WORK + POLITICS

After his studies, in 1912, Herzfeld worked as a commerical artist in Mannheim, before moving to Berlin in 1913 where he studied at the Kunst-und Handwerkerschule (Arts and Crafts School).

Herzfeld served in the German army in World War I, for one year before being discharged due to ill health. In 1915, Herzfeld began collaborating with Georg Grosz, and one year later, Herzfeld anglicized his name to John Heartfield to protest the patriotic xenophobia of the times.

It was also at this time that Heartfield, along with his brother, Wieland and Georg Grosz began to publish an anti-war, pacifist magazine called the Neue Jugend (New Youth). In 1918, inspired by the Russion Revolution of 1917, Heartfield joined the Communist Party of Germany.