Franz Heckendorf

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Franz Heckendorf (born November 5, 1888 in Berlin , † August 17, 1962 in Munich ) was a German painter and graphic artist who was particularly successful in the Weimar Republic . During the National Socialist era , he was sentenced to ten years in prison after helping Berlin Jews threatened by deportation to extermination camps to flee to Switzerland .

life and work

Franz Heckendorf was born in Berlin-Lichterfelde as the son of an architect. At the age of 15 he left high school and completed an apprenticeship as a decorative painter. From 1905 to 1908 he studied at the Berlin School of Applied Arts and at the Berlin Academy of the Arts .

In 1909 he exhibited two Impressionist street paintings in the Berlin Secession . During his service in World War I as a fighter pilot on the Eastern Front, the Balkans , the Bosporus and in today's Iraq on the Tigris , he turned more and more to Expressionism . He also tried his war impressions in paintings, such as B. The advance of German troops on the Morawa (1916) artistically processed.

In 1917 he joined the German Association of Artists . From 1916 to 1918 he was a member of the board and jury of the Berlin Secession. In his expressionist works, Heckendorf particularly emphasized the expressiveness of partly hard contours and strong, bright colors in a dynamic painting style. He painted oil paintings as well as pastels and watercolors , in which he depicted portraits and figurative objects as well as landscapes and still lifes .

An extensive special exhibition in the Kestner Society in Hanover in the early summer of 1918 gave an overview of the young artist's first creative period since 1912.

During the Weimar Republic , of which he was a staunch supporter, Heckendorf was considered a “painter of the republic” and “darling of the so-called society”. His pictures found their way into the collections of prominent democratic politicians such as Matthias Erzberger and Walther Rathenau , and one of his paintings of the constitution ceremony before the Berlin Reichstag of 1929 was bought by the Reich Chancellor.

Heckendorf joined the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts in 1936 , but was excluded in 1940. From 1939 to 1943 he lived alternately in Berlin and Kitzbühel . The Third Reich regarded his art as “not in line with the cultural objectives of the Greater German Reich”; as early as August 1937, his paintings in the Berlin state property and in the National Gallery were confiscated as “ degenerate art ”, stored in a depot and then partly for sale abroad brought or burned.

On February 24, 1943, Heckendorf was arrested and taken to the Waldshut regional court prison . On May 27, 1943, an investigation was opened against him and three other Germans who had been taken into “ protective custody ”. They were accused of helping Berlin Jews who were threatened by deportation to extermination camps to flee to Switzerland. On March 22, 1944, after two days of trial, they were tried by a special court in Freiburg i.Br. Sentenced to several years in prison. Heckendorf, for whom the public prosecutor had demanded the death penalty, received the highest sentence at ten years. The court judged the offenses of the defendants to be "quite serious" because they "deliberately ... sided with our enemies and undertook to sabotage measures planned by the government during the war for the good of the Reich", but went to exonerate the four non-Jewish defendants assume that “the 'smuggling of Jews' must have been built up and operated by a widely ramified group of Jews who skilfully kept in the background”. On April 14, 1944, the four convicts were transferred to the Ensisheim prison in Alsace, where Heckendorf had to do heavy labor in the potash mines . After he was brought to the prison infirmary, a nurse who worked there managed to allow him to renovate the prison church and add murals. On September 17, 1944, Heckendorf was first transferred to the prison in Ludwigsburg and from there to the Kaltenstein workhouse near Vaihingen / Enz , from where he was transported to prison in Ulm in April 1945 . There he was handed over to the Gestapo , which at the end of April 1945 had him sent to Mauthausen concentration camp , where he was liberated by US troops in May 1945.

After the war, Heckendorf first worked at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and then in Salzburg. He worked in Munich until his death on August 17, 1962.

Heckendorf's painting was originally influenced by Expressionism , especially by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erich Heckel . His mostly landscape motifs as well as flower still lifes are of strong, luminous colors. In terms of art history, he belongs to the Lost Generation and Expressive Realism . After his death, Heckendorf was largely forgotten both as a painter and as a rescuer of the Jews. His works are u. a. in the Lindenau-Museum Altenburg , in the Berlinische Galerie and in the Bröhan-Museum Berlin, in the Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum Duisburg , the Stiftung Moritzburg in Halle, in the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie in Regensburg, in the Salzburg Museum and in the Kunstmuseum Solingen in Solingen- Gräfrath .

