In 1924, years before Hitler had come to power, German Artist George Grosz caused outrage in "respectable society" by creating a drawing titled "Ecce Homo." The work portrayed Jesus Christ on the Cross wearing a gas mask and army boots. Grosz captioned the drawing, "Keep your mouth shut and do your duty!" Grosz had himself fought in the trenches of the first world war and so was familiar with the stench of death. His drawing ridiculed the bourgeois who extolled the "Prince of Peace" while simultaniously preparing for war. The state charged Grosz with blasphemy. He was first found guilty but later acquitted in 1932 during an appeal. Grosz fled his native Berlin in 1932 and came to the USA just three weeks before Hitler and his thugs took the reigns of power.