Hans Horn (1921-1989) German expressionist painter.

Hans Horn And The Horrors Of War. Biography and works by German painter, Hans Horn (1921-1989)

Dr. Hans Horn (German, 1921-1989) Self-portrait with WW2 MG 42 machinegun Oil on canvas. Ca. 1950s. Signed with the artists monogram H.H. Dimensions: 17 x 20 inches.

Bold expressionist self-portrait with MG 42 machinegun as his eyes and nose.

The MG 42 machine gun was designed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. GIs called it “Buzz Saw” or “Hitler’s Buzz Saw.” Hans Horn painted this self-portrait after he fled to Denmark as a form of personal therapy. Horn was profoundly affected by his experiences in Nazi Germany, and his forced participation in World War Two. The War and its aftermath became a dominant theme in the art he produced.

Hans Horn. Ca 1940s.

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Hans Horn (1921-1989) German expressionist painter and doctor who was involuntarily incorporated into World War II and sent to the Eastern Front. An experience that haunted the rest of his life and effected his art.

Hans Horn was born in Kiel in 1921. He was still in school when Hitler took power and he tried to avoid the rising national socialism by joining the “Deutsche Jungenschaft” ( German youth association, that focused on art and music) But his father received a phone call, reminding him that all German youths must join the "Hitler-Jugend" So the imminent threat of misfortune for the family made the young Hans Horn join the Hitler Jugend in 1936. Horn later became a student and succeeded in starting his literature studies in Kiel before being forced into Reich Labor Service (RAD). Which was compulsory for all German male and female workers aged 18 to 25. He was sent to Poland and worked in a camp, where he saw that German soldiers treated Jews brutally, and this aroused his displeasure. Jews were not yet murdered, but subjected to degrading treatment, which, according to Horn, made everything turn around in him: "It felt like pure medieval times." He was then drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1941. He was first stationed in occupied Denmark, but with the German invasion of the Soviet Union he was sent to the hated Eastern Front. Hans Horn was "lucky", as he was wounded with shrapnel in the head and during his convalescence, he decides to start medical school. He avoided being sent back to the Eastern Front by getting a job as a medical assistant in a field hospital in the Czech Republic. Here the hospital received thousands of wounded and dead from the Eastern Front. - Indescribable images that had settled in his mind for the rest of his life. In 1945 he was arrested along with all his doctor colleagues when American troops liberated the town, but was shortly let go as he was not part of any war crimes. Hans Horn found it impossible to stay in Germany and fled to Denmark where he was later granted Danish citizenship in 1952. It was during those early post war years he began painting and drawing non-stop as a form of personal therapy. His works were expressive and shows influence of fellow German painters, Otto Dix and George Grosz. He also wrote 5000 pages of memoirs and illustrated his experiences in the war.

Those were later turned into the book ( Det ensomme Hjerte / The lonely heart) Written by Tom Buk-Swienty. Published in 2017. And the exhibition: Hans Horn - og den evige krig / Hans Horn and the eternal war.2019.

The opening page of his memoirs says “ I was an insignificant child of the 20th century who unwittingly witnessed many strange, cruel and wonderful events, while constantly trying to survive in one way or another."

Hans Horn is today represented at the Sonderjylland Museum. In 2020 and a documentary on his life and art was released, ( Den ensomme soldat/ The lonely soldier.)

WW2 works by Hans Horn. ( From the book. Det ensomme hjerte/ The loney heart. Tom Buk-Swienty (2017)