Ulrich Becher to George Grosz, Steinen, 14 September 1939
Ulrich Becher to George Grosz, Steinen, 14 September 1939
What is happening must come to an end. (ed. trans.)
Ulrich Becher to George Grosz on 14 September 1939
A few days after the outbreak of World War II, Ulrich Becher wrote a letter from Switzerland to his friend and mentor George Grosz, who had been living in Long Island since 1933. In the light of the global situation, his report makes a gloomy reading. Becher refers to significant historical events such as the signing of the “Hitler – Stalin Pact” on 23 August 1939 and the German army’s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. Nevertheless, he finishes the letter on a positive note: “Things will be different, better[,] if not good,” prophesies Becher. He believed that the solution would be to overcome the “mass fraud [...], no matter whether the stage this farce is playing on is brown, red or black.” However, his assessment of global events and his own position turned out to be too optimistic. “I will stay in Europe,” he had written to Grosz; in 1941, he was to emigrate to Brazil.
Gallery
![Collage: George Grosz, Der Schriftsteller Uhl [The Writer Uhl]](/KIE/Content/EN/SpecialExhibitions/UlrichBecher-en/Images/Objects/grosz-collage-01.jpg?__blob=thumbnail&v=3 "Collage: George Grosz, Der Schriftsteller Uhl [The Writer Uhl]")
