arts

Article From Horrors Past to Horrors Future: Pacifist Art (1919–1939)

Lauren Jannette Department of History, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; [email protected]

 Received: 22 April 2020; Accepted: 7 July 2020; Published: 13 July 2020 

Abstract: In this paper, I argue that interwar pacifists working in France presented an evolving narrative of what the First World War represented in order to maintain support for their movement and a continued in Europe. Utilizing posters, photographs, pamphlets, and art instillations created by pacifist organizations, I interject in ongoing debates over the First World War as a moment of rupture in art and pacifism in France, arguing that the moment of rupture occurred a decade after the conflict had ended with the failure of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934 and the election of Hitler as the leader of a remilitarized Germany. Pacifist art of the 1920s saw a return to traditional motifs and styles of art that remembered the horrors of the past war. This return to tradition aimed to inspire adherence to the new pacifist organizations in the hopes of creating a new peace-filled world. The era of optimism and tradition ended with the economic and political crisis of the early 1930s, forcing pacifists to reconceptualize the images and styles of art that they utilized. Instead of relying on depictions of the horrors of the past war, these images shifted the focus to the mass civilian casualties future would bring in a desperate struggle to prevent the outbreak of another world war.

Keywords: pacifism; interwar; modernism; ; memory; photomontage; photography; Spanish Civil War

1. Introduction This paper examines the evolution of pacifist art created and distributed in France from the end of the First World War until the 1937 Exhibition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne. While the majority of scholars of the interwar pacifist movement in France have primarily focused on the political actions of the movement, such as the efforts to influence government policy, changes in education curriculums, or public campaigns for the release of conscientious objectors, the visual components of their mass media campaigns have been relatively ignored (Ingram 1991; Offenstadt 1993; Siegel 2004). I argue that the art produced and circulated by French pacifists during the interwar period through newspapers, postcards, posters, and other ephemeral mediums enabled the members of the movement to capture the attention of a national and international audience. This art, produced by an international cohort of artists living in Paris, created an evolving narrative of the lessons of the First World War to maintain support for their campaigns for continued peace in Europe. Attempting to preserve and expand the newly settled peace, the pacifist narrative of the war during the 1920s focused on the human aspect of the war and sought to memorialize the sacrifices made by and civilian individuals. This art relied on classical mediums, such as oil painting, woodblock engraving, and sculpture, to present images of great statesmen, sacrificed soldiers, and grieving widows and mothers. The failure of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934, combined with Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, led to an abandonment of these traditional tropes of memorialization and an explosion of modern images depicting the mass

Arts 2020, 9, 80; doi:10.3390/arts9030080 www.mdpi.com/journal/arts Arts 2020, 9, 80 2 of 23 civilian casualties caused by an increased reliance on new forms of technological warfare. Images of the war no longer focused on the front-line soldier nor those he left behind. Instead, the art produced and distributed by pacifist organizations like the Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté (International Women’s League for Peace and Freedom) and the Ligue internationale des combattants pour la paix (International League of Peace Combatants) in the second-half of the 1930s depicted the potential destruction that biological and chemical weapons could cause when they were dropped alongside bombs from airplane-filled skies. Pacifists and artists working for and with these organizations no longer remembered the First World War by the sacrifices made by individuals, but instead for the technological and scientific horrors it created, horrors which could now be unleashed on innocent and unsuspecting civilian populations. This shift in the historical narrative presented in the art of French interwar pacifist organizations reflected not only a rupture with the past, but also an increased desperation to maintain peace in face of the looming outbreak of another war.

2. Historical and Theoretical Framework In his recent work on how art can be thought, Allan deSouza reflected on the manner in which the specific histories and cultural geographies of artists shape their creative process and body of work, and in turn how these same aspects of the viewers’ identities influenced their reactions to a particular piece of work by the artist (deSouza 2018). When applied to the art produced by pacifists during the interwar period, the anxieties of a society living in the shadows of the First World War are clearly distinguishable. The previously unimaginable horrors of modern technological warfare became inescapable for soldiers and civilians, ending the belief in the meliorist myth of continual progress toward a better and brighter future which had dominated public consciousness and discourse for the past century (Fussell 2000). Images of bleak, treeless fields of mud, barbed wire, decomposing bodies torn apart by machine guns, and the mutilated bodies of returning veterans shattered the notions that war was an honorable and noble cause worthy of sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives. These shocking and disturbing images, combined with a collective sense of national bereavement, led to vast global support for the pacifist cry of “Never Again” (Eksteins 2000; Mosse 1990). Working to find a new sense of normal within the social anxiety created by the destruction of the meliorist myth, pacifism became one of the great social and political movements in France throughout the interwar period (Bondi 2000). Although French pacifists maintained broad public support for their project of preventing future wars, the movement was riddled with in-fighting over which political strategies and philosophical ideologies provided the best methods for attaining their goal of a world without war. Traditionalists, such as the Association pour la paix par le droit (Peace Through Law Association), drew inspiration from their nineteenth century predecessors and sought to reinforce and arbitration, focusing intensely on upholding the reputation of the League of Nations. For these pacifists, the League of Nations was the apotheosis of efforts started at the end of the previous century with the convening of the Hague Conference of 1899 that had aimed to limit warfare by creating the Permanent Court of Arbitration. By ensuring the survival of the League of Nations, traditionalists sought to uphold the conventional power of established governments as the only entity which could declare war or peace. Religious pacifists, on the other hand, reasoned that if everyone refused to obey orders from the government to fight then there could never be another conflict between nations. Religious pacifists in France primarily used Christian teachings of loving thy neighbor to promote their style of a non-violent, individualist pacifism. The growing popularity of Mohandas Gandhi and his emphasis on non-violent resistance at the individual and community level, centered around the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist principle of (not causing harm to other living things), was promoted by religious pacifists as proof of the universal appeal of their style of non-violent pacifism. Frustrated by the sluggishness of debates and the lack of action by other pacifist organizations, radical pacifists, who believed that war was a consequence of the competition inherent in a capitalist society and that only through the destruction of capitalism itself could peace be achieved, turned toward the USSR as a symbol for a new socialist peace. Following Lenin’s theories of revolutionary defeatism, Arts 2020, 9, 80 3 of 23 radical pacifists rejected the accepted practice that only legitimate governments could begin and end wars. Instead, they believed that by refusing to partake in conflicts started by the state, and actively working to overthrow imperialist governments that relied on war as a tool of foreign policy, they could bring about eternal peace. The political stances and philosophical views of prominent French pacifists of the era, like Romain Rolland, a prominent pacifist author and figure, and Gabrielle Duchêne, secretary general of the French section of the Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté, vacillated between these different types of , forcing their followers and the organizations they worked with to either change with them or break away and form a new organization (Ingram 1991). Although these divisions riddled the French pacifist effort with infighting for control over the direction of the movement, adherents, and space in the public discourse, all the organizations realized the power of mass media campaigns. Each of the ideological sects of the movement utilized large scale poster and photography campaigns, pamphlets, newspapers, and other cheaply produced ephemeral materials like stamps to spread their messages and garner support for their policies, agendas, and organizations. The organizations turned to the growing number of artists flocking to Paris during the interwar period to produce the art. Some artists, like the Belgian engraver Frans Masereel, had been exiled from and forbidden to return to their home countries due to their pacifist activities during the First World War. Masereel himself had refused to serve in the military during the war and was forced to flee to Switzerland where he was introduced to the noted French pacifist Romain Rolland, whose pacifist text Au dessus de la mêlée made him a household name of the pacifist cause (van Parys 2008). Masereel’s growing friendship with Rolland allowed him to work with a large variety of pacifist individuals and organizations, eventually becoming a key artist for the movement. Other artists, like the Hungarian painter Imre Pérely, came to Paris to escape poor economic conditions at home, and partake in the vivid art world sweeping through Paris (Heitler 1968). These émigré artists encountered the pacifist movement in France through their fellow emigres in the city, artistic societies, and political organizations they joined. The pacifist organizations also turned to home-grown talent, relying on members with artistic talents and local newspaper illustrators and cartoonists to design images for their media campaigns. Members within this last group often did not sign their works or used a pseudonym and require further study to understand their motivations for joining the movement. The various pacifist organizations working in France throughout the interwar period were primarily located in Paris and would distribute this artistic material to local sections throughout the country. These organizations chose to headquarter themselves in Paris originally to have access to the delegates of the of 1919 and decided to stay throughout the interwar era due to the ease of communication and travel afforded by the metropolitan area. According to meeting notes of the executive committee of the Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté, members of the local sections would then display and distribute the material within their communities by placing posters in public spaces, mailing postcards, distributing newspapers, selling pamphlets and art books at talks given by prominent pacifists, etc. (Fonds Duchêne). Other pacifist organizations most likely used a similar process to distribute their material, as it was cost effective and members of local sections knew the best ways to disseminate the material through their communities. These media campaigns were seen as the best way to inundate the public with the pacifist message, and were products of careful deliberation, reflecting the political, social, and cultural interests of the groups producing them (Faber 2018). In order to effectively capture and maintain the public’s attention, these French pacifist organizations and the artists working for them on a voluntary or paid basis restructured how they developed and garnered support for their ideas, as the experience of the First World War created a sense of suspicion and distrust of pre-war propaganda strategies amongst the public. Exploring the birth of the modern age, Modris Eksteins outlines how the war “offered extremes of emotion and efforts,” along with “sights, sounds, and images that bore no relation to the staid Edwardian or even the febrile Wilhelmian world,” allowing the war to act “as a veritable exhortation to the revolutionary renewal for which the prewar avant-garde had striven” (Eksteins 2000, p. 209). These extremes of emotion, and the potential for Arts 2020, 9, 80 4 of 23 revolutionary renewal, rendered historic ideas of peace and prosperity inadequate in the post-war era, as they failed to effectively reflect the general public’s grief, anger, and sense of loss. Art, on the other hand, allowed audiences to interpret what was in front of them, finding solace in whatever ’truth’ they wished to see. Unlike the literature produced by prominent historians, government and military officials, and journalists, all of who were responsible for aggrandizing the valor of the war effort, artists rejected the narrative of war as glorious and honorable, condemning the adherence to the bourgeois status-quo as having led to the needless slaughter of millions (Jannette 2018). Their depictions of the front lines instead showed the truth of modern warfare: a bleak, soulless, never-ending landscape of mud, destruction, and death. While writers and poets depicted similar images of the wartime experience, lingering wartime censorship and public distaste for war literature prevented these works from having a real impact on public perceptions of the war until the anti-war literature boom of the late 1920s. Artists, on the other hand, were able to disseminate the realities of war while the conflict was still on-going and even more prolifically as soon as the conflict ended. This availability of art aided the public in assuaging their fears and dealing with their losses caused by the war. Art was able to satisfy the public’s desire for some type of escapism from the seemingly never-ending conflict, while also allowing them to memorialize the dead after the war had ended (Fox 2015). While art was viewed as a means of disseminating the truth about the war experience and the pacifist goals for the future, artists themselves were divided over how to best represent these experiences in the post-war world. The First World War has been studied as a moment of rupture between earlier styles of art and the new modernism of the 20th century. This modernism was defined by a rejection of classical academic painting techniques and styles, most notably those of the Académie des Beaux Arts. Many artists instead turned to the streamlined aesthetics of art deco or the irrationality of Dada and Surrealism to represent the new world around them (Fer et al. 1993; Eksteins 2000; Mileaf 2001). Scholars have spent an exceptional amount of energy discussing the Dada and Surrealist movements, noting that the wasteful carnage of the First World War and the attempts made by governments to return to the ‘normalcy’ of the pre-war era caused them to embrace the absurd, the unconscious, and the ironic as a form of critique and rebellion against the traditional bourgeois order (Fer et al. 1993; Walker 2002; Lyford 2007). These artists embraced new artistic techniques like automatism to depict their disenchantment with the bourgeois order of the period. In the eyes of these artistic groups, the rejection of traditional styles and techniques of art was the only way to depict not only the absurdity and inhumanity of war, but also the insanity of official attempts to revert to the way things had been before the carnage (Malvern 2004). While Dada and Surrealism garnered a lot of attention from the public, and many of the artists and writers like André Breton, Louis Aragon, Tristan Tzara, and Marcel Duchamp espoused pacifist ideas, the radical subversiveness of their art made it unpalatable for the mass publicity campaigns of the French pacifist organizations, who were keen to garner support from more conservative communities outside of Paris. This idea of the First World War as a moment of rupture has faced push back from scholars like Kenneth Silver and Jay Winter, who have extensively documented a revival in traditional motifs and styles of art following the in 1918. This return to tradition in France revived the classical French academic styles of art and rejected the pre-war trends of Cubism and Fauvism, as both had become tainted by their associations with German Romanticism (Silver 1989). Winter reasoned that the dislocation, paradoxical, and ironic nature of the modernist art movements could only express anger and despair, whereas the universality of bereavement throughout Europe following the war required a return to traditional forms of social and cultural life in art, poetry, and ritual, as a way to both remember and move on from the losses of the war. He noted that “this preference for the allegorical and the naïve should not delude us into concluding that this work is in any way unsophisticated or unthinking. On the contrary, it is an attempt to return to a stylized past at a time when the present was perhaps too unpalatable to face directly” (Winter 2014, p. 131). Similarly, Silver examined the return to classicism within the Parisian avant-garde, arguing that the artists themselves knew that this classical revival was a lament for the lost innocence and hopefulness of the pre-war period versus a celebration of its Arts 2020, 9, 80 5 of 23 bellicose and nationalistic values (Silver 1989). Both authors discussed how this return to tradition was tempered by the experiences of the war, with the art adapting traditional iconography of military triumph and national righteousness into expressions of the grief, both communal and individual, felt throughout the nation. While Winter argued that it was the Second World War that marked the rupture between classical and modern styles of European art, the anxieties produced by the onset of the failure of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934 and the revival of a militarized Germany under Hitler’s leadership resulted in this rupture within the pacifist art produced in France occurring a decade earlier. These events, combined with the destabilization of traditional international , forced artists to abandon the traditional motifs and styles of presentation which looked to heal from the grief of mass loss and maintain the newly gained peace. The period of hope for a better, brighter future led by men of a strong pacifist character disappeared. Instead, the art of the later 1930s relied on modern photography, striking photomontages, and depictions of mutilated and dead civilians to illustrate the truth of what was occurring around the world. This shift reflected the explosion of fear and desperation felt by the members of French pacifist organizations and the wider public, as they were unable to stop the unarmed civilian populations of Spain from becoming acceptable targets of warfare. The realities of the outbreak of war in Spain, combined with a re-militarized German threat on their , intensified the political and philosophical divisions within the French pacifist movement, forcing the various ideological sects to rethink their peace campaign strategies to maintain members, political influence, and financial contributions. In desperation to save the world from itself, pacifist art of the later 1930s abandoned themes of serene reconciliation and reverential grief, and instead looked to terrify its viewers in order to gain support for the pacifist movement’s increasingly desperate attempts to maintain peace.

