Karl Schwesig was born on June 19, 1898, in Gelsenkirchen into a mining family. A bout of rickets in his childhood caused spinal curvature and limited his height to 1.39 meters (4 feet 3 inches). In 1916, during the First World War, Schwesig was drafted into the military. He didn't have to fight at the front but served as a clerk in a mine office. "Mostly, I had to draw portraits of Hindenburg and the Crown Prince for my superior," he recalled – an early indication of his talent for artistic expression under extraordinary circumstances.

In 1918 he received a scholarship to the Düsseldorf Art Academy: “[…] I now experienced the freedom of the Rhineland and the art city. Only now, at 20 years old, did I truly become a person.” But after only two years he had had enough and left the academy: “Then I soon saw that the art academies are bourgeois institutions in which I could not paint according to the voice of my heart and my blood.”

In the vibrant streets of 1920s Düsseldorf, where art bubbled more than the Rhine itself, Johanna Ey (1864–1947) caught the attention of Karl Schwesig's rebellious spirit. Affectionately known as Mother Ey, she was the heart of the Düsseldorf art scene and a staunch supporter of the "Young Wild Ones" of the Young Rhineland movement. In her legendary gallery, "Junge Kunst – Frau Ey" (Young Art – Ms. Ey), a melting pot of colors, forms, and quirky ideas, Schwesig and his contemporaries created an epicenter of artistic revolutions. In this small art universe, characterized as much by discussions as by laughter and the occasional glass of wine too many, Schwesig found not only recognition but also inspiration. Max Ernst (1891–1976), with one foot in Dada and the other in Surrealism, juggled ideas so explosive they crackled on the canvas. Otto Pankok (1893–1966), with his profound compassion for the oppressed, drew and painted stories that touched the heart and challenged the mind. Gert Wollheim (1894–1974) expressed the horrors of war and the anguish of the human soul, while Heinrich Nauen (1880–1940) reinvented nature in an explosion of color. Jankel Adler (1895–1949), who enfolded the fleeting shadows of the old and the new, wove Jewish heritage and modern restlessness into his works. And when Joachim Ringelnatz (1883–1934) dropped by, the whole house was turned upside down.

Supported by Mother Ey, Karl Schwesig followed his convictions and made a name for himself in the Weimar Republic, primarily through critical depictions of social injustices and political grievances. His work encompassed prints, drawings, and paintings that addressed the suffering of the working class and the tensions within society. Schwesig co-founded the political satire magazine "Die Peitsche" (The Whip) with Gert Wollheim. His political stance led him to join the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) and, in 1930, to co-found the Düsseldorf branch of the "Association of Revolutionary Visual Artists," better known as the "Asso."

Beyond his political activism, Schwesig cultivated a surprisingly multifaceted artistic portfolio as a painter. He captured the vibrancy of Carnival, the sun-drenched beauty of southern French beaches, and the Düsseldorf bourgeoisie in striking portraits. His depictions of people, such as the highly picturesque portrait of the Düsseldorf wine merchant Wilhelm Sommer, resonate with gentle memories—memories that behind every face lies a story, rich in experiences and emotions worth sharing.

The unbridled freedom of the Weimar Republic came to an abrupt end with the political upheaval brought about by the National Socialists' rise to power in 1933. Schwesig's commitment and unwavering belief in freedom clashed head-on with the Nazi regime's hatred of humanity. After the Reichstag fire in 1933, Schwesig participated in the production and distribution of leaflets and provided shelter to persecuted workers in his studio. In July 1933, he was arrested, taken to the SA's "Schlegelkeller" (a cellar used in the Nazi prison), and tortured for three days: "Three large paintings [...] were dragged from my studio to the Schlegelkeller as trophies deemed dangerous to the state. All the prisoners and SA men were then gathered in front of the paintings and forced to watch what would be done to the painter of such pictures today." This was followed by four weeks in police custody, subsequent remand in custody at the "Ulmer Höhe" prison, and a conviction for "preparation for high treason," resulting in a 16-month prison sentence. In Wuppertal-Bendahl prison, he drew guards and fellow prisoners.

