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kunsttexte/ostblick 3/2019 - 1 5arolina Jara )he Architecture of the )hir& +eich in "ilesia an& "patial ?lanning in the 9$erman :ast;D A quick glance at the map shows what ‘frontier struggle really means in "ilesia #$ren%landkampf'( )he external bor&ers of "ilesia run into 1,200 km in length, while the region itself is connecte& with the Reich through a bottleneck* not even one-fourth of these bor&ers. )he $auleiter of "ilesia #"chlesien'* -osef .agner* in an interview with "chlesische )ages%eitung /1937) 1 +esearchers tend to focus on individual buildings or juxtaposition of black and white brings to mind the sections within a cit!2 unfortunately, this prevents a conflicting concepts of light and &arkness as the sym- more holistic view being taken of the urban fabric( bols of goo& and evil. As such, the )hird +eich ap- Hence* a glance at the map ma! not only be taken for pears to be a lonely island* oppresse& and stifle& b! auxiliary reasons, such as locating particular spots, it neighbouring countries. .hat gains in significance are ma! also provoke new research questions. Attempte& the eastern provinces of $ermany, i.e( the exclave of new rea&ings of maps and urban plans have given East ?russia and the projecting expanse of "ilesia( 4t birth to a new field of study on cartography and a new must be a&&e& that the map represents $ermany metho&ology which is use& mainly by historians.2 after the Annexation of Austria on 12 @arch 1938 #An- 4n the 1920s, Karl Haushoffer invente& a new type schluss'* that is, after the launch of territorial expan- of map known as the suggestive map*3 which became sion to the South-East( increasingly popular in interwar publications as an ex- )he geopolitical situation of "ilesia fe& into the cellent me&ium for representing shifting geopolitics narrative present in the accounts from the time( )he with a wide arra! of visual means, including arrows press releases and literature of the time gave weight and geometric figures. )his type of imagery was a to the border question and special tasks for the au- perfect carrier for political content and propaganda( thorities of the region and its population. )his rhetoric As such, it ma&e its wa! to numerous publications can be trace& in official political statements, e.g( which often postulate& the revision of the borders and ma&e &uring an interview b! the $auleiter of "ilesia* lambaste& the )reat! of Versailles /1919) as particu- -osef .agner,A as well as official &ocuments and cor- larly damaging to the Reich. respondence( )he geographical location of "ilesia A glance at the &iagrammatic map of the +eich serve& as an important reason in lobbying for invest- from 1938 /8ig( 1)* one of the many cartographic rep- ment in the area( )he investment was intende& to resentations in the publications from the time* gives a consolidate the eastern flank of the Reich.B better idea of the peculiar location of "ilesia* which )he sources from the era feature a peculiar narrat- the sources of the time &escribe& as 9a bulwark in the ive* or newspeak* which 4 would suggest ma! be $erman "outh-East; #<ollwerk im &eutschen "=&os- calle& 9frontier &iscourse(; )he &iscourse* which pen- ten'( )he plan provides a persuasive representation etrate& official statements b! Na%i authorities, began which operates with a contrasting juxtaposition of col- to intensif! in the late 1930s as $ermany brace& itself ours. 4nterestingly, $ermany is rendere& in white* for military conflict( "ilesia was &escribe& as an while the surrounding countries are painte& black( The eastern outpost of the +eich( :ro&e& b! its national* 5arolina -ara )he Architecture of the )hir& +eich in "ilesia an& kunsttexte(&e/ostblick 3/2019 - 2 "patial ?lanning in the 9$erman :ast; tion calle& for the expertise of "ilesia-base& profes- sionals: a variet! of specialists in a variet! of fields &ue to the territorial proximit! and a long tra&ition of research, most notably on "lavic nations. <eing a frontier province and a melting pot ma! have been "ilesia’s great asset( 4n the 1920s and 1930s, researchers in "ilesia’s urban planning focuse& their interest and analysis on two areas: me&iaeval location privileges, known as settlement with the @ag&eburg or $erman law* and King 8re&erick’s Colonization in the 18th century.7 <oth exemplifie& $erman colonization mo&els and a long tra&ition of $ermanization in "ilesia’s architec- ture and urban planning( )he issue is yet to be ana- lyze& in &etail. )his particularly concerns the &eplo!- ment of historical settlement mo&els and stylistic 8ig( 1 "chematic map of the $erman Reich from 1938 mo&els in the colonization of the eastern territories, which as the authorities and urban planners believe& ethnic* religious, and cultural &iversit!