3. A Return to Tradition The end of hostilities on 11 November 1918 brought a profound silence throughout Europe—a silence in which reflections on the horrors and unimaginable losses of the war began to permeate. Artists, who had been forced to either work as propagandists for the government’s war effort or to eke out a living by creating pacifist/anti-war images in exile, reflected on the past four years, searching for inspiration from classical religious and secular sources to capture the war and its human costs. Seeking a ’return to order,’ these artists revived the traditional genres of landscape, religious painting, and portraiture, using Ingres, Goya, Grünewald, Holbein, Delacroix, and others as inspiration (Silver 1989; Winter 2014; Chambers 2018). Utilizing traditional oil painting techniques to capture great men of the era, William Orpen’s A Peace Conference at the Quai d’Orsay captured the beginning of a new peaceful era. The painting depicted Woodrow Wilson, Georges Clemenceau, David Lloyd George, and other statesmen who crafted the terms of the Versailles Peace (Figure1). Drawing inspiration from Jean-Baptiste Isabey’s Congress of Vienna (Figure2), painted a century early to commemorate the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), Orpen’s painting presented the faces of the peacemakers to the public, documenting the start of the new, and hopefully permanent, peaceful period in Europe. However, while Isabey had depicted Metternich, Castlereagh, Talleyrand, and others in proportion to their surroundings, Orpen’s figures were dwarfed by their gilded, ornate surroundings. This disproportionality symbolized fears that the statesmen would fail to live up to the task placed before them, a fear that was confirmed, as the Versailles Treaty failed to create the perpetual peace that was promised (A Peace Conference at the Quai d’Orsay). This fear was realized for many within French pacifist organizations as the ratification of Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty and the heavy reparation payments it placed on Germany were seen as an obstacle to achieving the reconciliation that pacifists were striving to achieve. Arts 2020, 9, 80 6 of 23 Arts 20202020,, 99,, xx FORFOR PEERPEER REVIEWREVIEW 66 ofof 2323

FigureFigure 1.1. WilliamWilliam Orpen. Orpen. A A Peace Peace Conference Conference at the at Quaithe Qu d’Orsay.ai d’Orsay. 1919. 1919. Oil on Oil Canvas. on Canvas.145 cm 145121 cm cm × . × 121cm.Imperial Imperial War Museum. War Museum. Art. IWM. Art. ART IWM. 2855. ART 2855.

FigureFigure 2. 2. Jean-BaptisteJean-BaptisteJean-Baptiste Isabey.Isabey. The The Congress Congress ofof Vienna.Vienna. 1815.1815. Pen and inkink withwith wash.wash. 84.5 cmcm × 107cm.107 cm. × RoyalRoyal Collection Trust/ Trust/ ©©Her Majesty Queen ElizabethElizabeth IIII 2019.2019. RCIN 451893.