In 1935, Karl Schwesig fled to Antwerp and received political asylum in Belgium. In 1937, the Nazis stripped him of his German citizenship and confiscated 17 of his works from museums. "Oh, how proud I was to be stripped of my citizenship from this country, and what shame to be treated as a German by foreigners." For Schwesig, the move into exile was not only an escape from political persecution, but also the beginning of a period in his life in which his artistic work was inextricably linked to active resistance against National Socialism.

He processed his horrific experiences in the SA's torture chamber during his Belgian exile in a series of drawings entitled "Schlegelkeller" (Schlegelkeller). On July 5, 1936, the "Schlegelkeller Cycle" by Karl Schwesig was exhibited in an anteroom of the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels as part of the "European Amnesty Conference for the Aid and Support of Political Prisoners in Germany." Schwesig spoke at the conference about his torture. His account of a swastika being carved into his scalp caused a particular sensation in the newspapers. The "Schlegelkeller Drawings" were subsequently shown at the "Olympiade onder dictatuur" (Olympiad Under Dictatorship) in Amsterdam from August 1 to September 15, 1936, a counter-event to the Nazi Olympics in Berlin. Max Ernst and Hanns Kralik (1900–1971) also exhibited at this event. Wolfgang Langhoff, actor, director and author of the novel "Moorsoldaten", was represented in the literature section.

Back in Antwerp, the "Schlegelkeller" episode was documented in a series of photographs by Jewish friends and compiled into five books by Karl Schwesig, who also included accompanying texts. Wolfgang Langhoff persuaded Heinrich Mann to write the introductory remarks.

The only surviving copy of the five books is now in the possession of the Citizens' Foundation for Persecuted Arts at the Solingen Museum. It was saved by the diamond dealer Aaron Bezdesky, who fled to New York. After the war, he returned it to Schwesig. The original drawings were exhibited in 1937 at the "Museum of New Western European Art" in Moscow. The deputy director, Traugott Erwin Schaffner, who came from Switzerland, wanted to acquire the series and publish a book, but Schwesig's subsequent internment and the German invasion of Poland and Russia thwarted these plans. In a letter from 1945, Karl Schwesig wrote that Schaffner had died in 1942 and that the 52 engravings, along with two expert opinions from Soviet artists, had been handed over to the Comintern. No Soviet museum was willing to keep the drawings after the outbreak of war. The Comintern was dissolved on May 16, 1943. The drawings never resurfaced.

When the last copy of "The Schlegel Cellar" arrived in the USA, along with Bezdesky, he offered it to the media conglomerate Time Life for publication. Time Inc. executives declined to publish "The Schlegel Cellar" in book form or to include Schwesig's story in Life magazine, despite the magazine's visual focus and its editors' promise to always address the most important events of contemporary history.

Aaron Bezdesky persisted and enlisted the help of the socially engaged author Upton Sinclair to find a publisher for "The Schlegel Cellar." On December 26, 1939, Sinclair wrote to Bezdesky: "It was inconvenient for me to handle [the book] from California, so I gave it to an old friend of mine, Helen Black. [...] I am sending her a copy of this letter and will ask her to let you know what she has been able to do with the manuscript." A few days later, the literary agent Helen Black gave Bezdesky an extensive list of publishers and agents she had contacted at Sinclair's behest. All had rejected the work.

Schwesig uses dark colors in his drawings depicting torture in the Schlegel cellar, creating an almost claustrophobic atmosphere that confronts viewers directly with the oppressive spaces of the torture chamber, without the use of metaphorical imagery to create distance. The works are rich in detail and reflect the harrowing living conditions of the prisoners. Schwesig employs his artistic skills to map not only the physical, but also the emotional and psychological landscape of the Schlegel cellar: fear, mortal terror, deprivation, torture, and pain.

