In the Street

Following the war, George Grosz made numerous satirical, scathing drawings and prints that characterized the people of the Weimar Republic as greedy, grotesque, and corrupt. Grosz depicts the seedy side of German society: soldiers take drugs on the street and play music for money while a prostitute walks around nude. Reluctantly volunteering for service in 1914, Grosz was released from the military after a year, only to be called up again in 1917; he subsequently spent two months in a mental hospital. Grosz's deep-rooted hatred and anger toward those who supported and profited from the war are evident in his art, which he saw as inextricably tied to politics and the class struggle in Germany.