As a reminder of the tyranny, injustice and evil advanced by brutal despots, the World War II Victory Museum opened a new permanent exhibit presenting the stories of three of the most despised world leaders of our time.
“Rising Tyrants” tells of the rise to power of Italy’s Benito Mussolini, the Soviet Union’s Josef Stalin and Germany’s Adolf Hitler. This exhibit is located in the museum’s “Gathering Storm” gallery, which is devoted to the era and events leading to World War II.
The most dramatic visual element of the exhibit is a 1938 oil portrait of Adolf Hitler, painted by Heinrich Knirr, one of Nazi Germany’s leading “artists.” It is believed that this is the only Knirr portrait of Hitler on display in the world.
According to the portrait’s donor, Jack Smith of Thomson, Ga., the portrait was liberated by one of the first American soldiers to enter Munich, Germany, in the spring of 1945. The soldier intercepted two Czechoslovakian men running down a street carrying a large object, which turned out to be the painting of Hitler.
Knirr, at the height of his career, was one of the most prestigious “artists” in a Germany that stifled artistic creativity through the policies and programs of Hitler’s Nazi regime. Knirr was the headlining artist for the Greater German Art Exhibit in 1937. It is also believed that he was the only one to have painted a portrait of Hitler from life during Hitler’s reign.
The museum’s 1938 portrait by Knirr was painted from a photograph taken by Heinrich Hoffman, Hitler’s personal photographer and friend. The photograph served as an artistic shield for Knirr in painting the portrait exhibited in the museum.
“From 1935 to 1939, without a thought of his own, Knirr hid behind Hoffmann’s shield,” said art historian and conservator Barry Baumann, who recently restored and researched the museum’s Knirr painting. “He was a master of the ‘make believe’ sky, the ‘make believe’ landscape, the fantasy flower and the fictitious portrait. He became a formula painter robbed of his creativity in a regime where creativity was a crime.”
The exhibit received positive remarks from historians, World War II veterans and community leaders alike.
“This exhibit suggests the way art, just like humanity itself, can be corrupted in the service of wickedness,” a statement from Rabbi Jonathan Katz read. “… We often speak today of the power of the pen. But the power of the paintbrush and canvas can be equally, if not more, influential. An exhibit like this should prompt reflection on the use of mind control to achieve dastardly deeds. In an increasingly uncertain and vulnerable world it should make us that much more vigilant of those who would propagate odious falsehoods and exploit diabolically crafted images to infect and overthrow the foundations of civilized society.”
Jeff Gubitz, executive director of the Fort Wayne Jewish Federation, outlined the fundamental significance of the exhibit for museum visitors.
“I think the importance of this particular exhibit is that it doesn’t honor or glorify Adolf Hitler or any of the others that will be displayed, but serves as a reminder to us that these are not comic strip characters that are tucked away in a book somewhere,” he said.
Dr. Thomas Conner, William P. Harris Professor of Military History at Hillsdale College added a historian’s perspective on the exhibit’s opening.
“Certainly our presence here in no way is meant to glorify Hitler or the despicable, detestable cause he represented. It is, rather, to affirm the unending importance of understanding and reflecting upon the wickedness that has been done and still can be done by tyrants – by men who rise upon the stage of history and pervert governments to their own nefarious purposes by appealing to the basest passions of their own people,” he said. “Hitler was unique, but the evil represented was not unique – is not unique – to him.”
World War II veteran, Alfred Edwards, who served with the 111th Navy Seabee Battalion and saw combat operations at the Invasion of Normandy and also in the South Pacific, also voiced his approval of the exhibit.
“We gotta have (the portrait) there, because we cannot let anybody else have that much power again,” Edwards said. “It does not offend me because we’ve gotta make a spectacle of this man because of what he inflicted on a number of people and many countries.”
Keith Strock, a U.S. Army veteran who was wounded in action in Normandy in July 1944, was added commentary on the portrait.
“It’s revolting at first, but it’s important to exhibit,” Strock said. “The expression on his (Hitler’s) face tells the whole story.”
In addition to the Knirr portrait of Hitler and the “Rising Tyrants” exhibit, the World War II Victory Museum features a collection of over 150 rare and unique vehicles from the Second World War in its 80,000-square-foot exhibit hall. The vehicle collection contains eight vehicles believed to be only existing survivors as well as a few dozen which cannot be viewed elsewhere in North America. The museum is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. It is located just outside of Auburn, Indiana, at exit 126 of Interstate 69.
For detailed information about the Knirr portrait, please log onto conservator Barry Bauman’s website at www.baumanconservation.com.
