Exhibit shows another side of Marxhausen

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Reinhold Marxhausen is best known as an artist. But the late Concordia University professor also served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Mementoes of his time, including pictures and videos, are currently on display at the Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward.

Kim Marxhausen, his daughter-in-law, said most people didn’t know of Marxhausen’s service.

“World War II veterans didn’t talk about it,” she said.

Marxhausen was a house painter before he entered the Army. After his discharge, he used the GI Bill to attend school, earning a degree in biology and then going to the Art Institute in Chicago.

One of the pieces on display, called Gun Power, was created about the time John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated, Kim said.

“It shows what something looks like when a bullet goes through it,” she said, adding that it also shows World War II’s impact on Marxhausen.

Marxhausen was in the military police during his service and was in more danger from friendly fire than from the Axis, Kim said.

Because Marxhausen spoke German, the Army trained him to speak Serbo-Croatian. He was originally to work in prisoner-of-war camps in Europe but broke his arm before his unit shipped out. Instead, he went to the Philippines where he picked up some Japanese.

Kim said Marxhausen learned a dirty song in Japanese and would sing it when he was photographing Japanese officers to make them smile.

One of the Japanese prisoners he made friends with gave him a Japanese flag signed by members of his family. Kim said her son now has the flag.

Jeanne Wiemer, president of the Seward Arts Council, said she came across information about Marxhausen’s service and the family was ready to contribute to an exhibit.

“It’s good to know the whole person,” Wiemer said.

Marxhausen served in the Philippines in 1944 and 1945. His photos and videos show life on the Army base, including soldiers interacting with local children and peeling potatoes.

Wiemer said this small show gives people a better idea of Marxhausen’s personality.

“He always had an interesting way of looking at things,” she said.

Jerry Meyer, historian at the Nebraska National Guard Museum, said the exhibit was a natural thing for the museum, even though Marxhausen wasn’t in the National Guard.

“We’re honored to have it,” he said. “It has been a great thing to have this year.”

The exhibit is in the Concordia Learning Center at the museum, a logical location for it since Marxhausen served as art professor and chair of the art department at Concordia.

The display will be available at least through the end of September.