ARTIST TOOK ON NATIVE AMERICAN, ANTI-NAZI CAUSES.

Byline: TOM SHARPE 

RICHARD ERDOES, 1912-2008

Artist: Drew cartoons against Hitler, forcing him to flee Europe

Richard Erdoes, whose anti-Nazi cartoons forced him to flee Europe for America where he became involved with American Indian dissidents, died Wednesday at his home in Santa Fe at age 96.

The noted artist, author and photographer was born July 7, 1912 -- three months after the Titanic sunk -- in Frankfurt, Germany. He grew up in Frankfurt, Berlin, Budapest and Vienna, where he went to art school.

He began drawing political cartoons for an underground student newspaper in Berlin, then continued the risky work in Vienna where he never stayed in one place for more than a few days.

According to the epilogue of his best-known book, Lame Deer -- Seeker of Visions, his caricatures included "un-Germanic-looking Hitlers, fat and blubbery Goerings and dwarfish Dr. Goebbelses."

An unpublished autobiography, tentatively titled A Cat Has Nine Lives, tells how he once found himself standing next to Adolph Hitler at a commemorative tree planting in Vienna. Hitler, unable to dig a hole with his spade, began to rant, rave, blow spittle and dance on his tiptoes. Realizing Hitler was "a clown and buffoon," Erdoes wrote, he doubled over with laughter, even though he knew this would mean being beaten.

"What a way to go, I thought, waiting for the blows to fall," he wrote. "No blows came. Instead there was a stirring, a murmuring, hands patting me on the back, the voice whispering in my ear. ... 'We, too, are overcome by emotion, dear comrade.' They thought I was weeping. I played along, shielding my face with my hands. ... Peeking through my fingers, I saw I had inspired Hitler to new heights of ecstasy. He

was actually hopping up and down like a broken-winged chicken."

In 1940, Erdoes left Europe on a British ship bound for New York City, where he was taken in by two Viennese friends. He worked as a freelance illustrator for Life, Stage and other magazines, plus several children's books. He eventually wrote a few children's books of his own. He also met the woman who became his wife, Jean Morton, an art director at Time-Life.

Through their association with Life, the Erdoeses got to know American Indian Movement members who often stayed at their Upper West Side apartment during the

1973 Wounded Knee uprising. He would later draw parallels with the anti-Nazi movement. "We didn't run out on each other then and we won't run out on you," he told Lakota leaders, according to a biography of the Erdoeses when they became Santa Fe Living Treasures.

One of the guests, John Fire Lame Deer, told him that "his medicine told him" that Erdoes should write a story about American Indians. "Impossible," Erdoes told him. "Not only am I not a writer, but English is my second language." But Lame Deer persisted, so Erdoes wrote a sample chapter and an outline "just to get rid of him." Within two days, they had a book contract that led

to Lame Deer -- Seeker of Visions.

That was followed by Crying for a Dream, American Indian Myths and Legends (co-authored with Alfonso Ortiz), Ojibwa Warrior (with Dennis Banks) and Lakota Woman (with Mary Crow Dog), which became a made-for-TV movie. He also amassed a collection of 70,000 photographs on Native Americans that he eventually sold to Yale University.

Erdoes first visited New Mexico with his wife in 1952. In 1975, they began to live in Santa Fe, though they kept their New York residence until 1986. After Jean's death in 1995, Erdoes remained busy at their east-side home with writing projects.

John and Emily Heller, who often accompanied Erdoes to hear different kinds of live music, said he rarely complained about anything, but three years ago, as his body began to fail, he told them, "You know, I have a 20-year-old mind in the body of a

93-year-old man."

He is survived by two sons, Rick and Erich, both of Santa Fe; daughter Jaki Erdoes of Mount Desert, Maine; two grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.

Rick Erdoes, who has been his father's caregiver for the last year, said Wednesday that funeral services have not yet been finalized.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or [e-mail].

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