Vorfrühling in Heidelberg (Rabe);
– Gardasee vom Monte Baldo (Voss-Strasse 4, Flure).
Placed in the Führerbau, Munich:
– Marmor für die Reichskanzlei;
– Bau der Reichskanzlei;
– Linz, Hermann-Göring Werke in Bau;
– Ostmark, Almtalbrücke der Reichsautobahn;
– Granitbrüche Flossenbürg;
– Märzfeld Nürnberg;
– Baustelle Reichskanzlei;
– Rohrbachbrücke Reichsautobahnen.
Erich Mercker, known for his depictions of Third Reich construction projects
Erich Mercker (1891–1973), born in the city of Zabern (today the French city of Saverne in the Alsace) was the son of a high-ranking Prussian officer. In his youth, his family lived in the industrial city of Metz in Lorrain (from 1871-1918 German territory). He studied from 1910-1911 at the Technische Hochschule Bauingenieurwesen (civil engineering) in Munich and later at the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg in Berlin. It was during this period that he developed an interest in painting, particularly in industrial landscapes; he studied briefly under Professor Martin Körte. In 1914 he had definitely decided to become a painter. Mercker served from 1915 to 1918 in relative safety behind the lines in ‘Frontwetterwarte 241’, a weather observation unit. After World War I he returned to Munich, committed himself to painting, and, despite being self-taught, he rapidly professionalized himself.
In 1920 he was for the first time represented in the Münchner Glaspalast. From 1920 onwards he made study-trips to Austria, Italy, France, Sweden and Norway. Mercker painted landscapes and industrial scenes and factories in Germany, e.g., ports, iron melting fabrics, steelworks, building sites, in a neo-impressionistic style. He painted works for various town halls (i.a. Saarbrücken, Heidelberg, Frankenthal), Banks (i.a. Hansabank in Munich) and for the steamers and offices of Nord Deutschen Lloyd shipping line and the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-AG (Hapag). In 1928 he was represented with the works ‘Elektrizitätswerk Essen’ and ‘Zentrale des R.W.E. Essen’ at the exhibition ‘Kunst und Technik’, Folkwangmuseum, Essen.
When Hitler came to power, Mercker was asked to immortalize the immense construction projects that took place during the Nazi era. On 1 May 1933 he became a member of the NSDAP. In March 1935 he created a large oil painting depicting the NSDAP-Party building in Münich; this work was hung in the Reichskanzlei in Berlin. Mercker had eleven paintings displayed at the exhibition ‘Die Strassen Adolf Hitlers in der Kunst’ (‘The Highways of Adolf Hilter in Art’), that traveled between Munich, Berlin and Breslau in 1936/37. At the prominent Berlin-exhibition ‘Lob der Arbeit’ (‘In Praise of Work’) in 1936, sponsored by the party’s Kulturgemeinde, he displayed ‘Eisenhüttenwerk’ (‘Iron Works’).
Mercker, most represented German painter in the Paris World Exhibition 1937
Mercker won the ‘Grosse Goldene Medaille’ (‘Grand Gold Medal’) in 1937 at the World Exhibition in Paris for four monumental paintings of 5 by 4 meters in the German Pavilion:
– ‘Nürnberg’ (‘City of Nuremberg‘);
– ‘Pfannlochbrücke‘, Deutsche Alpenstrasse bei Gästhoff Mauthäusl (‘Pfannloch-bridge/ Bad Reichenhall);
– ‘Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow´ (‘Ship Hoist Niederfinow’);
– ‘Reichsparteitag Nürnberg’ (‘Party Congress in Nuremberg’).
In total 22 large-format paintings by German artists were displayed in the German Pavilion. With four paintings at Sections 7, 8, 10 and 11, Mercker was the most represented German painter in the Paris World Exhibition 1937.
Mercker maintained regular contacts with top Nazis like Fritz Todt, Head of Organisation Todt and Minister for Armaments until 1942, and his successor Albert Speer. The Bundesarchiv possesses a letter from Speer, dated 17 October 1944, in which Speer personally congratulates Mercker on his birthday (R3/1590).
Beginning in 1938, Erich Mercker was represented in the Great German Art Exhibitions with 34 paintings. His most well-known works from that era were: ‘Die Stätte des 9. November’, 1939 (‘Munich, the Day of the Hitlerputsch’), ‘Marmor für die Reichskanzlei’, 1940 (‘Marble for the Reich Chancellery’), ‘Aus Deutschlands Schmiede’, 1940 (‘From Germany’s Forge’), ‘Zeppelinfield im Bau’, 1937, ‘Baustelle Reichskanzlei’, 1939, ‘Hermann Göring Werke im Bau’, 1941, ‘Ein Rüstungswerk ensteht’, 1943, ‘U-Boote noch und noch’, 1942 and ‘Torpedoboote in der Werft’ 1942. Adolf Hitler, Albert Speer, Robert Ley and Adolf wagner bought 15 of Mercker’s works for prices of up to 5,000 RM. One of Merckers paintings, ‘Vosstrasse’ -a picture of the construction of the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin- is still in possession of the US Army Center of Military History, Washinton DC.
