The Painter's Hidden Masterpiece: The Story of Johannes Matthaeus Koelz

Against a backdrop of the rise of Fascism in Hitler’s Germany, German artist Johannes Matthaeus Koelz painted a secret anti-war painting. Koelz’s monumental triptych, entitled Thou Shalt Not Kill, was a stark testament to the horrors he had experienced when fighting in the First World War.
Koelz’s anti-war sentiments put him at great risk. Facing imminent arrest in 1937, his masterpiece was cut into pieces and hidden. Koelz fled his homeland to the UK, only to later be sent to Australia as an ‘enemy alien’ in 1940 on the fated ship Dunera. Koelz later returned to the UK and died in Stoke-on-Trent in 1971.

Compiled by German art expert Simon Lake and Koelz’s daughter Ava Farrington, this complete account tells Koelz’s incredible story, reflecting the turbulent history of war-torn twentieth century Europe.