The Neues Museum Biel in Austria has begun an investigation into Charles Adriaan Wettach, more commonly known by his stage name ‘Grock’, after the museum acquired archives of Grock that pointed to a possible link . Adolf HitlerAccording to media reports from Friday.
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The collection was donated to the museum by Grock’s 74-year-old nephew, according to AFP.
Grock, famously regarded as the King of the Jokers, was said to have once been a rival of the Jokers Charlie Chaplin’s success, However, Chaplin made fun of Hitler, while Grock appears to have been very fond of him.
The museum wanted to investigate Grock’s personal life before dedicating an exhibition to the artist.
“It is the responsibility of the museum. It is absolutely necessary,” museum director Bernadette Walter told AFP.
Relationship between Hitler and Grock
“Grock said in his autobiography that Hitler came to his dressing room and Hitler watched his show 13 times,” Walter was quoted as saying by AFP. However, this claim has not been fully confirmed yet.
Walter is quoted as saying, “We know that he met Hitler and (Joseph) Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief, and that he performed for wounded German soldiers.”
On May 12, the museum bid on a greeting card reportedly owned by Grock. Sent to Hitler in 1942according to AFP.
“A museum must also tell stories that are not always immaculate,” said the director, explaining that the past should not be forgotten because it is inconvenient.
“He played when he was paid. We know Grock was opportunistic, but that can’t be used as an excuse.”
Walter performed in Nazi Germany and France, the United Kingdom and the United States. He famously declared himself apolitical.
Laurent Diercksen, who published the book Grock: An Extraordinary Destiny in 1999, said that the acrobat, juggler and multi-instrumentalist “didn’t care about politics” and focused on “success”.
“We cannot judge him on the basis of one letter, one isolated act or one revelation taken out of context,” the journalist told AFP.