Between 1936 and 1940, the German government purchased for more than 97.000 Reichsmarks seventeen of Mercker’s paintings to embellish Hitler’s New Chancellery in Berlin; Mercker painted another 8 works that were installed in the Führerbau in Munich (Bundesarchiv, document R43II/1062b).
At the XXIII Venice Biennale, 1942, Mercker displayed two works: ‘Cave di marmo a Flossenburg’ and ‘Ponta sulla valle dell‘ Alm‘ (‘Ostmark, Almtalbrücke der Reichsautobahn‘ or ‘Ostmark, the Almtal Bridge‘, GDK 1941, bought by Hitler). The painting ‘Cave di marmo a Flossenburg’ (‘Granitbrüche Flossenbürg’, or ‘Granite Quarry’, was earlier displayed at the GDK 1941, room 12 and bought by Hitler for 4.000 RM.
In 1944, when Mercker was bombed out of his studio in the Franz-Joseph Strasse in Munich, he moved to the Allgäu.
After 1945 he mainly painted commissioned works for large companies like MAN, Volkswagen and Bayer. In 1954 he returned to Munich. Between 1950 and his death in 1973, Mercker participated in every one of the annual Münchner Künstlergenossenschaft (MKG)-exhibitions in Munich, all of which were held in the Haus der Kunst (formerly Haus der Deutschen Kunst); his paintings were often selected for reproduction in the exhibition catalogs. Mercker frequently served as a member of the exhibitions’ juries. In the 1960s he served as the secretary of the MKG, and in 1965 he became president of the MKG. In 1971 he was appointed the Honorary President of the MKG and remained in this post until his death two years later.
Nowadays the works of Mercker hang in several museums and institutions, including the Stadtmuseum Kiel, the Kurpfälzisches Museum in Heidelberg, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nürnberg, the Stadtmuseum in Frankenthal, the Westpreußisches Landesmuseum Münster. In the possession of the Deutsches Historisches Museum are: ‘Marmor für die Reichskanzlei‘ (GDK 1940 room 12), ‘Granitbrüche Flossenbürg‘ (GDK 1941 room 12), ‘Baustelle Reichskanzlei‘ (GDK 1939 room 12), ‘Märzfeld in Nürnberg‘ (GDK 1941 room 12), ‘Hermann Göring-Werke in Linz‘ (GDK 1941 room 12), ‘Ostmark-Almtalbrücke der Reichsautobahn‘ (GDK 1941 room 12), ‘Reichsautobahn Rohrbachbrücke‘ (GDK 1939 room 12), ‘Grossbaustelle Märzfeld‘, ‘Grossbaustelle der OT. I‘ (GDK 1944 room 12) and ‘Grossbaustelle der OT. II’ (‘GDK 1944 room 12). Last two works were previously in the possession of the U.S. Army Center of Military History. In the possession of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen are: ‘Deutsche Industrie‘ and two landscapes by Mercker. The Grohmann Museum in Milwaukee, founded by the industrialst Eckhart G. Grohmann, owns 81 works of Erich Mercker. ‘Nürnberg’, displayed at the Worldexhibition 1937, is in the possession of the ‘Germanische Nationalmuseum’, Nürnberg.
Merckers work ‘Baustelle Reichskanzlei’ (‘Building-site New Reich Chancellery’, GDK 1939, bought by Hitler) was displayed at the exhibition ‘Aufstieg und Fall der Moderne‘, Weimar, 1999.
‘Granitbrüche Flossenbürg’ (‘Granite Quarry Flossenbürg’, GDK 1941, bought by Hitler) was displayed in 2012/13 at the the exhibition ‘Geschichten im Konflikt‘, 2012/13, held in the Haus der Kunst, Munich. ‘Granitbrüche Flossenbürg’ was again displayed at the exhibition ‘Artige Kunst, Kunst und Politik im Nationalsozialismus‘ (‘Compliant Art, Art and Politics in the National Socialist era’) held at Museum Situation Kunst, Bochum (November 2016 – April 2017), Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock (April – June 2017) and at Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie, Regensburg (July – October 2017); depicted in the exhibition catalogue.
‘Drachenlochbrücke’, ‘Bau der neuen Reichskanzlei’ and ‘Die Stätte des 9. November’ were all three displayed at the exhibition ‘Nazi Design’, Design Museum Den Bosch, The Netherlands, 8 September 2019 – 1 March 2020. This world-wide highly publicized exhibition attracted over 130.000 visitors in six months. The exhibition was covered on the front page of the New York Times and Bild, and i.a. in the Guardian, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Paris Match, Spiegel, Welt, Tagesspiegel, El Pais and all Dutch newspapers. On television the exposition was covered i.a. by the ARD, ZDF, DW News, Aljazeera, AFP News Agency, SBS World News, and all major television channels in The Netherlands. Because of the enormous popularity of the exhibition, the museum extended opening hours, opened its doors also on Mondays, and finally it extended the exhibition by 6 weeks.
* As also stated in our General Terms and Conditions, German Art Gallery offers the depicted postcards for sale. Almost all of these postcards are ‘Haus der Deutschen Kunst’ editions. Prices on request.