They Twist and Turn and Call Themselves German Judges (At the Arsonist Trial in Leipzig), (Sie winden sich und drehen sich und nennen sich deutsche Richter [Zum Brandstifter-Prozess in Leipzig])

Known for his incendiary photomontages, John Heartfield was among the more overtly political German Dada artists. He was a member of the German Communist Party when they were still the strongest opponent to the National Socialist Party, and he often infused his political ideology into his art.

This work was published in the October 1933 issue of Arbeite-Illustrierte-Zeitung Prague, in reference to the trial of Marinus Van der Lubbe and four additional men who were accused of burning the Reichstag and attempting to overthrow the government. The caption below the image read, “Sie windin sich und drehen sich” (They Twist and Turn), which is a reference to the colloquial expression “sich winden wie ein Aal” (to twist like an eel). Within the context of the trial, the conjunction of image and text describes the maneuvers of someone expertly dodging the truth. It is Heartfield’s damning indictment against the presiding judges of the trial, who believed that the fire was part of a Communist conspiracy and condemned Van der Lubbe to death.