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Arts 2020, 9, 80 7 of 23 of the French Third Republic, Great Britain, the United States, and other nations, honoring, not only the collective work of these men, but more importantly the communal efforts and sacrifices of their constituents made during the war. These works, celebrating the ends of past wars, embodied the traditional pacifist belief that peace could only be achieved through the diplomatic actions of political men. Although uneasy with the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty, French pacifist organizations still wanted to celebrate the historic moment. Seeking to reestablish and strengthen connections with other national branches of pre-war pacifist organizations that had been disrupted during the war, as well as create connections between new groups formed after the war, images like Orpen’s were shared by British sections with their French counterparts via photographs, postcards, or exhibition programs. These images were then reprinted by French pacifists in books, pamphlets, and on postcards, as a way of celebrating the new spirit of international cooperation. While Orpen’s painting hinted at the sense of disillusion many felt with the statesmen who drafted the Peace of 1919, works commemorating the efforts of Aristide Briand presented a hopeful outlook for the . Winner of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize, Briand spent his tenure as the Prime Minster of France working toward reconciliation with Germany. One of the key developers of Locarno of 1925, which improved relations between Germany and its European neighbors, as well as the Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928, a global treaty to make war illegal and to settle conflicts via arbitration before the League of Nations, Briand and his successful statesmanship became emblematic of the style of peace pacifists in this period wished to maintain. The Kellogg–Briand Pact was celebrated as the greatest achievement of the pacifist movement in the interwar era. While the image of Briand had been printed on copious amounts of pacifist material throughout the interwar period, the greatest testament to his work was the monument commissioned following his death in 1932. Completed in 1937, it was one of the last great works of traditional pacifist art created during the interwar period. Designed by Paul Landowski, the director of the French Academy in Rome from 1933–37, the architect Paul Bigot, and sculpted by Henri Bouchard, the monument was placed in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d’Orsay, where the peace conference of Orpen’s painting took place fifteen years earlier. Entitled Peace: A Monument to Aristide Briand, the sculpture drew inspiration from the neo-classical paintings of kings, offering peace to the people by depicting the large figure of Briand offering peace to the nations of the world, with a grateful family looking on in admiration (Figure3). An idyllic pastoral banner rests on top of the main image of the monument, while the bountiful fruits of the harvest lay at the feet of the family and nations depicted, symbolizing the prosperity peace brings to all. Engraved along the columns and bottom of the monument, Briand’s promise to end war and make France the protector of a permanent peace served as a reminder of everything that the pacifist movement attempted to achieve during the interwar era. The monument to Briand represented an anomaly among the sculptures created during this period. As one of the oldest forms of art, sculpture’s resistance to change was viewed as an embodiment of the order and permanence many artists sought to return to following the war (Braun 2010). Because of its permanence, sculpture was considered as one of the best ways to memorialize the dead and process the national bereavement following the end of the war. An explosion of commemorative war memorials spread throughout France during the interwar period, with every village commissioning a monument to the heroic sacrifice made by the sons of the local community. Extensive scholarship has outlined how these memorials applied simplified styles from the nineteenth century to commemorate the dead, often relying on Christian symbols and medieval iconography as a means of creating a link to a historical, and at times mythological, communal past (Mosse 1990; Prost 2002; Winter 2014). Instead of focusing on the efforts of one great man, like the monument to Briand, these community memorials sought to present a generic figure that could represent any one of the millions lost during, or affected by, the war. Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 23 other nations, honoring, not only the collective work of these men, but more importantly the communal efforts and sacrifices of their constituents made during the war. These works, celebrating the ends of past wars, embodied the traditional pacifist belief that peace could only be achieved through the diplomatic actions of political men. Although uneasy with the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty, French pacifist organizations still wanted to celebrate the historic moment. Seeking to reestablish and strengthen connections with other national branches of pre-war pacifist organizations that had been disrupted during the war, as well as create connections between new groups formed after the war, images like Orpen’s were shared by British sections with their French counterparts via photographs, postcards, or exhibition programs. These images were then reprinted by French pacifists in books, pamphlets, and on postcards, as a way of celebrating the new spirit of international cooperation. While Orpen’s painting hinted at the sense of disillusion many felt with the statesmen who drafted the Peace of 1919, works commemorating the efforts of Aristide Briand presented a hopeful outlook for the peace movement. Winner of the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize, Briand spent his tenure as the Prime Minster of France working toward reconciliation with Germany. One of the key developers of Locarno Treaties of 1925, which improved relations between Germany and its European neighbors, as well as the Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928, a global treaty to make war illegal and to settle conflicts via arbitration before the League of Nations, Briand and his successful statesmanship became emblematic of the style of peace pacifists in this period wished to maintain. The Kellogg–Briand Pact was celebrated as the greatest achievement of the pacifist movement in the interwar era. While the image of Briand had been printed on copious amounts of pacifist material throughout the interwar period, the greatest testament to his work was the monument commissioned following his death in 1932. Completed in 1937, it was one of the last great works of traditional pacifist art created during the interwar period. Designed by Paul Landowski, the director of the French Academy in Rome from 1933–37, the architect Paul Bigot, and sculpted by Henri Bouchard, the monument was placed in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d’Orsay, where the peace conference of Orpen’s painting took place fifteen years earlier. Entitled Peace: A Monument to Aristide Briand, the sculpture drew inspiration from the neo-classical paintings of kings, offering peace to the people by depicting the large figure of Briand offering peace to the nations of the world, with a grateful family looking on in admiration (Figure 3). An idyllic pastoral banner rests on top of the main image of the monument, while the bountiful fruits of the harvest lay at the feet of the family and nations depicted, symbolizing the prosperity peace brings to all. Engraved along the columns and bottom of the monument,Arts 2020, 9, 80 Briand’s promise to end war and make France the protector of a permanent peace served8 of 23 as a reminder of everything that the pacifist movement attempted to achieve during the interwar era.

Figure 3. PaulPaul Landowski, Paul Bigot, and Henri Bouc Bouchard.hard. Pax: Pax: Monument Monument àà AristideAristide Briand. Briand. 1937. 1937. Bronze. Photograph Photograph taken taken by author.

Sculpture became a touchstone for the arts during the interwar period as it was both a symbol of an ancient artistic heritage and an enduring monument that could serve as a counter to an unreliable and perishable life (Silver 2010). However, most of these war memorials did not utilize classical pacifist symbols, such as the dove or the olive branch, in their iconography. Instead, these monuments conceptualized the figure of the soldier as an idealized representation of the absent dead, with a mournful female allegory of the nation paying homage to the solider. These icons served as a reminder of the millions who had fought and died for the supposed higher cause of the nation. Grieving mothers and widows were often relegated to a secondary place in the war memorials, if they existed at all. The absence of women in the memorial sculptures reminded viewers that it was the actions of the dead that mattered more than the grief of those left behind (Moriarty 2018). A sense of indebtedness to the dead permeated these monuments, reminding the living that they were able to now live in a new peace thanks to the sacrifices the dead had made (Winter 2014). Pacifists took the implied message that this sacrifice should never be in vain, and used it to reinforce their mission to maintain the new peace throughout Europe. To take full advantage of the large number of sculptures throughout the country, pacifists printed and circulated a wide breadth of postcards, posters, and pamphlets depicting these monuments through their networks. These prints reminded the public what the costs of war were and why they needed to fight so hard to ensure that it would never occur again. In addition to reprinting images of these enduring monuments to the dead, pacifist ephemeral art during the 1920s also relied on the concept of grieving relatives to spread their message. This choice placed the millions of women left alone after the war at the center of the pacifist discussions, while simultaneously acknowledging the large role that women played in shaping the political action and philosophical discourse of the pacifist movement throughout the interwar period. Women had been at the forefront of the movement for peace, starting with the 1915 International Congress of Women. There, over 1300 delegates from 12 countries met at the Hague to discuss the principles of a constructive peace, continuing the legacies of the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907. Gabrielle Duchêne, Romain Rolland’s sister Madeleine Rolland, and a small number of other French women, while banned from attending the Congress by the government, took the ideas and manifestos produced by the Congress and spread them throughout France. By doing so, these women subverted wartime censors and caused numerous public scandals (Carle 2004). These ideas, originally viewed by other French women as unpatriotic during the war, gained traction as the human and material costs of the war became more and more prevalent throughout society. The ideas were spread, in particular, by the teaching corps, which, as a consequence of the war, was dominated by female teachers, provoking outrage among Arts 2020, 9, 80 9 of 23 conservatives who feared the moral disarmament of the youth would weaken the nation (Siegel 2004). These pacifist women utilized their role as mothers and widows to give legitimacy to their fight for peace. The image below embodies the wartime legacy women claimed. Printed shortly after the war, it depicts a woman crying over the coffin of a dead loved one (Figure4). The anonymity of the woman Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 23 allowed for any who saw the image to emphasize and sympathize with her, as they either were her, oneor they to the knew horrors a woman of the who battlefield. had also Created lost her by loved the oneBelgian to the engraver horrors ofFrans the battlefield.Masereel, the Created print byrelied the onBelgian the traditional engraver Franstechnique Masereel, of woodblock the print engraving relied on the to traditionaldepict the grieving technique woman. of woodblock The simplicity engraving of designto depict demanded the grieving by woman. this traditional The simplicity technique of design forced demanded audiences by thisto only traditional focus techniqueon the emotion forced presentedaudiences toin onlythe image, focus onas theno emotionextraneous presented backgrou innd the details image, were as no presented extraneous for background interpretation details or weredistraction presented from forthe interpretationcentral figure. orMasereel, distraction having from refused the central to participate figure. Masereel, in the slaughter having of refused the First to participateWorld War, in lived the slaughterin exile in of Paris the First throughout World War, the livedinterwar in exileperiod, in Parisand witnessed throughout first-hand the interwar the period,sorrow of and Parisian witnessed women first-hand that inspired the sorrow this ofwork. Parisian women that inspired this work.

Figure 4.4. Frans Masereel.Masereel. Novembre 1921. 1921. Ink Ink on paper. La Contemporaine.Contemporaine. Fonds Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et lala libertliberté.é. 4 Δ∆0050-1.