Works

His works include: B .:

  • Sailing regatta , oil on canvas, 57 × 77 cm (1910)
  • Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd portfolio "War picture sheet by German artists , watercolor lithograph (1914), portfolio of 13 parts - confiscated from the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Magdeburg on August 18, 1937 during the confiscation campaign" Degenerate Art "
  • Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd portfolio "War picture sheet by German artists , watercolor lithograph (1914), portfolio consisting of 26 parts - Confiscated from the Kestner Museum in Hanover on August 20, 1937 during the confiscation campaign" Degenerate Art "
  • Crossing over the Angerapp (1915)
  • Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd portfolio "War picture sheet of German artists , lithograph with watercolors (1915), portfolio of 13 parts - confiscated during the confiscation campaign" Degenerate Art "from the Anhaltinische Gemäldegalerie 1937 in Dessau
  • Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd portfolio "War picture sheet of German artists , colored lithograph (1915), portfolio of 13 parts - confiscated from the Folkwang Museum in Essen on August 25, 1937 during the" Degenerate Art "confiscation campaign
  • Advance of German troops on the Morawa (1916)
  • Stranded (1917)
  • Still life with chrysanthemums , oil on canvas, 68 × 105 cm (1917)
  • Resurrection of Christ (1918)
  • Portfolio Sun - 10 color lithographs published by Wasmuth A.-G. Berlin - (1919)
  • Seascape , oil / canvas, 88 × 108 cm (1920) - Confiscated from the National Gallery in Berlin on August 16, 1937 during the “Degenerate Art” confiscation campaign
  • Girl with Child - Confiscated from Berlin city property in 1937 during the “Degenerate Art” confiscation campaign
  • Partnach Gorge , oil / canvas, 82 × 60 cm (1921)
  • House in the park with a couple , oil / canvas, 60 × 70 cm (1921)
  • Flight into Egypt , oil on canvas, 79 × 90 cm (1921)
  • Brandenburg Gate , pencil and chalk, 23.4 × 28.6 cm (1922) - Confiscated from the National Gallery in Berlin on August 16, 1937 during the “Degenerate Art” confiscation campaign
  • Goldfish pond , pencil and chalk, 23.6 × 26.7 cm (1922) - Confiscated from the National Gallery in Berlin on August 16, 1937 during the “Degenerate Art” confiscation campaign
  • Der Neue See , pencil and chalk, 28.1 × 30.1 cm (1922) - Confiscated from the National Gallery in Berlin on August 16, 1937 during the “Degenerate Art” confiscation campaign
  • Café terrace by the lake , oil on canvas, 45 × 60.7 cm (1922)
  • Southern seascape , oil / canvas, 80 × 99 cm (1922)
  • Lively terrace by the lake , oil on canvas, 90 × 71 cm (1923)
  • Wannsee , oil / canvas, 37 × 47 cm (1924)
  • Still life with flowers , oil on canvas, 80.5 × 64.5 cm (1924)
  • Park landscape , oil / canvas, 42.5 × 48 cm (1925)
  • Flower garden with pergola by the lake , oil on canvas, 51.5 × 62.5 cm (1926)
  • Autumnal flower still life , oil / wood, 76.5 × 90 cm (1929)
  • On the Havel near Moorlake , oil / wood, 70 × 94 cm (1929)
  • Landscape on the Seine - (1930/31)
  • Am Stößensee , oil / plywood, 53 × 70 cm (1931) → The Stößensee in art
  • Southern coastal landscape , oil / wood, 80 × 100 cm (1932)
  • Mediterranean city by the sea , oil / wood, 50 × 69.5 cm (1932)
  • Mediterranean landscape with minnaret , watercolor / paper, 40 × 49 cm (1939)
  • Still life with a bouquet of flowers and apples , oil / plate, 60 × 80 cm (1942)
  • Trotting track in Salzburg , oil / panel, 57 × 68 cm (1947)
  • Lioness beats a wild boar in the oasis , oil / hardboard, 55 × 70 cm (approx. 1950s) (motif after Frans Snyders )
  • Italian coastal landscape under a yellow sky , oil / panel, 47 × 62 cm (1952)
  • Spring bouquet , oil / paper, 65.5 × 47 cm (1954)
  • Garden café on Lake Lugano , watercolor / paper, 36 × 48 cm (1956)
  • Kitchen still life with fish , oil / cardboard, 79.5 × 60 cm (1961)

