Heinz Battke was born into an upper-middle-class family in Berlin. After the death of her husband, Heinz’s mother Ada Battke married the conductor and composer Dr Rudolf Cahn-Speyer, who was heavily involved in the debate about copyright in music. In 1918, Heinz Battke began his studies in Berlin. Battke gave his first solo exhibition in 1927. After completing his studies in Berlin, Battke moved to Paris. In 1935, he was offered the headship of the painting class at the Rhineland Academy. However, this would have required him to join the Nazi Party, which he refused to do. As a result, he was declared a “degenerate” artist.
He went into exile, joining his mother, who had already emigrated to Florence with her husband. His friend Rudolf Levy was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and put in the Le Murate prison in Florence. Battke tried to have him freed, but was unsuccessful, and Levy died while being deported. In 1944, after the liberation of Florence, Battke was captured by the Allies and interned. He was freed in July 1945 and allowed to return to Florence. A friend of Battke’s showed several of his works to the art patron Hanna Bekker vom Rath, whereupon she organised an exhibition. In 1956, Battke was appointed the head of the free design class at the Städel Art Institute in Frankfurt. He was elected to the committee of the Frankfurt Secession in 1957.