Throughout thethe late late 1920s 1920s and and early early 1930s, 1930s, the anonymitythe anonymity found found in the in hidden the hidden faces of faces the widows of the waswidows abandoned was abandoned as a motif as in a the motif art producedin the art forproduced pacifist for organizations pacifist organizations in France. Instead,in France. the Instead, faces of thecollectives faces of of collectives women were of women brought were to the brought forefront to the of forefront pacifist art, of aspacifist these art, women as these became women more became active morein the active pacifist in cause,the pacifist transforming cause, transforming their grief intotheir action grief into and action a powerful and a politicalpowerful force. political A seriesforce. ofA paintingsseries of paintings created by created Imre Pbyérely, Imre a HungarianPérely, a Hung graphicarian artist graphic working artist inworking Paris throughout in Paris throughout the 1930s, werethe 1930s, reprinted were asreprinted a bookof as lithographs a book of lithographs by the Ligue by internationale the Ligue internationale des femmes pourdes femmes la paix pour et la la libert paixé inet 1931,la liberté and in sold 1931, to raiseand fundssold to for raise the organizationfunds for the and organization its programs and of its reconciliation programs of between reconciliation former betweenbelligerent former nations, belligerent in particular nations, its in annual particular summer its annual school summer program school aimed program at forging aimed relationships at forging relationshipsbetween French between and German French children and German (Fonds children Duchêne). (Fonds One painting Duchêne). in the One series, painting titled in “Five the Millionseries, Widows,”titled “Five shifted Million away Widows,” from the shifted hidden away face from of a singular the hidden grieving face of widow a singular to a community grieving widow of widows to a communitysupporting oneof widows another supporting in their grief one (Figure another5). Thisin their community grief (Figure of women, 5). This nearly community identical of women, in their nearlydress and identical facial expressions,in their dress stood and beforefacial expressi the crossesons, of stood their lovedbefore ones,the crosses united of in theirtheir sharedloved ones, grief. unitedIn the post-warin their shared society, grief. Pérely’s In the women post-war represented society, Pérely’s an everyday women sight, represented as seas of an women everyday draped sight, in asblack seas infiltrated of women the draped public in space. black While infiltrated their presencethe public had space. been While a marker their of presence strength andhad dignitybeen a marker during ofthe strength war and inand the dignity immediate during aftermath, the war their and continued in the immediate and increasingly aftermath, vocal presencetheir continued in the public and increasinglysphere disrupted vocal attempts presence made in the by thepublic government sphere disrupted to return toattempts normal andmade move by the on fromgovernment the trauma to returnof war. to Refusing normal toand abandon move on their from uniform the trauma of grief, of widows war. Refusing like Madeleine to abandon Vernet, their one uniform of thefounders of grief, widowsof the Ligue like des Madeleine femmes contre Vernet, la guerre one of(Women the founders Against of Warthe League),Ligue des politicizedfemmes contre their la mourningguerre (Women dress Againstby keeping War it inLeague), the public politicized eye at rallies, their mourning official government dress by keeping ceremonies, it in and the onpublic the streets,eye at asrallies, they official government ceremonies, and on the streets, as they continued to fight for eternal peace (Siebrecht 2014). The publication of Pérley’s painting in 1931 marked a high point in the pacifist fight to prevent war as organizations like the Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté and their male-dominated counterparts, the Association pour la paix par le droit and the communist-aligned Association des écrivains et artistes révolutionnaires (Association of Revolutionary Artists and Writers) prepared for the international disarmament conference in Geneva the following year. By reminding the public of the grief caused by the millions of the deaths throughout the country, pacifists sought

Arts 2020, 9, 80 10 of 23 continued to fight for eternal peace (Siebrecht 2014). The publication of Pérley’s painting in 1931 marked a high point in the pacifist fight to prevent war as organizations like the Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté and their male-dominated counterparts, the Association pour la paix par le droit and the communist-aligned Association des écrivains et artistes révolutionnaires (Association of Revolutionary Artists and Writers) prepared for the international disarmament conference in Geneva Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 10 of 23 the following year. By reminding the public of the grief caused by the millions of the deaths throughout the country, pacifists sought to reinforce the necessity for all nations to cooperate with one another, to reinforce the necessity for all nations to cooperate with one another, reaffirm their commitment to reaffirm their commitment to the tenets found in the Kellogg–Briand Pact, and garner support for the the tenets found in the Kellogg–Briand Pact, and garner support for the Conference for the Reduction Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934. By continuously reminding the and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934. By continuously reminding the public of the grief caused public of the grief caused by the previous conflicts, these pacifist leagues sought to gain support to by the previous conflicts, these pacifist leagues sought to gain support to ensure that war would ensure that war would never happen again. never happen again.

FigureFigure 5. 5. ImreImre Pérely. Pérely. “Five “Five Million Million Widows.” Widows.” War. War. 1931. 1931. Li Lithograph.thograph. Bibliothèque Bibliothèque Nationale Nationale de de France. France.

AlongsideAlongside the the icon icon of of the the widow, widow, depictions of grieving mothers became a a staple of of pacifist pacifist art duringduring the the early early interwar interwar period. period. Not Not only only had had millio millionsns of of mothers mothers lost lost their their sons sons on on the the battlefields, battlefields, butbut other women were were at risk of su fferingffering the same fate if pacifismpacifism failed to achieve its goals. These imagesimages served served as as a a recruitment recruitment tool tool for for the the paci pacifistfist movements, as as women women were were forced forced to to place themselvesthemselves in in the the shoes shoes of of the the women depicted, depicted, and and contemplate their their sons’ sons’ futures futures in in the next conflict.conflict. These These images images also also worked worked to to heal heal animos animosityity between between nations, nations, demonstrating demonstrating that that grief grief was aa transnational transnational phenomenon phenomenon connecting connecting mothers mothers across across international international borders. borders. Images Images like like that that of the of “Mothersthe “Mothers International” International” printed printed in the in theLigueLigue internationale internationale des descombattants combattants pour pour la paix la paix’s newspaper’s newspaper La PatrieLa Patrie Humaine Humaine demonstrateddemonstrated this this shared shared grief, grief, with with a aFrench French mother mother and and a a German German mother mother sharing sharing aa moment moment of remembrance remembrance at the tomb of an unknow unknownn soldier (Figure 66).). AsAs oneone ofof thethe mainmain pacifistpacifist publications of of the the interwar interwar period, period, images images like like this this spread spread the the league’s league’s belief belief that that it was it was through through the reconciliation of individuals, not governments, that peace could be achieved. With millions of unmarked and unidentified graves littering the battlefields of Europe, many families were left with no known burial site for their relatives, preventing them from partaking in traditional private mourning rituals. Deprived of a private moment with their lost sons, these women found solace with one another in their shared grief, as well as their understanding of each other’s experience. This shared moment of remembrance, for many pacifists, was the first step in reconciliation between the former belligerent nations.

Arts 2020, 9, 80 11 of 23 the reconciliation of individuals, not governments, that peace could be achieved. With millions of unmarked and unidentified graves littering the battlefields of Europe, many families were left with no known burial site for their relatives, preventing them from partaking in traditional private mourning rituals. Deprived of a private moment with their lost sons, these women found solace with one another in their shared grief, as well as their understanding of each other’s experience. This shared moment of remembrance, for many pacifists, was the first step in reconciliation between the former

Artsbelligerent 2020, 9, x nations.FOR PEER REVIEW 11 of 23

Figure 6. Roger Irat. “Mother’s International. My My child! child! My My child!” child!” La Patrie Humaine. 16–23 April 1932. Ink on Paper. Bibliothèque Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

Images of grieving mothers also invoked religious iconography for inspiration, linking the sufferingsuffering of of the the millions millions of of mothers mothers to tothat that of the of theVirgin Virgin Mother. Mother. The reinvigoration The reinvigoration of religious of religious cults, particularlycults, particularly Marian Marian cults, cults,had been had a been widespread a widespread phenomenon phenomenon in France in France throughout throughout the latter the latter half ofhalf the of nineteenth the nineteenth century century and andcontinued continued throughout throughout the First the First World World War War (Winter (Winter 2014). 2014 During). During the war,the war, the constant the constant fear fearof being of being shelled shelled by artillery, by artillery, poisoned poisoned by gas, by or gas, kill ored killed by going by going ’up and ’up over’ and ledover’ soldiers led soldiers to believe to believe in superstitions in superstitions and use and talismans use talismans as a source as a of source comfort of comfortall along allthe along Western the WesternFront (Fussell Front 2000). (Fussell In 2000Catholic). In CatholicFrance, the France, Virgin the Mother Virgin was Mother one wasof the one main of theimages main that images brought that comfortbrought to comfort the soldiers to the on soldiers the front, on theas they front, believed as they her believed proximity her proximityto Christ allowed to Christ her allowed to directly her intercedeto directly on intercede their behalf on their and protect behalf andthem protect from th theme dangers from theof the dangers battlefield. of the Aware battlefield. of the Aware wartime of legacythe wartime these legacyimages these carried, images pacifists carried, continued pacifists to continued use images to use of imagesthe Virgin of theMother Virgin in Mother their art in throughouttheir art throughout the interwar the interwarperiod. However, period. However, unlike the unlike war time the war images time that images had thatemphasized had emphasized the role ofthe the role Virgin of the Mother Virgin as Mother an intercessor as an intercessor between betweenmankind mankind and the divine, and the interwar divine, interwarartists working artists withworking pacifist with organizations pacifist organizations and newspapers and newspapers emphasized emphasized the Virgin the Mother’s Virgin humanity Mother’s humanityby depicting by herdepicting as a grieving her as a mother. grieving This mother. allowed This them allowed to not them only to notlink only the linksacrifice the sacrificeof the soldiers of the soldiersto that of to Christ,that of Christ,but also but to link also the to linksuffering the su offfering the soldiers’ of the soldiers’ mothers mothers with the with sacred the suffering sacred su offf eringthe Blessed of the MotherBlessed Motherherself. herself.Printed Printedin an inissue an issueof La of PatrieLa Patrie Humaine Humaine, “Our, “Our Lady Lady of of Sorrows” Sorrows” references Michelangelo’s Pieta,Pieta, substitutingsubstituting anan innocentinnocent child child in in the the place place of of the the adult adult figure figure of of Christ Christ (Figure (Figure7). 7).Printed Printed during during the the Spanish Spanish Civil Civil War, War, the the artist artist Godard Godard returned returned to to the the obscured obscured faceface ofof the female mourner, allowing any mother to see herself as the subject of the image. In doing so, he sought to provide anan evocative evocative reason reason for for all womenall women to join to and join continue and continue their support their forsupport the pacifist for the movement pacifist movementin face of the in growingface of the threat growing of a newthreat world of a new war. world While war. the veiledWhile motherthe veiled harkened mother backharkened to images back tofrom images the 1920s from andthe 1920s early 1930s,and early the centrality1930s, the ofcentrality the presentation of the presentation of the body of of the a dead body child of a dead drastically child drasticallydiffered from differed images from of the images earlier of period. the earlier Pacifist period. images Pacifist of grieving images mothers of grieving created mothers in the created pre-Hitler in theperiod pre-Hitler of the interwar period of years the interwar rarely depicted years rarely a body depi ofcted the fallen.a bodyInstead, of the fallen. as seen Instead, above, as women seen above, were women were grieving over the graves of fully-grown sons. The inclusion in Godard’s image of a dead child radically altered the narrative that pacifists were presenting to their public. Instead of focusing on the grief for a past in which fully-grown children were sacrificed for the bellicose nation, viewers were now being asked to imagine an even more terrible grief that would be caused by the indiscriminate killing of innocent children. This shock factor was aimed at provoking the public to advocate for the victims of the Spanish Civil War, while also increasing their political action to end the war and all future conflicts.

