Sensitive content: QAGOMA acknowledges that some visitors may be disturbed by the imagery in this painting, which denounces the rise of Nazism in 1930s Europe.

Horrified by the anti-Semitism he encountered in Europe in the late 1930s, Melbourne-born artist Peter Purves Smith painted The Nazis, Nuremberg to show his contempt for — and to warn of — the rising fascist regime.

The painter ridiculed the ‘brown shirts’ with absurdly exaggerated salutes as they goosestep in formation at a political rally. The event and others like it were widely reported in the news of the day, sending shockwaves through Europe where the threat of war engendered increasing despair.

Purves Smith communicated a strong sense of foreboding in this painting, with the storm clouds overhead and the bombed buildings, foreshadowing the atrocities Second World War. While Hitler was yet to invade Poland at the time the work was painted, concerned European citizens understood that Germany’s occupation of Austria on 12 March 1938, and rallies like the one depicted by Purves Smith, were overt acts of aggression that would have grave consequences.

The swastika featured on Nazi flags was originally an ancient symbol with significance for many cultures. It remains an emblem of good fortune and prosperity in the context of the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions. However, in a demonstration of how culture and meaning can be co-opted for ill-intent, the Nazi Party perversely appropriated the design, layering it with a new and deeply corrupted meaning.

As a public institution that fosters access to our cultural heritage, it is vital that QAGOMA continues to exhibit complex and sometimes confronting works and support contemporary audiences with their understanding.