page_title: Hans Baluschek
section_title: The Weimar years (1918–35)
hierarchical_section_title: Hans Baluschek / Life / The Weimar years (1918–35)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Gerdt von Bassewitz, Hans Baluschek Peterchens Mondfahrt Einband 1915 English: Peter and Anneli's Journey to the Moon
context_page_description: Hans Baluschek was a German painter, graphic artist and writer.
  Baluschek was a prominent representative of German Critical Realism, and as such he sought to portray the life of the common people with vivid frankness. His paintings centered on the working class of Berlin. He belonged to the Berlin Secession movement, a group of artists interested in modern developments in art. Yet during his lifetime he was most widely known for his fanciful illustrations of the popular children's book Little Peter's Journey to the Moon.
  Hans Baluschek, after 1920, was an active member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which at the time still professed a Marxist view of history.
context_section_description: For Baluschek the artist, the following years were dominated by illustrations of fairytales, and those he contributed to Little Peter's Journey to the Moon (Peterchens Mondfahrt) in 1919 are still considered classics of children's literature. Baluschek illustrated other children's books, among them What the Calendar Tells Us (Was der Kalender erzählt), Into Fairytale-land (In's Märchenland) and About Little People, Little Animals, and Little Things (Von Menschlein, Tierlein, Dinglein), appearing in 1919, 1922 and 1924 respectively. He also illustrated a 1925 edition of Grimm's Fairytales. Meanwhile, he produced posters and promotional materials for the theater and cinema, along with drawings of costumes for producers, and imaginative scenes of Berlin life for the famed Lutter & Wegner wine bar.
  Like many other artists, Balluschek found himself in crisis after the war, but he seized opportunities, and decided to become active in cultural education. He supported production of the film Mother Krause's Journey to Happiness (1919), which depicted the cruelty of poverty and lauded Communism as a saving force. In 1920, he was among founders of the People's School of Greater Berlin (Volkshochschule Gross-Berlin) and taught painting there.
  Baluschek also was among founders of the League for Proletarian Literature (Bund für proletarische Literatur), and in 1924 was appointed to the literary advisory board of the Social Democratic Party's "book circle." He joined the party in 1920 and served as chairman of the artists representatives from the Schöneberg district. He became an advisor to Social Democratic Mayor Gustav Böss, and played a leading role in foundation of the Welfare Bureau for Berlin Artists, of which he was for a time chairman.
  Baluschek illustrated a number of periodicals, including the Social Democratic Illustrated National Banner (Illustrierte Reichsbannerzeitung), and also school books and novels; his fascination with rail transport shows in illustrations from this period. He belonged to the left wing of the Social Democrats, and was comfortable with activities of the Communists, a sizeable political force in Weimar Germany. His painting Future (Zukunft) appeared as the title page of the Communist journal Hammer and Sickle in 1920. Baluschek was among 10 German left-leaning artists who contributed to a 1924 international antiwar conference in Amsterdam. In 1929–31 he was director of the Greater Berlin Art Exhibition.
caption: Baluschek's cover illustration, 1919
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