The Life of Otto Nagel
Otto Nagel was a German painter and graphic designer who lived from 1894 to 1967. Born in Berlin-Wedding as the son of a carpenter and social democrat, he briefly apprenticed with a stained glass painter before joining the Social Democratic Party in 1912. During the First World War, he was a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for refusing to serve. Following the war, he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany in 1920. Throughout the 1920s, he was active in the Berlin art scene and co-founded the "Artist's Relief" division of the Workers International Relief in 1922.
Nagel’s career involved significant roles within German art institutions. He was a co-founder of the Association of Revolutionary Visual Artists and served as the publisher and editor-in-chief of the magazine Eulenspiegel from 1928 to 1932. After the Nazis seized power, much of his work was declared degenerate, and he was incarcerated in concentration camps, including Sachsenhausen, between 1936 and 1937.
Later Years and Legacy
After the Second World War, Nagel lived and worked in Bergholz-Rehbrücke in Potsdam, Brandenburg. He was a co-founder of the Cultural Association of the GDR in 1945 and later moved to Berlin-Biesdorf in 1952. From 1956 to 1962, he served as the president of the DDR Academy of Arts, Berlin. He died in Berlin-Biesdorf in 1967 and was honored with an Ehrengrab in Berlin's Friedrichsfelde Cemetery. In 1970, he was posthumously named an honorary citizen of Berlin.
