Read Online Fromms: How Julis Fromm's Condom Empire Fell to the Nazis by Michael Sontheimer, Götz Aly, Shelley Frisch - Free Book Online Page A
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weekends, strollers and architecturebuffs gathered in front of the villa and discussed its unusual aesthetics; Walter Gropius included photographs in his
Bauhaus Book No. 1
:
International Architecture
. Hans Poelzig raved about their work, and proclaimed them two of “the most interesting young modern architects.”
On left: Rolling of rubber blocks, ca. 1935
On right: Dipping room with frames holding glass mandrels
for condoms, ca. 1935
Korn and Weitzmann, like several of their fellow architects, worked primarily for middle-class Jewish clients. Since these clients were not steeped in Christian-German traditions, they were able to understand and embrace modern architecture as an expression of social and technical progress. “We had a relatively free hand in creating our designs,” said Korn. “We experimented like crazy and were profoundly influenced by the experiments of others.” He considered himself an exponent of New Objectivity, which he described as an attempt “to establish boundless beauty in ordinary objects in an appropriate art form.” In doing so, hesought to “consecrate” ordinary life and “produce architecture that was as highly disciplined as it was adaptable to circumstances.” Whatever their political and aesthetic differences, Korn wrote, the members of this group considered themselves “part of a unified force.”
Korn and Weitzmann design
for a Fromms Act office building
on Friedrichstrasse, ca. 1929
Korn regarded the Dutch De Stijl group and the Russian Constructivists (whose slogan was “Art for the people”) as kindred spirits who viewed architecture and urban planning within a social and economic context. From his point of view, the revolutions in Russia and Germany in 1917 and 1918 provided “a stream of new ideas” for architecture. “Collective labor,” he declared, “is the true key to progress.” In 1929, just when the nouveau riche capitalist Fromm was presenting him with his most important commission, Korn founded the Collective for Socialist Construction. This group, which consisted of predominantly radical left-wing students of architecture, designed a blueprint for Berlin called “The City asHotel and Factory,” and during the German construction trade show in Berlin organized a counterevent dubbed the Proletarian Construction Exhibition. 27
On left: Siegfried Weitzmann, ca. 1950
On right: Arthur Korn, ca. 1930
Korn made his first trip to London with Walter Gropius in 1934 to attend the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM). He then worked in Zagreb for two years before settling down in England, where he devoted himself to his second passion, urban planning. He began teaching at the Oxford School of Architecture in 1941, and in 1945 joined the faculty of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Korn captivated several generations of students “with his very un-English enthusiasm for the subject of architecture.” His lectures in London drew large crowds, and sometimes ran late into the night.
Max Taut arranged for the architecture department of the Berlin Academy of Arts to have Korn named a special member. He accepted the honor “with great pleasure.” After Arthur Korn retired in 1966, he moved to Austria, where he died in 1978.
Siegfried Weitzmann emigrated to Palestine in 1936. He was retrained there as a surveyor, and attempted to learn the Hebrew language, which he found exceedingly difficult, as did many German Jews. Already past the age of fifty, “he eked out a living by selling liquor,” his second wife recalled, “going uphill and downhill in Jerusalem, despite his deteriorating heart condition.” Eventually he managed to find work at a construction company, and wrote a book called
Study of Kafka
, which was published posthumously. Weitzmann’s book contained descriptions of his own experiences as a victim of German tyranny, as an uprooted Jewish emigrant and survivor: “The judgment,” he
Bauhaus Book No. 1
:
International Architecture
. Hans Poelzig raved about their work, and proclaimed them two of “the most interesting young modern architects.”
On left: Rolling of rubber blocks, ca. 1935
On right: Dipping room with frames holding glass mandrels
for condoms, ca. 1935
Korn and Weitzmann, like several of their fellow architects, worked primarily for middle-class Jewish clients. Since these clients were not steeped in Christian-German traditions, they were able to understand and embrace modern architecture as an expression of social and technical progress. “We had a relatively free hand in creating our designs,” said Korn. “We experimented like crazy and were profoundly influenced by the experiments of others.” He considered himself an exponent of New Objectivity, which he described as an attempt “to establish boundless beauty in ordinary objects in an appropriate art form.” In doing so, hesought to “consecrate” ordinary life and “produce architecture that was as highly disciplined as it was adaptable to circumstances.” Whatever their political and aesthetic differences, Korn wrote, the members of this group considered themselves “part of a unified force.”
Korn and Weitzmann design
for a Fromms Act office building
on Friedrichstrasse, ca. 1929
Korn regarded the Dutch De Stijl group and the Russian Constructivists (whose slogan was “Art for the people”) as kindred spirits who viewed architecture and urban planning within a social and economic context. From his point of view, the revolutions in Russia and Germany in 1917 and 1918 provided “a stream of new ideas” for architecture. “Collective labor,” he declared, “is the true key to progress.” In 1929, just when the nouveau riche capitalist Fromm was presenting him with his most important commission, Korn founded the Collective for Socialist Construction. This group, which consisted of predominantly radical left-wing students of architecture, designed a blueprint for Berlin called “The City asHotel and Factory,” and during the German construction trade show in Berlin organized a counterevent dubbed the Proletarian Construction Exhibition. 27
On left: Siegfried Weitzmann, ca. 1950
On right: Arthur Korn, ca. 1930
Korn made his first trip to London with Walter Gropius in 1934 to attend the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM). He then worked in Zagreb for two years before settling down in England, where he devoted himself to his second passion, urban planning. He began teaching at the Oxford School of Architecture in 1941, and in 1945 joined the faculty of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Korn captivated several generations of students “with his very un-English enthusiasm for the subject of architecture.” His lectures in London drew large crowds, and sometimes ran late into the night.
Max Taut arranged for the architecture department of the Berlin Academy of Arts to have Korn named a special member. He accepted the honor “with great pleasure.” After Arthur Korn retired in 1966, he moved to Austria, where he died in 1978.
Siegfried Weitzmann emigrated to Palestine in 1936. He was retrained there as a surveyor, and attempted to learn the Hebrew language, which he found exceedingly difficult, as did many German Jews. Already past the age of fifty, “he eked out a living by selling liquor,” his second wife recalled, “going uphill and downhill in Jerusalem, despite his deteriorating heart condition.” Eventually he managed to find work at a construction company, and wrote a book called
Study of Kafka
, which was published posthumously. Weitzmann’s book contained descriptions of his own experiences as a victim of German tyranny, as an uprooted Jewish emigrant and survivor: “The judgment,” he
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