Devastation Gallery

Murderous Adolf Hitler criticised by Beethoven and Goethe

Satrical postcard by Paul Barbier (dates unknown) showing a violent Adolf Hitler (with blood very much on his hands) being lambasted by the doyens of German Culture Beethoven and Goethe (who state: "Calamity! What did you do with Germany!"). Hitler has torn up every treaty and agreement and murdered women and children. Date: 1939

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Earthquake - Damage to the Cathedral, Messina, Sicily

Sicily, Italy - 12th Century Norman Cathedral of Messina badly damaged during an earthquake in 1908. King Conrad is buried inside, alongside several archbishops. The original structure has been rebuilt twice following the earthquake and Allied bombings in 1943. In Messina, 91% of structures were destroyed and 70, 000 residents were killed. Date: 1908

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

Adana, Turkey - following the Armenian Massacre of 1909

Adana, Turkey - following the Armenian Massacre of April 1909. A religious-ethnic clash in the city of Adana amidst governmental upheaval, resulted in a series of anti-Armenian pogroms throughout the district. Reports estimated that the massacres in Adana Province resulted in 15, 000 to 30, 000 deaths. Turkish and Armenian revolutionary groups had worked together to secure the restoration of constitutional rule in 1908. On 31 March (or 13 April, by the Western calendar) a military revolt directed against the Committee of Union and Progress seized Istanbul. While the revolt lasted only ten days, it precipitated a massacre of Armenians in the province of Adana that lasted over a month. Date: 1909

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection