Hurrah, the butter is all gone

Hurrah, the butter is all gone-John Heartfield 1935-Cover AIZ 1935

The technique of photo-montage was pioneered by Berlin Dada, namely Hannah Hoch, Georg Grosz and John Heartfield.  Heartfield is especially notable for his politicised satires of Hitler and National Socialism that appeared on the cover of AIZ, a leading and best-selling socialist newspaper of the early 1930’s.

Hurrah, the butter is all gone parodies the aesthetics of Nazi propaganda. Showing a typical German family gnawing on various iron implements, including a bicycle and an axe while the dog licks a gigantic nut and bolt. A portrait of Hitler is in pride of place and the walls are emblazoned with swastikas. The accompanying text refers to a speech delivered by Hermann Goring during a food shortage: “Hurrah, the butter is all gone!” Goring said in one Hamburg address: “Iron ore has made the Reich strong. Butter and dripping have, at most, made the people fat.”

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