Yes Sir

This work satirically presents a Second World War internee standing to attention within the confines of an internment camp.
The artist, Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack (1893–1965), had served in the German army during the First World War, but fled Nazi Germany for Britain in March 1936. Before leaving Germany he had taught at the Weimar Bauhaus, a highly influential school of modern art and design where he had earlier studied.
Hirshfeld-Mack lived as a refugee in Britain until 1940, when he was deported to Australia as an enemy alien in the Dunera. Despite the efforts of fellow artist Stella Bowen, he was interned at Hay and Orange in New South Wales, and then at Tatura in Victoria. However, he was released in 1942 to become art master at Geelong Church of England Grammar School. The school’s headmaster, Sir James Darling, later praised his “integrity and enthusiasm”, describing him as “a beautiful character and an original teacher”. After the war ended, Hirschfeld-Mack remained in Australia.