Roman Zenzinger

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Drawing by Zenzinger (1944)

Roman Zenzinger (born July 16, 1903 in Olomouc , Moravia, † November 5, 1990 in Vienna ) was an Austrian artist.

Life

Zenzinger lived with his parents in different cities such as Brno , Villach , Eisenstadt and Sankt Veit an der Glan .

In Villach he studied at the School of Architecture and was also taught the art of painting by Carinthian painters. In 1935 he moved to Vienna, where he worked for various daily newspapers, including the Kurier , as a cartoonist and painter. He was also a member of the “Wiener Neustaedter Kunstverein”, where like-minded people and those interested in art met. From 1936 he worked as a commercial artist.

In April 1941 he was drafted into military service and placed under Police Reserve Contingent I of the Wehrmacht. Soon afterwards he worked as a war painter in Veldes (then Upper Carniola, now Bled in Slovenia), later also in Kosovo , Serbia and Trieste .

From February 1943 to February 1944 he was employed in the film and image department of the Ordnungspolizei and then until April 1945 in the war reporting group “ SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers ” in the Adria commando in Trieste. He carried the rank of chief sergeant in the reserve police force. During this time, Zenzinger was often called to Berlin, where he had to deliver parts of his work personally. He then worked in Trieste for the magazine “Adria-Illustrierte” until the end of the war.

Some of his works were shown during an exhibition in Berlin in 1943. Other of his drawings were printed in Catalog I “War painter of the Ordnungspolizei”. Some of his works were also used for the title page of the Völkischer Beobachter , for example for one of the last issues of the party sheet with the title “Berlin is on fire”. Unfortunately, nothing of his work in oil during the war has survived, and nothing is known about its whereabouts. Much was certainly destroyed when Berlin was captured or transported to the Siegerland as spoils of war. Nevertheless, Zenzinger was able to save many of his works and take them back to Austria.

From 1945 he continued to work as a painter and freelance commercial graphic artist. He also painted many pictures privately, in which he dealt with the processing of the war, but also with landscapes and much more. Sometimes he used the pseudonym Zero (short for for his work Ze nzinger Ro man).

meaning

Zenzinger was considered an official war painter and one of Hitler's favorite artists. His works are not propagandistic, but describe the soldiers' everyday life in the war. According to his family, Zenzinger was never a member of the NSDAP.

After the war, Zenzinger tried for a long time to hide his career as a war painter and erased names and dates from many pictures. It wasn't until 2011 that the family decided to open their archives. Some of his works were shown in an auction that same year.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German war artist emerges 65 years on , Antiques Trade Gazette
  2. ↑ Revealed: The sketches of Hitler's official artist who erased his name from files in shame after WWII , Daily Mail, April 4, 2011
  3. ^ Riddle about the "Hitler painter" solved: Frau got Kunstschatz , Kronen Zeitung, May 18, 2011
  4. ^ Viennese auction three sketches by "Hitler-Maler" , Kronen Zeitung, April 4, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Zenzinger, Roman
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian painter
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Olomouc
DATE OF DEATH 5th November 1990
Place of death Vienna