Aug 1, 2026, 1:16 PM

In response to protests by the German ambassador in The Hague and the German consul in Amsterdam, Amsterdam Mayor De Vlugt took the precautionary diplomatic measure of first having Harmen Meurs’ 'Zeitbild' ("Portrayal of times", 1934) removed, later followed by Karl Schwesig’s autobiographical 'Schlegelkeller' (1936) — which recounted his torture by the SA in Düsseldorf.

"Zeitbild" A shirtless man stands upright with his head tilted back and eyes looking upward. Several uniformed figures surround him closely, some holding batons and guns. A bloody swastika was cut into his chest.

'Water torture' Part 11 of "Schlegelkeller": “And now, since the Nazis considered me an intellectual — a ‘brain worker’ — they beat me on the head with two whips (studded with brass buttons), and an ox whip.”

In a dark room, two uniformed SA men, equipped with whips, are standing grinningly above a squatting prisoner, his head forced under a running faucet.