To Hell and Back: Fritz Grünbaum

On a 1926 cover of the Viennese magazine Die Stunde, there are several parts that brilliantly sum up the contradictory situation in Vienna at the time, shifting between harsh economic reality, political tribulations, social decadence and hedonism. On top, a line about raising coal prices, in the middle a photo of cabaret girls titled “Vienna Laughs Again” and underneath, a report about public protests against the peace treaty of St Germain which effectively ended World War I in favor of the Allies, dissolved the Austro-Hungarian empire and brought about deep changes that inevitably paid the way to World War II. It bears a striking resemblance to George Grosz and his painting from the same year called Eclipse of the Sun. A perfect portrait of 1920s Berlin and the dark forces that were slowly building momentum behind the gold and glitter of a metropolis where many avantgarde artists found a new home in a brief, shining moment before Germany would reach its own eclipse with the Anschluss in 1938. <a href="https://rocknheavy.net/to-hell-and-back-fritz-gr%C3%BCnbaum-2903af97fabd">Click Here</a>