Until autumn 1936, the painter Kurt Schwitters had tried to reassure himself, but in those November days in Amsterdam he seriously considered fleeing abroad, or at least considered a lengthy absence. In his hometown of Hanover, leftist artists were increasingly being spied on and arrested by the Gestapo. On Boxing Day 1936, Schwitters brought his 18-year-old son, who also wanted to flee, to Hamburg; he boarded a ship bound for Norway. Schwitters himself hesitated, but on 2 January 1937 also left for Norway. He lived and worked near Oslo in the winter and in a small cabin near Molde in the summer. He earned his livelihood mainly through landscape paintings sold to tourists in a holiday hotel in which nothing recalled the Dadaist and Merz artist.

Schwitters was forced to abandon his plan to go into exile in the US when the Germans occupied Norway in April 1940. Schwitters and his son left Norway bound for Scotland aboard the icebreaker Fritjof Nansen. They were interned in various camps in Scotland and England. Schwitters last internment camp was on the Isle of Man, where he began to paint again. He made portraits of fellow internees and was also active as an author and reciter. In spite of poor health, after his release Schwitters once again turned to painting and writing in earnest. Schwitters was granted British citizenship on 7 January 1948. He died one day later.

Selected works:
Merzbilder (paintings, from 1919)
Aerated (assemblages, from 1941)
Merzbau (installation, Hanover, from 1923, destroyed 1943)
Merzbau (installation, Norway, 1932 and 1937)
Merzbau (installation, Great Britain, 1947)
Anna Blume (poem, 1919)
Ursonate (sound poetry, 1923-1932)

Further reading:
Chambers, Emma / Orchard, Karin (Hg.): Schwitters in England. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz 2013
Schaub, Gerhard: Kurt Schwitters und die ‚andere‘ Schweiz. Unveröffentlichte Briefe aus dem Exil. Berlin: Fannei & Walz 1998
Stadtmüller, Klaus (Hg.): Schwitters in Norwegen. Hannover: Postskriptum 1997