Solingen celebrates 650 years: discover the art and shadows of the Nazi era!

Solingen celebrates 650 years: discover the art and shadows of the Nazi era!

Solingen.The exhibition "Solingen Artists in the Rhineland Art Region 1933–1945 - Moor Soldiers? A Search for Traces" celebrates the 650th anniversary of the city of Solingen and takes a critical look at the Nazi era. Over 150 works, including pictures, prints, drawings and sculptures, come from Heinz-Willi Müller's private collection and can be seen in the Gräfrather Museum.

The show not only shows the art of this period, but also medals that complement the theme. Center director Jürgen Kaumkötter emphasizes that the exhibition reflects the high quality of Solingen art before the Nazis came to power in 1933, which radiated far beyond the city limits. Famous artists such as Georg Meistermann, August Preusse and Willi Deutzmann are central figures in this retrospective.

Milestones of the exhibition

Kaumkötter thanks Müller for his extensive collection and the opportunity to make this art accessible to the public. The exhibition is part of the Walsken Project, which honors the biography of the resistance fighter Ernst Walsken and raises the question of how his contemporaries behaved. While some artists such as Harry Stratmann were associated with Nazi art, he was friends with Meistermann.

The Solingen artists were not resistance fighters, as Kaumkötter notes, but there was a kind of opposition. Georg Meistermann described the art world in the language of the Nazis, while at the same time defending individual art. The exhibition opens on November 14th, accompanied by a catalog documenting the scientific support provided by the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf.

Opening hours:Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Adults: 9 euros, reduced: 4.50 euros, up to 18 years: entry free.