Arts 2020, 9, 80 12 of 23 grieving over the graves of fully-grown sons. The inclusion in Godard’s image of a dead child radically altered the narrative that pacifists were presenting to their public. Instead of focusing on the grief for a past in which fully-grown children were sacrificed for the bellicose nation, viewers were now being asked to imagine an even more terrible grief that would be caused by the indiscriminate killing of innocent children. This shock factor was aimed at provoking the public to advocate for the victims of the Spanish Civil War, while also increasing their political action to end the war and all future conflicts. Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 23

Figure 7. Godard.Godard. “Our “Our Lady Lady of of Sorrows.” Sorrows.” La La Patrie Humaine. 26 26 March March 1937. 1937. Ink Ink on on Paper. Paper. BibliothèqueBibliothèque Nationale de France.

Another poignant classical motif utilized in in pacifist pacifist art was a figure figure with outstretched arms offeringoffering the viewer a glimpse of what was possible. These images were printed as a reflection reflection of the hopes within the pacifist pacifist movement for the oncomingoncoming eternal peace brought by the Kellogg–Briand Pact and the multitude of other peace conferences in the early interwar period. One example of this motif was was the the female female allegory allegory of of peace peace basking basking in inthe the radiance radiance of the of the end end of war, of war, heralding heralding a new a new era ofera prosperity of prosperity for all for the all peoples the peoples of the of world the world (Figure (Figure 8). The8). rural The rural setting setting of the of image the image below, below, with traditionalwith traditional artisans artisans working working diligently diligently at their at their craft, craft, reflected reflected the the desire desire of of the the interwar interwar society, society, plagued by the lingering wartime scarcity and the onset of the Great Depression, to return to the ’normal’’normal’ ofof thethe prewarprewar era.era. Images like this implied that by following the tenets of peace as put forth by the pacifist pacifist movement, social and financial financial securi securityty could once again be possible for the people of France, as wasteful military spending would instead be used to ameliorate the living conditions of those affected affected by the economic depression. The The image of of peace as bringing hope for the future was juxtaposed by by the the bleak battlefields battlefields of of the past wa warr (Figure 99).). HereHere thethe figurefigure ofof Christ,Christ, withwith armsarms spread in a similar manner to the allegory of peace, demanded that the viewers listen to the voices of the dead andand openopen theirtheir hearts hearts to to one one another. another. The The artist artist relied relied on on the the reverence reverence communities communities held held for forthe the dead dead as the as ultimatethe ultimate moral moral justification justification for preventing for preventing all future all future wars. wars If audiences. If audiences failed failed to listen to listento the to dead the anddead open and theiropen heartstheir hearts to one to another, one another, they were they notwere only not dishonoringonly dishonoring the sacred the sacred dead, dead,but failing but failing to heed to the heed teachings the teachings of Christ of himself. Christ Inhimself. doing so,In doing they all so, but they guaranteed all but guaranteed the outbreak the of outbreaka new conflict. of a new conflict. The stark difference difference between these images of a hopeful future and the remembrance of a bleak past coincided with with Hitler’s Hitler’s appointment appointment as as German German Chancellor Chancellor and and the the start start of ofhis his consolidation consolidation of power.of power. This This suggests suggests that that while while pacifists pacifists in in France France were were able able to to remain remain hopeful hopeful that that peace would continue toto prosperprosper inin France France throughout throughout the the 1920s 1920 ands and early early 1930s, 1930s, the the election election of Hitlerof Hitler fractured fractured this this hope, eventually forcing the pacifists to take more radical positions to protect the peace they had fought so hard to build. The fears of Hitler destroying the hope for a peaceful and prosperous future were egged on by the growing power of the communist party within France. Founded in 1920, the French Communist Party had taken a predominately antimilitarist stance during the early 1920s as a response to the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923 and the use of French troops in the Rif War in Morocco in 1925. However, Stalin’s takeover and purging of his rivals in 1927 reverberated within the French Communist Party, causing leaders to fall in-line with Stalinist policies and adapt an increasingly aggressive agenda to bring about the end of the capitalist imperial government. This stance was

Arts 2020, 9, 80 13 of 23 hope, eventually forcing the pacifists to take more radical positions to protect the peace they had fought so hard to build. The fears of Hitler destroying the hope for a peaceful and prosperous future were egged on by the growing power of the communist party within France. Founded in 1920, the French Communist Party had taken a predominately antimilitarist stance during the early 1920s as a response to the occupation of the Ruhr in 1923 and the use of French troops in the Rif War in Morocco in 1925. However, Stalin’s takeover and purging of his rivals in 1927 reverberated within the French Communist Party, causing leaders to fall in-line with Stalinist policies and adapt an increasingly aggressive agenda to bring about the end of the capitalist imperial government. This stance was strengthened in the Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 23 1930s asArts Hitler’s 2020, 9, x riseFOR PEER to power REVIEW and the remilitarization of Germany threatened to unleash13 of the23 forces of fascismstrengthened throughout in the France 1930s as as Hitler’s well ( Drakerise to powe 2005r). and The the realization remilitarization that of images Germany of threatened remembrance to and strengthened in the 1930s as Hitler’s rise to power and the remilitarization of Germany threatened to communalunleash grief the could forces no of fascism longer throughout obtain an internationalFrance as well (Drake commitment 2005). The to realization peace resulted that images in a shiftof with unleash the forces of fascism throughout France as well (Drake 2005). The realization that images of French pacifistremembrance art to and more communal gruesome grief images could no of longer war and obtain a reliance an international on new commitment styles of photography to peace and remembranceresulted in a shift and withcommunal French grief pacifist could art noto morelonger gruesome obtain an images international of war andcommitment a reliance to on peace new photomontage in the hopes of staving off the threat of war. resultedstyles of photographyin a shift with and French photomontage pacifist art in to th emore hopes gruesome of staving images off the ofthreat war ofand war. a reliance on new styles of photography and photomontage in the hopes of staving off the threat of war.

Figure 8.Figure“Open 8. “Open Your Hearts.” Your Hearts.” La Patrie La Patrie Humaine. Humaine. 25 March 25 March 1933. 1933. Ink onInk Paper.on Paper. Biblioth Bibliothèqueèque Nationale FigureNationale 8. “Opende France. Your Hearts.” La Patrie Humaine. 25 March 1933. Ink on Paper. Bibliothèque de France.Nationale de France.

Figure 9. “Open Your Hearts! The Voices of the Dead.” La Patrie Humaine. 26 May 1933. Ink on Paper. Figure 9.FigureBibliothèque“Open 9. “Open Your Nationale Your Hearts! Hearts! de TheFrance. The Voices Voices of of the the Dead.” La La Patrie Patrie Humaine. Humaine. 26 May 26 1933. May Ink 1933. on Paper. Ink on Paper. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Bibliothèque Nationale de France. 4. Horrors of a New War Bring Rupture 4. Horrors of a New War Bring Rupture The abandonment of images of hope for a peaceful future and an increasing reliance on desperateThe abandonment pleas to maintain of imagespeace at of all hope costs forbecame a peac moreeful and future more and prominent an increasing in pacifist reliance art as theon desperate pleas to maintain peace at all costs became more and more prominent in pacifist art as the

