Unemployment, 1909 & Bread!, final version, 1924
“Artistic creation did little to assuage her
own pain, which mirrored the ache felt by so many German mothers.” – Eric Weitz
Civilians lived harsh
lives during the war, as women and children left behind did not have access to
necessities. Unemployment being a leading factor behind a lot of issues as it left
many with little to no money. Another group of which who suffered from similar
issues (or had their homes destroyed from battle) were those who fled to new areas
as refugees, as they did not only have to worry about this but were also
treated unkindly by villagers, resulting in an even bigger crisis within their borders.
If this was not enough of an issue “[i]n the winter of
1916-1917, children five to seven years old in Essen were allotted only
one-quarter liter of milk three times per week.”
This in comparison with the image above titled “Bread!” in which a mother makes
the difficult decision of only feeding one of her starving children.
A similar instance which occurred during this time was
reported by the Berlin police which stated that “there are innumerable
families who are going day after day without butter or other fats and who are
forced to eat their bread dry and to prepare their food without cooking fat…Even
good, faithful patriots have begun to turn into pessimists” It was easy for Kollwitz to see all of this due to
her husband’s occupation and location of her their home in Berlin. These
instances were a big part in what inspired her to create work focused on social
criticism towards the entirety of what was left behind at home during and after
the war. As a mother and pacifist she felt driven to document such as to bring
attention to such unjust inattentiveness to a country whose citizens are in
need.
Weitz, Eric D. Weimar Germany: Promise
and Tragedy, Weimar Centennial Edition, 7-40. PRINCETON; OXFORD: Princeton
University Press, 2018.
Both images are from: https://www.kollwitz.de/en/social-criticism-overview
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