Franz Heckendorf (5 November 1888 – 17 August 1962) was a German

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

closely associated with the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

. He contributed works to the painting event in the art competition at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. His work was highly regarded during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

but from 1937 was classed as ''

entartete Kunst Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...

''.Freie Universität Berlin: Datenbank Entartete Kunst
/ref> During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was incarcerated in various prisons and eventually in

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

for helping Jews escape over the Swiss border.

References

Sources

* *"Franz Heckendorf". In: Hans Vollmer (ed.): ''Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler des XX. Jahrhunderts. Band 2: E–J''. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1955, p.–400 *Alexandra Cacace: "Heckendorf, Franz". In: ''Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker (AKL). Band 70'', de Gruyter, Berlin 2011, , p. 513 *Horst Ludwig: "Franz Heckendorf". In: ''Bruckmanns Lexikon der Münchner Kunst. Münchner Maler im 19./20. Jahrhundert. Band 5: Achmann-Kursell''. Bruckmann, München 1993, pp. 359–360 * *''Symphonie in Farbe. Franz Heckendorf, Bruno Krauskopf. Wilhelm Kohlhoff. Katalog zur Ausstellung der Kunstfreunde Bergstraße 1991 in Bensheim-Auerbach. Mit einem Geleitwort von Rainer Zimmermann'', Alsbach 1991 *Winfried Meyer: "Franz Heckendorf (1888–1962) – Maler, Bohemien und Fluchthelfer für Juden an der Schweizer Grenze". In: Angela Borgstedt et al. (eds.): ''Mut bewiesen. Widerstandsbiographien aus dem Südwesten'' (= ''Schriften zur politischen Landeskunde Baden-Württembergs, hrsg. von der Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Baden-Württemberg, Bd. 46''), Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 9783945414378, pp. 217–228 1888 births 1962 deaths 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German male painters Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Schöneberg {{Germany-painter-stub