Das kleine Grosz-Museum

A small museum in Berlin’s Schöneberg district once housed a focused collection of George Grosz’s art. It stood in a converted 1950s filling station on Bülowstraße, its compact rooms lit by the same pumps that once served cars. The building belonged to Swiss gallerist Juerg Judin, who opened the museum in May 2022 and lent many works from his private holdings. The displays traced Grosz’s development from early drawings to later collages, each exhibition curated with historian Pay Matthis Karstens. Five shows unfolded in turn, beginning with ‘Gross vor Grosz’ and ending with ‘Was sind das für Zeiten?’ pairing Grosz with Brecht and Piscator. Catalogues accompanied every run, edited by the museum or by Birgit Möckel and Rosa von der Schulenburg. Inside, visitors found Grosz’s sharp Berlin street scenes alongside Soviet sketches and satirical figures called Stick Men. The former pumps now framed vitrines of collages, while outside the red-brick façade recalled the site’s utilitarian past. Though the museum closed in late 2024, its brief life offered a clear view of Grosz’s world.