* the region was calle& for a total makeover. thus susceptible to 9foreign” influence* "lavic in par- ticular. )hese accounts pro&uce& a mounting sense A ?russian-"t!le ?ublic <uil&ing of &anger, and as such calle& for the revival of $er- )he New A&ministration #Neue +egierung' building in manhoo& [Eeutschtum' in the area(F .rocław/Breslau, which now houses the Lower )hese visual metaphors travelle& to &omains other "ilesia ?rovincial Gffice /8ig( 2)* is worthy of note* be- than politics or propaganda( "cientists, too* began to ing the )hird +eich’s largest public building to have use similar rhetorical &evices. 4n so &oing* the! pic- been erecte& in "ilesia( Urban plans from 1935–1937, ture& a vivid image of their challenging circumstances which are held at the Jonstruction Archive in and the importance of their work* which was to bring .rocław*9 &emonstrate the evolution of the building’s a sea change in Eastern Europe( 4t must be emphas- architectural concept( )hat said* the! prove& insuffi- ize& that the &iscourse on the risks carrie& b! the cient to establish its &esigner. 8ormerly, the &esign 9"lavic element; ha& figure& in aca&emic publications was attribute& to 8elix <räuler,10 a largely unknown long before it was harnesse& b! Na%i war propa- government planner #+egierungsbaurat'( Alternatively, ganda( <räuler was said to have collaborate& with loc- Gne important trend in this respect was the Gst- ally-base& architects such as Herbert <oehm and forschung* i.e(* a school of historical research on the +ichard Konwiarz(11 )hese ambiguities can now be East* which &evelope& greatly in .rocław/Breslau( &ispelle& thanks to the surve! of perio&ical publica- Eastern studies were pursue& b! Hermann Aubin and tions from the time and an exhibition catalogue show- his fellow researchers, who create& the Eastern casing the building’s mo&el. Europe 4nstitute #Gsteuropa 4nstitut'( .rocław/Breslau )he +egierung building in .rocław/Breslau was soon achieve& the status of a ma>or hub for Gst- &esigne& b! the <erlin-base& architect Arthur +eck in forschung( As the Na%is rose to power, this line of re- collaboration with Erich <O&&icker. 4ts 1:100 mo&el search became increasingly politicize&(0 /8ig( 3, A1 was showcase& at the prestigious "econd )he wa! aca&emic research was &eploye& in set- $erman Architecture and Art and Crafts Exhibition #2. tlement designs and eastern colonization concepts, or Eeutsche Architektur- und Kunsthand- werkausstel- how it penetrate& them* is of much interest to archi- lung* 10.12.1938–10.04.1939] at the Haus &er tecture and urban planning( )he process of coloniza- Eeutschen 5unst in Munich as a mo&el design of the 5arolina -ara )he Architecture of the )hir& +eich in "ilesia an& kunsttexte(&e/ostblick 3/2019 - 3 "patial ?lanning in the 9$erman :ast; 8ig( 2 )he Cew A&ministration #Ceue Regierung' buil&ing in .rocHaw/Breslau, now the Lower "ilesia ?rovincial Gffice ?russian "tate <uilding A&ministration #?reußische gen. Ch. &e $aulle’a in to&ay’s Zabrze( )he building "taatshochbauverwaltung'*12 the office responsible for was complete& in 1930.1B public buildings and subordinate to the $erman @in- )he &ecision to &evelop the building ha& been istry of Finance [8inanzministerium'(13 ma&e at the &awn of Na%i rule in $ermany, probably .ho was Arthur Reck and his local associate Erich in 1934, a long time before .rocław/Breslau was <O&&icker? )he former was an architect and govern- covere& b! the Law on the +e&esign of $erman Cit- ment planner2 from 1937 he was in charge of the ies” #$eset% über &ie Neugestaltung &eutscher ?russian "tate <uilding A&ministration #?reußische "tN&te' of Ath Gctober 1937 and urban plans b! the "taatshochbauverwaltung' and the Eepartment of <erlin-base& architect .erner @arch /1938–1939)(1F <uilding at the +eich 8inance @inistry /8inanzminis- )hus, the building was designe& at the initial stages of terium1( His earlier architectural &esigns in "ilesia in- the process which saw the metamorphosis of the cit! clude& "s ?eter and ?aul’s Church in Gpole/Oppeln into an East $erman metropolis. )he +egierung build- /1923–1924)* which &rew heavily on Gttonian archi- ing itself and the a&ministrative facilities to be &e- tecture(1A Gne of +eck's more famous works is the velope& nearb!* including the High ?resident’s Gffice mint building at @ühlendamm 3 in <erlin, &esigne& in #GberprNsidium'* were intende& to create a new go,- collaboration with 8rit% Keibel in the mid1930s. Erich ernment quarter around to&ay’s plac "połec%ny #then <O&&icker, who was also known as <O&&iger, was a Lessingplat%'( town planner active in Upper "ilesia2 he &esigne& the 4n .erner @arch’s &esigns, the area rose to be- police hea&quarters #?olizeipräsidium in Hindenburg' come a $auforum* a showpiece space with a mar- locate& at the intersection of ulica 1 @aja and ulica ching square as the very embo&iment of power.