We propose the review of Luke Leonello Rimbotti appeared on the Line 5 November 2011 dedicated to the photographic book published by log in/create account “Posters and graphics of European Waffen-SS”. Thank you for recognizing the work of Thule art gallery is on the volume – with the last two pages dedicated to the care of the art from our cultural Association   – both the review. Those interested can apply to us (thule@thule-italia.org) directly or through the portal casa editrice Thule others books section. And now we leave the floor to Luke and his friend wrote. ML

It's just a beautiful publication on the iconographic material appeared during the second world war in the SS to support tremendous fight then underway for European being and non-being. We talk of posters and graphics of European Waffen-SS, work release for the types of Publishing and event log in/create account extremely well-done book, typographically that bibliographically, edited with proven professionalism from Harm Wulf known researcher in every aspect of modern German völkisch. The unique publication, only one of its kind in Italy, It offers to the public as an excellent tool of historical knowledge, planted on a scientific reconstruction of the authors, styles and artistic use of the equipment for spreading the message of identity and mobilitatorio among the European populations, at the time of bloody struggle for existence. It must be said that what immediately leaps to the eye, in the browse the extensive anthology of selected charts, is this kind of production line of figurative realism, Europe had nobilissimi ascending, the pre-Raphaelite school late 19th century symbolist. Adherence to reality, precision even holographic signs tending to truthful representation, but circonfusa by the aura of compelling human eroicizzazione that match the European beauty and nobility of the figures with their mythical projection and evocative. This line, together with the intake of most markedly – Expressionists such as already exist in Socialist production of wall posters, flyers or book covers in the years of Kampfzeit – focused on drama, on the essentiality and sometimes on the rawness of stroke, combined in a stylization of image with strong emotional impact. What, from us, begat something not dissimilar: the merger of liberty a graphic De Carolis, of dannunziana image editing power, with the futuristic realism. And emerged, for example, the signs of a political or commercial Depero, a Dudovich, a Boccasile, a Walter Molino. In contemporary Germany, in the same way, There was the case of several authors redolent of the same cultural background, that in the artistic field won the ideological inspiration nazionalpopolari, intended to marry tradition with modernity, creating artistic models of marked Visual outlet. The German artistic culture, Since the 19th century, large symbolists had indeed always been rich: the von Stuck, the Makart – favorite painter of Hitler – or von Marées worked as old masters, whose production was iconograficamente behind a Hans Schweitzer (the famous Mjölnir, Perhaps the most popular artist in Nazi era) or a Wolfgang Willrich, extraordinary naturalistic-author Mark Classicist who was spotted by Darré and which became in the years of the Third Reich a well-known Chaser of thematic landscapes nordiciste. The figurativismo that came out of their SS graphics settings (the most dynamic, Maybe, certainly the most dramatic) should be summarized and the reflection of the ideological themes then the Supreme political agenda: and first acted the appeal to youth in Europe, real time call to action of impressionistic. As cinema or radio or print, the combattentistico manifesto and voluntarist marked SS was the Visual centerpiece of the call to the young population of the continent, the new man European moulded from heroic ideologies: «young Europeans were the target audience were focused on psychological activities aimed at “HomeFront”. The goal was to spread the knowledge of facts and ideas, using news or appeals, acts to guide thinking and action of those young, making them, as a result, partakers of motivations for which Germany was at war», has well written in its editorial that Frederick Prizzi opens the volume. This approach, so to speak, scientific, Today the material proposed by the log in/create account, directs us to the ideal that was at the Centre of production graphics dì attivistica promotion, the welding of the peoples of Europe within categories dì commonality dì fate, who were and remained until the last days of the war say typical of this genus dì dì mass popular art. Something that produced, as we know, an indifferent response from the youth of the time, hundreds say thousands volunteer into the ranks of the Waffen-SS.