Despite the gravity of the subject matter and the darkness that pervades many of the works, Schwesig's drawings also contain moments of hope and human resilience. These moments offer a contrast to the prevailing gloom and serve as a reminder that even under the worst conditions, the human spirit can demonstrate a will to survive and solidarity.

Schwesig became an active member of the Belgian artists' community and the exile art scene. He was a regular presence in the newspapers and participated in exhibitions with other exiled artists, such as "Ondanks de autoda-fés" (Despite the Book Burnings) in June 1939 at the Maison de la Culture at Gulden-Vlieslaan 18 in Brussels. The art critic Emile Langui reported in the Vooruit on May 28, 1939: "Among other things, drawings and paintings by Felix Nussbaum and Karl Schwesig are hanging on the walls."

After the German invasion of Belgium, Schwesig was arrested and in 1940 interned as an "enemy alien" in camps in southern France. Schwesig's odyssey took him to the camps of St. Cyprien, Gurs, Noé, and Nexon. Conditions in these camps were harsh and life-threatening, but Schwesig refused to be broken. Despite the difficult circumstances, he managed to obtain materials for his artistic work and continue to draw and paint. "The unvarnished truth stared back at us, the whole truth, and not just half of it." This line can be found in Schwesig's "Pyrenees Report," an account of his experiences in prison.

This statement succinctly summarizes how Schwesig captures an essentially unrepresentable reality in his art. Schwesig transcends the specific context, creating more than just an illustration of his experiences. He connects reality with universal insights into the depths of human depravity. The paintings from his time in the camp are powerful testaments to his will to survive and his unwavering belief in art as a form of resistance. In 1943, he was taken back to Düsseldorf by the German SS and imprisoned in the "Ulmer Höhe" prison. He was transferred between several prisons and subjected to torture. Eight days before the Americans marched in, he was released on the Moselle River and returned to Düsseldorf. In 1946, Karl Schwesig married Hannelore Müller, and the couple had three children.

Schwesig accompanied the reconstruction of Düsseldorf with his artwork and critically addressed current political events in his caricatures. He continued to follow his heart, using his art and public work to fight injustice and advocate for the recognition of the crimes of National Socialism. Today, we regard his tireless commitment to remembrance and coming to terms with these dark chapters of history with deep respect. At the time, it made him an outsider, and his family barely survived. In a letter, Hannelore Müller recounts the circumstances of Karl Schwesig's death: "In June 1955, his pension was calculated; he should have received a substantial back payment, but he received a letter from the government stating that previously paid support payments would be deducted. We had already been counting on this money. Immediately after reading this letter, he suffered a stroke. It happened at breakfast while the children were playing in the garden. He went outside and no longer recognized his own children, asking me their names. A few hours later, he was admitted to the hospital and spent three days there in complete apathy. In the last hours I spent at his bedside, he opened his eyes once more and stroked me. Then he was dead." Karl Schwesig died on June 19, 1955, his 57th birthday.

With over 500 works, the "Citizens' Foundation for Persecuted Arts – Else Lasker-Schüler Center – Gerhard Schneider Art Collection" has acquired a significant portion of the estate of the artist Karl Schwesig for the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts. This acquisition was facilitated and supported by Barbara Barth and Herbert Remmert, and funded by the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States. The written sources of the estate were taken over by the German Exile Archive 1933–1945 of the German National Library. Karl Schwesig has much to tell us, especially today. Let's take a closer look.

The presentation of the acquisition of the Karl Schwesig estate by the Citizens' Foundation for Persecuted Arts took place on February 1, 2024, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Markus Hilgert, Secretary General of the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States.

Source: Dr. Jürgen Joseph Kaumkötter. The Whole Truth. Over 500 works by the painter Karl Schwesig find their place in the Center for Persecuted Arts, published in arsprototo, Issue 1/2024, Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States.

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