Arts 2020, 9, 80 14 of 23

4. Horrors of a New War Bring Rupture The abandonment of images of hope for a peaceful future and an increasing reliance on desperate Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 23 pleas to maintain peace at all costs became more and more prominent in pacifist art as the 1930s 1930sprogressed. progressed. For the For artists the artists involved involved with the with pacifist the pacifist movement, movement, the shift the in theshift tenor in the of thetenor message of the messagerequired required bolder styles bolder of artstyles to eofffectively art to effect transmitively theirtransmit message. their Whilemessage. the While Dada the and Dada Surrealist and Surrealistmovements movements had been had creating been radicallycreating radically new art intendednew art intended as a protest as a protest against against the bourgeois the bourgeois world worldorder throughoutorder throughout the interwar the interwar period, period, much ofmuch their of work their remained work remained outside outside of the sphere of the ofsphere pacifist of pacifistorganizations. organization Thoses. whoThose were who actively were actively involved involved in pacifist in pacifist circles, circles, like Andr likeé AndréBreton Breton and Louis and LouisAragon, Aragon, aligned aligned themselves themselves with the with radical the radical pacifist pacifist sects who sects sought who asought communist a communist revolution revolution to bring toabout bring permanent about permanent peace. These peace. artists These acknowledged artists acknowledged that to achieve that their to achieve communist their revolutionary communist revolutionarypeace, the necessary peace, evilsthe necessary of violence, evils destruction, of violence, and destruction, loss of life and that loss were of inevitablelife that were in war inevitable had to inbe war endured had to one be finalendured time. one This final final time. act This of violence final act would of violence accomplish would theaccomplish renewal the of society renewal that of societythe pre-war that the avant-garde pre-war avant-garde had been striving had been to obtainstriving (Eksteins to obtain 2000 (Eksteins). However, 2000). aHowever, large portion a large of portionpacifists of refused pacifists to engagerefused with to engage this branch with ofthis pacifism branch asof theypacifism felt it as would they felt alienate it would the larger alienate public, the largerresulting public, in the resulting loss of financial, in the political,loss of financial, and moral political, support forand their moral cause. support Furthermore, for their the cause. irony Furthermore,inherent in the the Dada irony and inherent Surrealist in the movements Dada and wasSurrealist that despite movements their supportwas that for despite the proletariat their support and forthe the communist proletariat ideology, and the the communist majority of ideology, their works the stayed majority within of their the realm works of stayed exhibitions, within art the galleries, realm ofand exhibitions, private collections, art galleries, inevitably and private being collections, purchased inevitably and viewed being only purchased by the very and bourgeois viewed only society by thethey very were bourgeois trying to dismantle.society they The were narrow trying distribution to dismantle. of Dada The and narrow Surrealist distribution works and of theDada radical and Surrealistpolitics of works their creators and the rendered radical politics them unavailable of their creators and unhelpful rendered to them pacifist unavailable organizations and unhelpful in France, towhich pacifist aimed organizations to communicate in France, with which the global aimed masses. to communicate with the global masses. While the avant-garde iconography, style, an andd themes presented by Dada and Surrealism dominated conversation within within the the bourgeois bourgeois art art world, world, artist artist working working with with pacifists pacifists took took a a subtler, subtler, yet still radically didifferentfferent approachapproach to to modernizing modernizing their their art art in in the the latter latter half half of of the the period. period. Images Images of ofChrist Christ that that had had once once been been used tous symbolizeed to symbolize the suff eringthe suffering of the soldier of the on soldier the front on were the repurposedfront were repurposedto represent to the represent suffering the pacifists suffering faced pacifists due to faced an increasingly due to an incr hostileeasingly government. hostile government. The publication The publicationof the Chautemps of the Circular Chautempsin 1933, Circular which in revealed 1933, which the French revealed government’s the French push government’s to actively push identify, to activelytrack, and identify, prosecute track, conscientious and prosecute objectors, conscientious and the objectors, public backlash and the public it faced backlash gave these it faced images gave a thesenew relevance. images a Bynew depicting relevance. conscientious By depicting objectors conscientious with their objectors arms outstretched, with their arms artists outstretched, were able to artistssymbolically were able link to them symbolically to the iconography link them of to Christ the iconography crucified on theof Christ cross. crucified The image on below, the cross. sketched The imageby a member below, of sketched the Ligue by internationale a member desof the combattants Ligue internationale pour la paix, depicteddes combattants these conscientious pour la paix, depicted objectors theseas prisoners conscientious of the very objectors Versailles as Treatyprisoners that of had the once very promised Versailles to bringTreaty peace that tohad the once world. promised The artists to bringstrengthened peace to the the allegory world. The by having artists thestrengthened objector beg the God allegory to forgive by having their captors,the objector as they beg “did God not to forgiveknow what their they captors, were as doing,” they “did just asnot Christ know begged what they God towere forgive doing,” those just who as condemnedChrist begged him God to die. to forgiveAs prisoners those ofwho the newcondemned push for him ‘national to die. security,’ As prisoners conscientious of the new objectors push becamefor ‘national martyrs security,’ for the conscientiouspacifist movements objectors (Figure became 10). martyrs for the pacifist movements (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Les Pacifiques. Pacifiques. 1932. Graphite Graphite on on Paper. La Contemporaine. Fonds Fonds Duchêne. Duchêne. F FΔ∆resres 0235. 0235. Box 6. Folder Folder 7. 7.

The shift toward more graphic messages of stopping war and violence continued during the latter part of the 1930s as pacifist art took a more overt political stance to protest against the crime of war (Malvern 2004). Disillusioned with optimistic images presented in previous pacifist artwork, some artists working for the French pacifist leagues took the motif of the sacred outstretched figure and ironically adapted it to denounce the militarization of society. Instead of referring to the sacred

Arts 2020, 9, 80 15 of 23

The shift toward more graphic messages of stopping war and violence continued during the latter part of the 1930s as pacifist art took a more overt political stance to protest against the crime of war (Malvern 2004). Disillusioned with optimistic images presented in previous pacifist artwork, some artists working for the French pacifist leagues took the motif of the sacred outstretched figure Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 15 of 23 and ironically adapted it to denounce the militarization of society. Instead of referring to the sacred imageimage of Christ whowho broughtbrought peace,peace, prosperity,prosperity, and and justice, justice, the the figure figure now now brought brought the the destruction destruction of ofwar war to civilians,to civilians, deploying deploying modern modern aircraft aircraft to dropto drop bombs bombs on unsuspectingon unsuspecting populations populations (Figure (Figure 11). 11).The The sacred sacred union, union, which which had had been been the rallyingthe rallying call duringcall during the Firstthe First World World War, War, was nowas longer no longer a force a forcethat unitedthat united men men across across class class lines lines and and the diversethe dive regionsrse regions of France. of France. Instead, Instead, the the unholy unholy union union of ofgovernment government and and munitions munitions makers makers took took center center stage stage as the as newthe new ’sacred’ ’sacred’ union union that threatenedthat threatened to undo to undoall that all had that been had achieved been achieved by the sacrificesby the sacrifices of the previous of the previous sacred union. sacred Graphic union. artists Graphic designing artists designingposter campaigns poster campaigns for elections for depicted elections the depicted former angelthe former of peace angel as aof corrupted peace as shella corrupted devoid ofshell the devoidvalues thatof the it values once held. that Nowit once as held. the angel Now ofas death,the angel fueled of death, by government fueled by government inaction and inaction the profit and of thethe military-industrialprofit of the military-industrial complex, it could complex, only assure it could the only death assure and destruction the death and of all destruction nations and of their all nationscivilians and if the their general civilians public if the did general not unite public with did the not pacifists unite with to defeat the pacifists it. Men to who defeat had it. once Men fought who hadbravely once as fought part of bravely the sacred as part union of ofthe the sacred First union World of War the now First had World the obligationWar now had to fight the againstobligation the togovernment fight against and the the government munitions industryand the munitions to protect industry the futures to ofprotect their children.the futures Revolutionary of their children. fists Revolutionaryof solidarity raised fists of in solidarity defiance neededraised in to defiance protect theneeded peace to forprotect future the generations peace for future in the generations face of the inrenewed the face militarism of the renewed beginning militarism to engulf beginning the nation. to engulf the nation.

FigureFigure 11. “Stand“Stand Up Up Against Against the the Sacred Sacred Union Union for for War. War. Fo Forr Peace. Peace. Form Form the the Dam. Dam. Join Join the the L.I.C.P.” L.I.C.P.” LigueLigue internationale des combattants de la paix paix.. 1936. 1936. Ink Ink on on paper. paper. La La Contemporaine. Contemporaine. AFF20566. AFF20566.

ThisThis significant significant shift shift away away from from the themes of grief and bereavement was accelerated by by the continuedcontinued production production of newer, newer, deadlier military technology. technology. The expansive expansive destruction destruction that that modern modern technology had caused during the First World War had been a key component of pacifist arguments for disarmament throughout the interwar period, with the prominent pacifist leagues partaking in investigatory studies of the types of technology produced and the increased military spending needed to continue the production of these weapons. These organizations reprinted and distributed comments of prominent scientists, like Albert Einstein, condemning the use of science for military advancement (Fonds Duchêne; Fonds Romain Rolland). The failure of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934, however, drastically weakened the pacifist hopes for a

Arts 2020, 9, 80 16 of 23 technology had caused during the First World War had been a key component of pacifist arguments for disarmament throughout the interwar period, with the prominent pacifist leagues partaking in investigatory studies of the types of technology produced and the increased military spending needed to continue the production of these weapons. These organizations reprinted and distributed comments of prominent scientists, like Albert Einstein, condemning the use of science for military advancement (Fonds Duchêne; Fonds Romain Rolland). The failure of the Conference for the Reduction Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 23 and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934, however, drastically weakened the pacifist hopes for a sustained, de-militarized peace in Europe. Aware that scientific advancements in military technology sustained, de-militarized peace in Europe. Aware that scientific advancements in military technology had continued to produce deadlier weapons in the interwar era, pacifists shifted the focus of their had continued to produce deadlier weapons in the interwar era, pacifists shifted the focus of their artistic campaigns to draw more attention to and protest the militarization of the work being done artistic campaigns to draw more attention to and protest the militarization of the work being done in in the name of scientific advancement. This concentrated attack against militarized science aimed to the name of scientific advancement. This concentrated attack against militarized science aimed to demonstrate how the emblem of progress and a better future had devolved into a deadly tool that demonstrate how the emblem of progress and a better future had devolved into a deadly tool that could be used indiscriminately against civilian populations. The “science which kills” (Figure 12) could be used indiscriminately against civilian populations. The “science which kills” (Figure 12) dominated discussions of executive and local committees of the pacifist leagues in France during the dominated discussions of executive and local committees of the pacifist leagues in France during the late 1930s,1930s, as as scientists scientists in thein the employment employment of munitions of munitions makers makers could nowcoul used now the gasesuse the and gases biological and weaponsbiological they weapons created they to bringcreated about to bring an all-encompassing about an all-encompassing total warfare, total traversing warfare, any traversing geographical, any social,geographical, or moral social, boundary or moral (Figure boundary 13). (Figure 13).

Figure 12. “The science that kills. Mothers Mothers who create life, do you know of what this man dreams? To destroy thethe lifelife youyou havehave createdcreated….”... .” Ink Ink on on paper. paper. La La Contemporaine. Contemporaine. Fonds Fonds Duchêne. Duchêne. F FΔ∆resres 0235. 0235. Box 4. Folder 18.

The figurefigure of the corrupted scientist became the fo focuscus for pacifist pacifist works of art art during during this this period. period. Instead ofof usingusing their their expertise expertise to improveto improve living livi conditionsng conditions for the for masses, the ma thesesses, new these ‘evil’ new scientists ‘evil’ strovescientists to strove achieve to theachieve highest the casualtyhighest casualty count possible, count possible, boasting boasting of the of terrible the terrible consequences consequences that theirthat their new new bacterical bacterical weapons weapons would would have have on unsuspectingon unsuspecting populations populations (Figure (Figure 13). 13). Continuing Continuing to emphasizeto emphasize the the importance importance that that women women played played in the in pacifistthe pacifist movement, movement, artists artists added added pleas forpleas them, for asthem, the creatorsas the creators of life, toof joinlife, otherto join women other women and men and in themen fight in the against fight theagainst military-industrial the military-industrial complex complex and agitate to stop the work being done by scientists, and to save the lives of their children and future generations (Figure 12).

