Betzler, Emil

During his studies at the School of Applied Arts in Elberfeld and later, from 1912 to 1914, at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, Emil Betzler experienced the artistic awakening of Expressionism – a movement later declared by the National Socialists to be an enemy of “German” art. In 1914, he passed the state examination for art teachers before being called up for military service. A serious injury led to the amputation of one of his feet. Beginning in 1916, he lived in Frankfurt am Main, where he worked as a teacher at the Liebig Secondary School. There he joined the Frankfurt Artists’ Association, whose members included Max Beckmann (1884–1950), whom Betzler met in 1925 and whom he also portrayed in a café. During these years, Betzler was firmly anchored in the Frankfurt cultural scene and came into contact with important personalities, including the composer Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), who was portrayed several times by another artist in the collection, Rudolf Wilhelm Heinisch. In 1920, Betzler co-founded the artists’ association Gruppe Ghat, which also included the Expressionists Gottfried Diehl (1896–1956) and Hanns Ludwig Katz (1892–1940) as well as the art dealer Herbert Cramer (1886–1952). They pursued an economic strategy rather than a common artistic concept. Profits and losses were to be shared equally in order to secure a financial base for each member. Betzler immortalised the group in its only known portrait, The Group “Ghat”, which shows him as the artist of the work, brush in hand, next to Diehl (left) and Katz (centre). The association disbanded after only a year, probably because the business idea did not work. While Betzler went on to work as an art teacher and university lecturer, Diehl became a member of the Darmstadt Secession, and Katz emigrated to South Africa to escape the persecution of Jews. From 1930, Betzler worked as a state adviser on art education at secondary schools in Hesse-Nassau and undertook study trips to Italy, France and Switzerland. After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Betzler was charged with “Bolshevik subversion” – the indictment stated: “Betzler incites hatred against the NSDAP and the Führer.… Betzler is a supporter of expressionist, internationalist, Bolshevik, alien art.” These accusations led to Betzler losing his positions as advisor and head of department. In 1937, as part of the “degenerate art” campaign, his works were confiscated from the collection of prints and drawings at the Städel Art Institute in Frankfurt am Main. After the war, Betzler returned to the public eye with exhibitions, lectures and book publications, and resumed his work as a university lecturer and art teacher. In 1950 he was one of the founders of the Association of German Art Teachers and in 1967 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit.

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