And so we see the appeal that the young Danish uniformed SS appeal to his countrymen, where is the viaticum figure pro-tettrice of the ancient Viking Warrior; or see the young volunteer SS Estonian Claudian of archaic symbols of a border people; or, still, We note the call vallone, Norwegian, Bosnian to German or even fanatical defense of your cities, of its campaigns, dei borghi, peasant families who greeting strain ancient proudly volunteer already in arms. Then there is the tendency of portraiture, they excelled a Wilhelm Petersen or Willrich, where you find the same quality engraving one Sluyterman von Langeweide, able to retrace this century in style or in popular prints by Dürer that depicted ancient protagonists of peasant wars, as, for example, Ulrich von Hutten, character of the Nazi era solemnized new. Beauty section, cleanness of chiaroscuro effect and image editing, in a highly inspiring outcome of: These are the characteristics of such a quality production. Today, a nice selection of these and other works can be found in the art gallery of the Thule network in Italy (http//www.galleria.thule-italia.com).

In his preface to the book, Ernesto Zucconi does not fail to observe that these works, halfway between the political propaganda, the folk art and the traditional sketch, were the counterface of a non-identity was invented or created from scratch, but that was present in European cultural substrates, and without which no propaganda would have never succeeded in getting that undoubted success that the appeal of the Waffen-SS was at the youth of Europe. Indeed, Zucconi explains that the graphic production scope SS ' helped disseminate and reinforce the unitary feelings of European common combattentismo for a victory that would have meant starting to achieve the much-awaited solution to the continent's problems». In this regard, Harm Wulf – which among other things provides valuable biographical portraits of artists and graphic designers who signed posters SS -, in his comprehensive presentation of the volume iconographic apparatus, summarizes some major themes that production of battle: Youth, Fidelity, the identity, the idea of Europe and the description of the enemy as apocalyptic opponent anti-European: These were the benchmarks, the ideological discourse essentially tied to the image of mass.

The data that comes out is the great communicative ability, the effect it produces on the observer through the iconographic theme of extremism “good against evil”. It is often referred to as fascism in General, and national socialism in particular, as a “aestheticization of politics” that was the picture – and the symbol in it contained-the strong ability of communication of the message.

Goebbels ' propaganda, as it is known, he excelled in these choices to effect. Documents submitted by Harm Wulf are characteristic of this war of images, beside that of weapons, It took place in a manner no less ideologically hard-line: «Often the images – argues Harm Wulf – can help you understand better and more deeply than many words. Synthetic way often represent a precise Weltanschauung.

The works of art collected clearly explain the archaic worldview but at the same time modern political soldiers of Waffen-SS: loyalty to its roots ... organic community of people against universalist individualism and nomade, historical memory and ancestor worship …».

And there are even modern depictions of the macchinismo triggered and for creat ing, made with futuristic effectiveness: as the manifesto entitled “Kultur-Terror” Norwegian Harald Damsleth's, that in 1944 depicted a robot-American golem, that while the ancient ground rade European cities at the same time proclaims himself a defender of European culture… All this gives us a vital historical document on century “short”, the century of ideologies. At the height of the crisis, Europe gave to fund all its resources, last but not least that of artistic creativity, mobilised in order to avoid our continent exactly that fate of decadence and oblivion in which we see today miserably collapsed.

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Price: €36,00 (included 4 % I.V.A.)

Harm Wulf

This beautiful opera offers for the first time in Italy a large collection on different graphic representations that, produced by propaganda and by various “Kriegsberichter” Waffen SS, they were used on the fronts of World War II. The volume analyses and collects detailed biographies and valuable accomplishments of Ottomar Anton, Gino Boccasile, Finn Wigforss, Wolfgang Willrich, Harald Damsleth, Wilhelm Petersen, Hans Schweitzer, Hermann Otto Hoyer and Ernst Krause. The purpose of this book is to examine an iconographic documents scientific that carried, mainly between the 1941 and the 1945, different illustrators from qualified Nations, to enlist hundreds of thousands of young Europeans in SS fighters, Moreover, documents of exquisite artistic value.

Paperback 21 x 30 cm. pag. 154 fully illustrated with color images