Arts 2020, 9, 80 17 of 23 and agitate to stop the work being done by scientists, and to save the lives of their children and future generations (Figure 12). Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 17 of 23

Figure 13. “Total War. The dose of bacteria for a villagevillage of 10,000 inhabitants.” La Patrie Humaine. June 17,17, 1938.1938. Ink on Paper. Bib Bibliothliothèqueèque Nationale de France.

The artists depicting these newly developed weaponsweapons focused intensely on the ability of enemy forces to unleashunleash thesethese weaponsweapons at anyany timetime onon aa civiliancivilian population,population, thanksthanks primarily to improved airplanes thatthat couldcould nownow traveltravel farther farther with with larger larger payloads. payloads. Traditionally Traditionally removed removed from from the the fields fields of battle,of battle, women, women, children, children, and theand elderly the elderly were allwere now all susceptible now susceptible to these to new these technologies. new technologies. Pacifists recognizedPacifists recognized that the destiny that the of destiny non-combatants of non-combat in the newants erain the of gas new and era biological of gas and warfare biological had radicallywarfare alteredhad radically from their altered precedessors from their in theprecedessors First World in War. the SeekingFirst World to instill War. this Seekin sameg horrifying to instill realizationthis same inhorrifying their audiences, realization pacifist in their art ofaudiences, the late 1930s pacifist rendered art of the these late consequences 1930s rendered as anthese inescapable consequences fate for as everyone.an inescapable While fate postcards, for everyone. posters, While and otherpostcards, ephemeral posters, material and other from ephemeral the First World material War from depicted the theFirst death World of War women depicted and children the death in of times women of war, and thesechildren figures in times had beenof war, victims these offigures the battlefield, had been caughtvictims inof the the cross-fires battlefield, of opposingcaught in armies; the cross-fi a regrettableres of opposing but expected armies; occurance a regrettable in war. but The expected threat of newoccurance types ofin weapons,war. The onthreat the of other new hand, types made of weap it impossibleons, on the for other non-combatants hand, made to it escape impossible from thefor deathnon-combatants and destruction to escape of war. from Improvements the death and made destruction to aerial technologyof war. Improvements ensured that theremade would to aerial no longertechnology be a safeensured homefront that there for women would andno longer children be to a occupy safe homefront (Figure 14 for). women and children to occupyThe (Figure horrors 14). of this new style of warfare depicted by pacifists in their art became a reality with the outbreakThe horrors of the Spanish of this Civilnew style War inof 1936.warfare To depicted ensure that by audiencespacifists in were their exposed art became to the a reality destruction with modernthe outbreak warfare of couldthe Spanish now unleash Civil onWar civilian in 1936. populations, To ensure artists that for audiences the pacifist were cause exposed relied heavilyto the ondestruction photography modern to capture warfare the could ‘truth’ now of unleash the new on style civilian of warfare. populations, In his theoreticalartists for the treaties pacifist on cause art in therelied age heavily of mechanical on photography production, to capture Walter Benjaminthe ‘truth’ highlights of the new the style importance of warfare. of photographyIn his theoretical as a mediumtreaties on for art art in during the age this of period,mechanical stating producti that “photographson, Walter Benjamin [had] become highlights standard the importance evidence forof historicalphotography occurrences” as a medium (Benjamin for art1969 during, p. 226). this He period, saw the stating traditional that techniques “photographs and aesthetics[had] become of art asstandard a tool throughevidence which for historical the fascist occurrences” regimes sought (Benjamin to depict 1969, their returnp. 226). to aHe glorious, saw the mythological traditional past.techniques These and regimes aesthetics were responsible of art as a fortool the through horrors which unleashed the fascist on civilian regimes populations, sought to thus depict tainting their thereturn styles to a of glorious, art they mythological preferred. Traditional past. These art regi stylesmes were were now responsible for individual for the contemplation; horrors unleashed the new on artcivilian forms populations, of photography thus andtainting photomontage the styles of were art they forthe preferred. age of action Traditional (Benjamin art styles 1969 ;were Faber now 2018 for). individual contemplation; the new art forms of photography and photomontage were for the age of action (Benjamin 1969; Faber 2018).

Arts 2020, 9, 80 18 of 23 Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 18 of 23

Figure 14.14.“Gas “Gas and and Bacteria Bacteria the Destinythe Destiny of the Non-Combatants.” of the Non-Combatants.” 1929. Ink on 1929. paper. Ink La Contemporaine.on paper. La Contemporaine.Fonds Duchêne. FFonds∆res 0207.Duchêne. Box 13.FΔres Folder 0207. 10. Box 13. Folder 10.

PacifistPacifist artists exemplified exemplified Benj Benjamin’samin’s theories theories through through their their use use of of photography as as a way of capturing contemporary events as they happened. The The instantaneous nature nature of these photographs proved to their viewing public that their earlier earlier warnings warnings about about the the horrors horrors of of a a new new war war were were true. true. Images of childrenchildren killedkilled by by bombing bombing raids raids were were evocative evocative during during this this period, period, as theyas they showed showed how how the themost most vulnerable vulnerable in societyin society were were no no longer longer safe safe from from any any conflict conflict belligerent belligerent nationsnations might unleash upon oneone another another (Figure (Figure 15). 15). No longerNo longer hypothetical, hypothetical, these terrors these demanded terrors demanded a renewed commitmenta renewed commitmentto maintaining to themaintaining peace in the Europe. peace Photosin Europe. showing Photos the showing effects ofthe the effects new of weapons, the new usedweapons, as a usedform ofas propaganda,a form of propaganda, were intended were to intended radically shiftto radically the internal shift politicalthe internal situation political in France. situation Some in France.pacifist artists,Some pacifist particularly artists, those particularly aligned withthose the aligned communist with the party, communist used these party, images used to these condemn images the toPopular condemn Front the administration Popular Front for administration failing to aid for in thefailing fight to against aid in Fascism.the fight Theyagainst sought Fascism. to inspire They soughtthe government to inspire and the Frenchgovernment public and at largeFrench to public engage at in large the conflictto engage to defeatin the theconflict fascist to forcesdefeat andthe fascistbring about forces a and new bring socialist about world a new order. socialist Religious world pacifists, order. Religious and a growing pacifists, number and a of growing integral number pacifists ofwho integral preferred pacifists to surrender who preferred to a foreign to surrender power to over a foreign becoming power involved over becoming in new conflicts, involved used in new the conflicts,images as used proof the that images war, regardlessas proof that of war, what regardless it was being of foughtwhat it for,was was being not fought worth for, the was cost not of human worth thelives, cost especially of human those lives, of especially innocent civilians. those of Ininnocent their opinion, civilians. it wasIn their only opinion, through it resisting was only war through at the resistingindividual war and at community the individual level that and the community violence would level stop. that Facingthe violence the increasingly would stop. lethal Facing technology the increasinglyavailable to belligerent lethal technology forces, the available human to and belligerent material costs forces, of warthe werehuman no and longer material worth costs the potential of war weregains. no For longer these worth pacifist the groups, potential the gains. public For needed these pacifist to advocate groups, for the an immediatepublic needed end to to advocate the conflict, for anregardless immediate of the end political to the conflict, and social regardless outcomes. of the political and social outcomes.

Arts 2020, 9, 80 19 of 23 Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 19 of 23

Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 19 of 23

Figure 15. “…“ ... andand assassinate assassinate the the little little children.” children.” Paix Paix et LibertLiberté.é. 17 17 January 1938. Photograph. Photograph. BibliothèqueBibliothèque Nationale de France. Figure 15. “… and assassinate the little children.” Paix et Liberté. 17 January 1938. Photograph. CapitalizingBibliothèque on Nationale the disgust, de France. despair, and anger that the images of murdered children created among the public, artists employed the increasingly popular technique of photomontage to intensify these sentimentssentimentsCapitalizing andand driveondrive the the disgust,the public public despair, to to action. action. and Byanger By the the that end end the of of theimages the First First of World murdered World War, War, children photomontages photomontages created had among the public, artists employed the increasingly popular technique of photomontage to intensify hadgained gained the reputation the reputation of being of ‘truth-telling’ being ‘truth-tellin tools, capableg’ tools, of capable bridging of the bridging gap between the gap documentary between these sentiments and drive the public to action. By the end of the First World War, photomontages documentaryrealism and propaganda. realism and The propaganda. montage was The able montage to combine was theable referential to combine and the the referential symbolic, allowingand the had gained the reputation of being ‘truth-telling’ tools, capable of bridging the gap between symbolic,newsdocumentary images allowing to become realism news visual andimages propaganda. statements to become The with visual montage a strong statements was political able with to message combine a strong (theFaber political referential 2018 message). Forand pacifists,the (Faber 2018).photomontagesymbolic, For pacifists, allowing allowed photomontage news them images to condemn to allowed become the visualthem fascist statements to actions condemn with in Spain, the a strong fascist while political actions reinforcing message in Spain, the (Faber damage while reinforcingthat new2018). forms Forthe pacifists, ofdamage warfare photomontagethat caused. new Hopingforms allowed of to warfare inspire them to thecaused. condemn French Hoping public the fascist to to demandinspire actions the thatin FrenchSpain, the government while public to demandintervenereinforcing that in the the the conflict, government damage many that intervene communist-alignednew forms in of the warfare conflict, pacifists caused. many Hoping plastered communist-aligned to postersinspire the like French thosepacifists public below plastered to across postersFrancedemand withlike those the that hope the below government of shocking across Franceintervene audiences with in into thethe conflict, actionhope of tomany shocking condemn communist-aligned audiences and end not into onlypacifists action the plastered Spanish to condemn Civil War,and end butposters not also likeonly any those the potential Spanishbelow futureacross Civil warsFrance War, (Figures butwith also the 16 hopeany and potential of 17 shocking). These future audiences images, wars releasedinto(Figures action in16 to 1936, and condemn 17). presented These images,the audienceand released end not with only in the 1936, the simple Spanish presented narrative Civil the War, thataudience but international also anywith potential the fascists simple future werenarrative wars targeting (Figures that international16 innocent and 17). civiliansThese fascists in images, released in 1936, presented the audience with the simple narrative that international fascists wereSpain, targeting and that innocent the general civilians public in could Spain, no and longer that stand the general by and public ignore could the pain no andlonger suff standering by caused and were targeting innocent civilians in Spain, and that the general public could no longer stand by and ignoreby the renewedthe pain and militarism suffering in Europecaused by (Faber the renewed2018). militarism in Europe (Faber 2018). ignore the pain and suffering caused by the renewed militarism in Europe (Faber 2018).

