In the Thirties, Adolf Hitler commissioned his favourite artists, such as Josef Thorak, Arno Breker and Fritz Klimsch, to produce a number of huge bronze sculptures that depicted German power and mastery. They included Thorak’s Schreitende Pferde (“Striding Horses”), two 10ft tall equine statues that were placed on either side of the steps to the garden at the rear of Hitler’s Chancellery in Berlin. “Whenever he stared outside,” writes Arthur Brand, “hatching plans to conquer the world, his view would include Thorak’s horses.” Mark Axworthy, illustrated by Horia Şerbănescu (1991). The Romanian Army of World War 2. Men At Arms 246. Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-169-6, ISBN 978-1-85532-169-4. R. L. DiNardo, Austin Bay (1988). Horse-Drawn Transport in the German Army. Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 23, No. 1, 129–143 (1988). doi: 10.1177/002200948802300108.

Hitler’s missing horse statues solved - The Mystery of Hitler’s missing horse statues solved - The

Without giving details, the government said in the statement that it plans to exhibit the monumental horses by Thorak. Commissioned by Hitler at the height of his power, the colossal twin "Striding Horses" had stood in the garden of Hitler's seat of government from 1939 to 1943.They were part of the thousands of bronze works crafted for the Nazi regime in its quest to transform Berlin into the imperial global capital of "Germania." Who was Josef Thorak? It is as if the dismal dialectic set up by Goebbels in Munich in 1937 – on the one hand heroic, neoclassical German art sanctioned by the Nazis, and on the other modern art made by Jews and “degenerate” foreigners that often ended up being burned by Nazi functionaries – was still playing out in the first decades of West Germany’s existence.Breker was not an unusual case. The Deutsches Historiches Museum exhibition includes more than 300 works of art – tapestries, murals, sculptures – made by Nazi artists or fellow travellers after 1945. Among them is work by Hermann Kaspar whom Speer commissioned to design mosaics, frescoes, floors, friezes and wood inlays for the New Reich Chancellery. Hitler was most taken with the inlay of the oversized desk in the Führer’s study that, Speer recalled in his memoirs, depicted the mask of Mars, god of war, behind which a sword was crossed with a lance. “Well, well,” Hitler reportedly told Speer. “When the diplomats sitting in front of me at this table see it, they will learn to be afraid.” Brauneis agrees with this assessment: “In West Germany and Austria, if not East Germany, many of the most successful artists were Nazis.” The ghost sonata carried on as if the Holocaust had not happened. Brauneis’s exhibition is aimed at bringing a neglected chapter in German history to light. Edwin Ernest Rich, Charles Wilson (1967). The Cambridge economic history of Europe, Volume 1. CUP Archive, 1967. David Glantz (1991). Soviet military operational art: in pursuit of deep battle. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-7146-4077-8, ISBN 978-0-7146-4077-8 Walter Scott Dunn (2005). The Soviet economy and the Red Army, 1930–1945. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-94893-5, ISBN 978-0-275-94893-1.

Nazi sculptures on show Why a German museum is putting two Nazi sculptures on show

In fact, plenty of Nazi propaganda sculptures remain in public spaces, such as in Berlin's OlympicStadium,commissioned by the Nazi regime for the 1936 Olympics. Ahead of the World Cup in 2006, for which the stadium was one of the venues, some activists called for the removal of its statues. However,the city refused on the grounds that a removal would be a denial of Germany's history. Zaloga, Steven (1982). The Polish Army 1939–45. Men At Arms No. 117. illustrated by Richard Hook. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85045-417-8. a b c d Rich, Wilson p. 653 (table 59). Note that decline in horse population due to motorization and the Great Depression continued through the 1930s. J. Ingram Bryan (2006 reprint of 1928 edition). Japan from Within. Read Books. ISBN 1-4067-2732-6, ISBN 978-1-4067-2732-6.History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps". RAVC History. Army Medical Services Museum. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21 . Retrieved 2009-01-14. Yet for some reason Brand – or possibly his editor – felt the need to ramp up the tension by constantly emphasising the danger he was in, and the ruthlessness of the people he was dealing with. Neither claims are particularly convincing. Chapters end on cliffhangers more typical of pulp fiction. Brand is described as the art world’s answer to Indiana Jones. Yet his naive and, at times, blundering attempts to navigate the dark world of German neo-Nazis are more reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau. Like the occasion when, having climbed a tree to try to spot the horses in the garden of a wealthy German industrialist, he lost his grip and tumbled to the ground.

Horses in World War II - Wikipedia Horses in World War II - Wikipedia

Bruce I. Gudmundsson (2004). On armor. The military profession. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-95019-0, ISBN 978-0-275-95019-4. He says of a reporter working with him on the case, “As one of Germany’s top journalists, he excelled in ramping up the tension,” but at times his own attempts to follow suit are clumsy, and his end-of-chapter cliffhangers artificial. The story is good enough without this, and is not without its moments of comedy, too. Breker had been lionised by the leaders of the Third Reich In 1944, he figured on a list of 378 “Gottbegnadeten” or “divinely gifted” artists whom Hitler and Nazi chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels exempted from military duty. In 1936, Hitler made Breker official state sculptor, giving him a large studio and 43 assistants. He was commissioned to make two athletic sculptures for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Three other sculptures – The Party, The Army and Striding Horses – were prominently displayed at the entrance to Speer’s New Reich Chancellery in Berlin. On the Nazi’s Gottbegnadeten list … Richard Scheibe at work in Berlin, 1955. Photograph: Georg Kolbe Museum, Foto Fritz Eschen I very seldom use a hidden camera,” writes Brand. “It went against my principles… But the case of Hitler’s art treasures was different. Whoever was harbouring these items had absolutely no intention of restoring them to their owner.” The camera ruse, whatever its justification, failed.Brauneis argues that the hidden history he unveils undermines that flattering image. “The truth is that these ‘divinely gifted’ artists had close ties with the cultural-political programme of the Federal Republic.” Sutton, David (15 February 2022). Syria and Lebanon. Campaign of 1941. Bloomsbury USA. p.59. ISBN 9781472843845. The horse sculptures being removed from a storehouse in Bad Duerkheim, Germany, 21 May 2015. Fredrik von Erichsen/picture alliance via Getty Images Motorization of the 1930s raised a number of concerns, starting with the need to secure a continuous fuel supply. The new formations had a significantly larger footprint on the march: the 1932 French motorized division took up 52km (32mi) of road space compared to 11.5km (7.1mi) for a horse-mounted formation, raising concerns about control and vulnerability. [4] The Spanish Civil War and other conflicts of 1930s did not provide definite solutions and the issues remained unresolved until the onset of World War II. Only the German blitzkrieg achieved in the Battle of France finally persuaded the militaries of the world, including the United States, that the tank had replaced the horse on the battlefield. [16] Horse logistics [ edit ] German horse-drawn supply train with pneumatic tires in France, 1944 Josef Thorak was born in Vienna on February 7, 1889 and attended the Vienna Art Academy, eventuallymoving on to the Berlin Art Academy in 1915. After his studies he established himself as a sculptor of monumental works such as the 4-meter-high (13-foot)gable figure for the Reichsbank building in the western German city of Buer.