Hans Sterbik, Kriegswinter in Polen

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				Price: on request

Description

‘Kriegswinter in Polen’ (‘War-winter in Polen’)
Biography: Hans Sterbik

Displayed at the GDK 1941, room 33.
The artist died in 1944 in a Russian prisoner camp in Kalinin, near Kursk.
Large painting of 140 x 100 cm.

— displayed at the exhibition ‘Art in the Third Reich, Seduction and Distraction’, November 2023 – March 2024, Museum Arnhem, The Netherlands —

Bought from the sun of the private buyer at the GDK 1941 (1942). With original purchase agreement of the Haus der Deutschen Kunst, as well as the original clarkroom-tickets from the buyer and his wife.

Original purchase agreement GDK 1941 (signed by the father of the seller). Left under the clarkroom tickets from the buyer and his wife.

‘Kriegswinter in Polen’ by Hans Sterbik, displayed at the exhibition ‘Art in the Third Reich, Seduction and Distraction’, Museum Arnhem, The Netherlands, November 2023 – March 2024. Photo’s: Eva Broekema.

‘Kriegswinter in Polen’ by Sterbik, on Dutch TV (NOS/ 12 November 2023). NOS Museum Arnhem (at 13.07 min).

German War Art in the Pentagon
‘Very good, outstanding and brilliant in conception…’

House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services, Investigation Subcommittee, Washington, D.C. , September 23, 1981
At September 23, 1981, the House of Representatives discussed the transfer to Germany of 6.337 pieces of war art that were seized from the German Government by the United States Army in March 1947. Below some remarkable quotes from the discussion.
George William Whitehurst (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, journalist, professor) about the 6.337 pieces of German war art:
‘They are similar to the military works of art hanging on our own committee and subcommittee rooms. Part of the German collection is on display in the Pentagon…. This is war art, showing the life of German military personnel under the best and the worst conditions, as indeed soldiers, sailors, and airmen of all nations experienced it… ‘Asked by the Chairman about the value of the art: ‘Some of it is very, very good. The large canvas in my office is an outstanding work of art’.

Marylou Gjernes, Army Art Curator, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Department of the Army:
‘..The Air Force similarly favors retention of German war art integral to its museum operations at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and a small exhibit of paintings that they have in the Pentagon.’…. ‘Some of the paintings and drawings are brilliant in conception and execution. They show by their artistry, color and mood, the spirit of combat, and the desolation, destruction and tragedy of war. There are illustrations of the despair and boredom of the troops…They are a testament to the sensitivity of the artist regardless of nationality. The collection ..is utilized in ongoing exhibition programs and displays to provide a unique view of World War II that supplements and supports the written history of the conflict..’

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.

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