Figure 16. “Schools in Spain.” Photograph, ink on paper. La Contemporaine. AFF24125 (4). Figure 16. “Schools in Spain.” Photograph, ink on paper. La Contemporaine. AFF24125 (4).

Figure 16. “Schools in Spain.” Photograph, ink on paper. La Contemporaine. AFF24125 (4).

Arts 2020, 9, 80 20 of 23

The use of photography and photomontages allowed the artists working with pacifist organizations to likewise break the tradition of not depicting the bodies of the mutilated war dead that had been Arts 2020, 9, x FOR PEER REVIEW 20 of 23 the de rigueur practice during the First World War. While some artists had attempted to depict the bodies ofThe dead use soldiers of photography in their works and ofphotomontages art during the al war,lowed these thewere artists heavily working censored, with pacifist with many not beingorganizations displayed to likewise until long break after the the tradition conflict of hadnot depicting ended (Malvern the bodies 2004 of the). Unlikemutilated the war artists dead of the pre-Hitlerthat had period beenof the the de interwar rigueur practice decades during who reliedthe First on World traditional War. While techniques some artists like painting, had attempted woodblock engraving,to depict and the sketching, bodies of dead the instantaneoussoldiers in their natureworks of of art photography during the war, allowed these were artists heavily in the censored, later 1930s to capturewith the many immediate not being consequences displayed until of long the violenceafter the conflict of the Spanishhad ended Civil (Malvern War. The2004). ability Unlike to the rapidly reprintartists the of same the pre-Hitler image for period multiple of the publications interwar decades allowed who artists relied to on subvert traditional censors techniques and aided like the painting, woodblock engraving, and sketching, the instantaneous nature of photography allowed pacifist goal to shock the general public into action by displaying the widespread and indiscriminate artists in the later 1930s to capture the immediate consequences of the violence of the Spanish Civil violenceWar. occurring The ability bothto rapidly on the reprint frontlines the same and image in civilian for multiple population publications centers. allowed These artists photographs to subvert and photomontagescensors and alsoaided abandoned the pacifist the goal religious to shock motifs the general of a su publicffering into Christ action and by his displaying grieving the mother foundwidespread in earlier and pacifist indiscriminate art. These violence religious occurring symbols bo embodiedth on the frontlines the communal and in civilian grief of population a society that whilecenters. mourning These those photographs lost in a warand photomontages that had ended, also was abandoned also hopefully the religious looking motifs forward of a towardsuffering a new era ofChrist resurrected and his peace.grieving In mother the face found of a new,in earlier deadlier pacifist foreign art. These conflict, religious that seemedsymbols toembodied be only the the first of manycommunal to come, grief religious of a society iconography that while wasmourning no longer those a lost potent in a symbolwar that of had a shared, ended, international,was also collectivehopefully experience. looking forward toward a new era of resurrected peace. In the face of a new, deadlier Similarly,foreign conflict, the imagesthat seemed focused to be only heavily the first on of the many civilian to come, children religious killed iconography in thefighting, was no longer a drastic a potent symbol of a shared, international, collective experience. difference from the art of the early interwar period that had focused on grieving widows and mothers. Similarly, the images focused heavily on the civilian children killed in the fighting, a drastic Unaffdifferenceected by from the fighting the art of itself, the pacifistsearly interwar working period in Francethat had understood focused on thatgrieving in order widows to gainand and holdmothers. the public’s Unaffected attention by the and, fighting more itself, importantly, pacifists working urge them in France to take understood a stand against that in order the fighting, to theygain needed and tohold agitate the public’s the public attention into and, action. more By importantly, presenting urge supposedly them to take instantaneous a stand against images the of deadfighting, children, they bombed needed out to buildings,agitate the andpublic mothers into action. fleeing By in presenting terror while supposedly attempting instantaneous to protect their children,images pacifists of dead hoped children, to overcomebombed out the buildings, antipathy and that mothers parts fleeing of the in French terror while population attempting felt towardto the conflictprotect intheir Spain children, and inspirepacifists widespreadhoped to overcome political the actionantipathy that that would parts notof the only French bring population an end to the conflictfelt intoward Spain, the but conflict would in Spain also reestablishand inspire widespre a Europeanad political wide andthat would stem the not riseonly of bring militaristic an end to the conflict in Spain, but would also reestablish a European wide peace and stem the rise of governments (Faber 2018). This ’shock and awe’ campaign was the last desperate attempt of the militaristic governments (Faber 2018). This ’shock and awe’ campaign was the last desperate attempt pacifist organizations working throughout France to prevent the next continent-wide conflict. of the pacifist organizations working throughout France to prevent the next continent-wide conflict.

FigureFigure 17. Peter 17. Peter Alama. Alama. “What “What Are You Are Doing You toDoing Stop This?”to Stop Photograph, This?” Photograph, ink on paper. ink Laon Contemporaine.paper. La AFF24125Contemporaine. (36). AFF24125 (36).

Arts 2020, 9, 80 21 of 23

5. Conclusions The Peace Column at the 1937 Exhibition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne was a symbol of the achievements that the peace movement had made since the end of the First World War. Inspired by the victory columns of antiquity, the column replaced scenes of battles and conquest with the olive branch of peace as a decorative motif. Surrounding the column, a pavilion dedicated to the League of Nations served as a reminder that all nations were involved in the struggle for peace. By placing the Peace Column at the top of the exhibition, overlooking the national pavilions, the planners wished to demonstrate that the French government, along with the many pacifist organizations headquartered in the country, could continue to lead the world in its efforts to create and maintain peace, despite the threat that the fascist governments in Europe posed (Wilson 2002). Although an imposing 50 m tall, the Peace Column failed to inspire and reinvigorate the public’s adherence to pacifist policies, with the conservative French newspaper Figaro going so far as to disregard the column as the “Salad of Peace” that had been hastily thrown together and would be quick to rot (“La Salade du Trocadero”, Figaro 1937). Instead of inspiring a renewed fight for peace, the Peace Column became an ironic monument symbolizing the death of a once widespread ideology. Down the street from the Peace Column, hidden within the Spanish pavilion, Picasso’s Guernica presented a modern perspective on the horrors of war, reminding viewers of what the failure to keep the peace looked like. Located in the foyer of the Spanish pavilion, Guernica captured the artist’s anger toward the Nazi bombers that had destroyed the peaceful town of Guernica a few months earlier. While Picasso drew on inspiration from classical works of art for the figures in his painting, the harsh and violent distortions he used to depict his figures allowed for the ugliness of human actions and the horrors of war to be expressed in a manner inconceivable to his artistic forefathers (Blunt 1969). The monochromic canvas refused to award war the distinction of an honorable, glorious, and worthy cause. Instead it focused on the artist’s emotional response to the destruction of his homeland (Martin 2002). The painting made clear to all who saw it that there was no honor to be found in the destruction of innocent bystanders. Much like the Peace Column, Picasso’s Guernica received harsh criticism, as many supporters of the Republican Spanish forces critiqued the artist’s decision to depict the destruction of Guernica without any reference to any Nazi bombers or actions of Franco’s forces in Spain. For these Republican supporters, many of whom were aligned with the communist party, the painting was a missed opportunity to overtly condemn the actions of fascists forces in Spain on a global stage. More conservative viewers remained silent and refused to engage with the painting in public discourse as they found both subject matter and style of the painting disturbing and, for some, against their own political and social perspectives (Martin 2002). Although now considered one of the greatest artistic representations of antiwar sentiment, Guernica generally failed to motivate the interwar public to rise up en masse and demand that international and national governments stop the violence and renew the commitments they made to a perpetual international peace. As symbols of the interwar pacifist agenda to end all future wars, the classically inspired Peace Column and Picasso’s modernist Guernica embodied the divisions within the art created by the pacifist movement. While traditional religious and allegorical motifs centered around the great peacemakers and the grieving figures of the mother and widow proliferated throughout the 1920s, the events of the 1930s forced pacifist organizations and their artists to rely on more dramatic styles, motifs, and images that focused on the newer, deadlier forms of warfare modern technology could unleash on civilians. The use of photography and photomontage from the Spanish Civil War in pacifist art made these theoretical dangers a reality for viewers. Despite all their efforts to maintain and improve the peace laid out in the Versailles Treaty of 1919, pacifist artwork not only failed to capture the attention of audiences, but it was rejected as a compelling symbol of the social, political, and cultural attitudes of the era. Instead, it was the imposing pavilions of the totalitarian and militarized Soviet Union and Nazi Germany that dominated the conversations and images of the 1937 exhibition. Placed in the shadow of the German and Soviet pavilions, the Peace Column and Guernica, much like the aspirations of the Arts 2020, 9, 80 22 of 23 pacifists who created them, failed to captivate audiences or motivate them to hold off the advancement of the militarized totalitarian regimes that surrounded them.

Funding: This research was funded in part by The Cosmos Club Foundation. Acknowledgments: I would like to personally thank the archivist at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and La Contemporaine for their help in finding these pieces of art across a diverse range of collections. Permission to reproduce the images included in this manuscript has been obtained from La Contemporaine, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Imperial War Museum, and The Royal Collection Trust/Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth II. Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

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