The Union des Artistes Allemands Libres was a federation of exiled German artists living in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, after the collapse of 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 ...

and the establishment of the Third Reich after the Nazis seized power. It was founded in autumn 1937 as the Union of Artistes Allemands (Union of German Artists, or ''Freier Künstlerbund'' in German) and adding the French word for "free", was later called the Union des Artistes Libres Allemands and then the Union des Artistes Allemands Libres. In spring 1938, it became the Union des Artistes Libres. Some of the Union's members were defamed in the Nazis'

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, ...

exhibit. In 1938, the Union organized an exhibit called ''Cinq Ans de Dictateure Hitlerienne'' ("Five Years of Hitler Dictatorship") that was held in a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

building.

Josef Breitenbach Josef Breitenbach (April 3, 1896 in Munich, Germany – October 7, 1984 in New York City) was a photographer whose manipulated images and stark photographs were part of the Surrealistic movement. Early life Josef Breitenbach was born into ...

participated in the show. Members of the Union included Max Ernst, Otto Freundlich, Hans Hartung,

Heinz Kiwitz Heinz Kiwitz (September 4, 1910 – 1938) was a German artist. His woodcuts were in the German Expressionism, German Expressionist style. An anti-fascist, he was arrested following the Nazis' seizure of power. He survived imprisonment in Kemna con ...

and Gert Wollheim, who was a co-founder. The Union published ''Freie Kunst und Literatur'', a newsletter that was later taken over by the Cartel Cultural Allemand, also founded in Paris.Palmier, Fernbach (2006
p. 218
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References

External links

* Hélène Roussel
"Les Peintres Allemands Émigrés en France et L'Union des Artistes Libres"
in: Gilbert Badia, Jean Baptiste Joly, Jean Philippe Mathieu, Jacque Omnes, Jean Michel Palmier, Hélène Roussel: ''Les Bannis de Hitler''. Études et Documentation Internationales / Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, Paris (1984), p. 287ff. (EDI), 2-90 3981-19-1 (PUV). Retrieved February 27, 2012 {{in lang, fr Exile organizations