literature

  • Franz Heckendorf . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 16 : Hansen – Heubach . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1923, p. 211-212 .
  • Franz Heckendorf . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General Lexicon of Fine Artists of the XX. Century. tape 2 : E-J . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1955, p. 400 .
  • Alexandra Cacace: Heckendorf, Franz . In: General Artist Lexicon . The visual artists of all times and peoples (AKL). Volume 70, de Gruyter, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-023175-5 , p. 513.
  • Horst Ludwig : Franz Heckendorf . In: Bruckmann's Lexicon of Munich Art . Munich painter in the 19th and 20th centuries Century . Volume 5: Achmann-Kursell . Bruckmann, Munich 1993, pp. 359-360.
  • Winfried Meyer: Nazi justice against Jewish workers: “extermination through work” instead of the death penalty. The judgment of the special court Freiburg i. Br. Against the Berlin painter Franz Heckendorf and his execution . In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Yearbook for anti-Semitism research . tape 19 , 2010, ISBN 978-3-940938-92-3 , pp. 331-362 .
  • Symphony in color. Franz Heckendorf, Bruno Krauskopf . Wilhelm Kohlhoff . Catalog for the exhibition of the Kunstfreunde Bergstrasse 1991 in Bensheim-Auerbach . With a foreword by Rainer Zimmermann, Alsbach 1991.
  • Winfried Meyer: Franz Heckendorf (1888-1962) - painter, bohemian and escape helper for Jews on the Swiss border . In: Angela Borgstedt et al. (Ed.): Courage proven. Resistance biographies from the south-west (= writings on political regional studies of Baden-Württemberg , published by the State Center for Political Education Baden-Württemberg, vol. 46), Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 9783945414378 , pp. 217–228.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Incorrectly, 1965 is also given as the year of death.
  2. ↑ Winfried Meyer: Nazi justice against Jewish helpers: "Destruction through work" instead of the death penalty. The judgment of the special court Freiburg i.Br. against the Berlin painter Franz Heckendorf and his execution . In: Wolfgang Benz (Ed.): Yearbook for Research on Antisemitism 19 . Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-940938-92-3 , pp. 334 .
  3. ↑ Helmut Herbst: Profiled. To the Marbach Tucholsky exhibition. In: Karl H. Pressler (Ed.): From the Antiquariat. Volume 8, 1990 (= Börsenblatt für den Deutschen Buchhandel - Frankfurter Ausgabe. No. 70, August 31, 1990), pp. A 334 - A 340, here: p. A 334.
  4. ↑ Winfried Meyer, 2010, p. 335.
  5. ^ Swiss art: 1931, art theft. Accessed August 31, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Winfried Meyer, 2010, p. 337 f.
  7. ↑ Winfried Meyer, 2010, p. 331 f.
  8. ↑ Winfried Meyer, 2010, p. 353.
  9. ↑ Winfried Meyer, 2010, pp. 356-360
  10. ^ Rainer Zimmermann: Expressive Realism. Painting of the Lost Generation , Hirmer, Munich 1994, p. 384.
  11. ↑ Winfried Meyer, 2010, p. 361 f.
  12. ^ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd folder "War picture sheet of German artists" , accessed on December 11, 2019
  13. ^ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd folder "War picture sheet of German artists" , accessed on December 11, 2019
  14. ^ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd folder "War picture sheet of German artists" , accessed on December 11, 2019
  15. ^ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Sturm, sheet 3 of the 3rd folder "War picture sheet of German artists" , accessed on December 11, 2019
  16. ↑ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Seelandschaft , accessed on December 11, 2019
  17. ^ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Girls with Children , accessed on December 11, 2019
  18. ↑ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Brandenburg Gate , accessed on December 11, 2019
  19. ^ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Goldfischteich , accessed on December 11, 2019
  20. ↑ Database on the confiscation inventory of the "Degenerate Art" campaign, Research Center "Degenerate Art", FU Berlin, Der Neue See , accessed on December 11, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Heckendorf, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter and graphic artist
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1962
Place of death Munich