Thorak created this impressive piece for the Berlin Olympics of 1936. The photographer conveniently included a woman for scale. Speaking of convenient . . . or inconvenient . . . women, Thorak ditched his Jewish wife shortly after the Nazis came to power and started giving him commissions. She wisely left Germany after the divorce and survived the war. She outlived Thorak himself, too.
It seems obvious that he was going for the classic Greek type of sculpture, especially with the noticeably undersized groin area. It would appear that Thorak was trying to emphasize the scale and athletic nature of the statue as a symbol for the Olympic Games rather than an obvious piece of art. It's also interesting that this statue doesn't have the overly developed bodybuilder look as so many of his statues have. It would be interesting to know who his models were.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about this work having a less exaggerated body build, and that may be why it's my favorite of his sculptures.
DeleteGood for Mrs.Thorak, she had sense enough to get away from that evil regime.
ReplyDeleteSome stayed behind thinking they would be safe.
Of course, in Germany it all depended on whether or not "they" liked you,
who you knew or how much money you had. (Sometimes none of that helped you either.) - Rj in the IE
Towards the end, the Nazis were even killing Jewish workers with essential war industry skills such as fine optical work. There were Jews who hid in plain sight by assuming the identities of people killed in air raids and forging their papers. Winifred Wagner, the daughter-in-law of Hitler's favorite anti-Semitic composer, was an ardent Nazi who hid Jewish musicians in her basement. On one occasion, Hitler visited her while she had several in the house. After the war, she was unrepentant, saying the only thing the Nazis got wrong was the persecution of the Jews. Her own children disowned her.
DeleteAll very complex. The case of actress Henny Porten. She was like Shirley Temple and Bette Davie rolled into one. A very big star in Germany. (Hitler's favorite during WW1)
DeleteFirst husband killed in WW1, second husband Jewish physician who managed her career. Nazis come along, she's barred from films and forced into 'internal '. exile.
Later with WW2 elderly fans of hers demand she be put back in films
for they miss their dear Henny and good times gone.
She is given cameos and small rolls. Goebbels insist her name not be in the credits ! Meanwhile her Jewish husband is harassed and threatened. She is forced to use her money (she was wealthy) to bribe Nazi officials to leave her husband alone and he survives the war.
Another was Ilse Werner a film goddess and singer of the Reich.
One of the first women in the film industry to join the Nazi party (1931)
Gestapo informant (she denounced other actors), and Hitler's "cheerleader" during the War. Strangely she had come to the defense of
actor Joachim Gottschalk and his Jewish wife. They and their son committed suicide, rather than be sent to a concentration camp because of the Nuremberg Race Laws. She went to their funeral in spite of the Regime.
Last but not least The Goddess of German film: Zarah Leander
Swedish and not to fond of the Hitler regime.
Her films and music recordings were big hits in Germany during the War. She ran afoul the Gestapo because they did not approve of her
music writer who was gay. She refused to denounce him and in 1943 brought him with her to Sweden where they survived the War.
And there are many different stories like these during the War.
-Rj in the IE