Cultural Modernity in Breslau, 1918

2RPP Beyond the Bauhaus 2RPP Social History, Popular Culture, and Politics in Germany Kathleen Canning, Series Editor Recent Titles Three-Way Street: Jews, Germans, and the Transnational Jay H. Gellar and Leslie Morris, Editors Beyond the Bauhaus: Cultural Modernity in Breslau, 1918–33 Deborah Ascher Barnstone Stop Reading! Look! Modern Vision and the Weimar Photographic Book Pepper Stetler The Corrigible and the Incorrigible: Science, Medicine, and the Convict in Twentieth- Century Germany Greg Eghigian An Emotional State: The Politics of Emotion in Postwar West German Culture Anna M. Parkinson Beyond Berlin: Twelve German Cities Confront the Nazi Past Gavriel D. Rosenfeld and Paul B. Jaskot, Editors Consumption and Violence: Radical Protest in Cold-War West Germany Alexander Sedlmaier Communism Day-to-Day: State Enterprises in East German Society Sandrine Kott Envisioning Socialism: Television and the Cold War in the German Democratic Republic Heather L. 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Gelbin German Literature on the Middle East: Discourses and Practices, 1000–1989 Nina Berman Franz Radziwill and the Contradictions of German Art History, 1919–45 James A. van Dyke For a complete list of titles, please see www.press.umich.edu 2RPP Beyond the Bauhaus Cultural Modernity in Breslau, 1918– 33 Deborah Ascher Barnstone University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor 2RPP Copyright © Deborah Ascher Barnstone 2016 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by the University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid- free paper 2019 2018 2017 2016 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Barnstone, Deborah Ascher, author. Title: Beyond the Bauhaus : cultural modernity in Breslau, 1918–33 / Deborah Ascher Barnstone. Description: Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2016] | Series: Social history, popular culture, and politics in Germany | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016010865| ISBN 9780472119905 (hardcover : acid-free paper) | ISBN 9780472121946 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Wrocław (Poland)—Civilization—20th century. | Wrocław (Poland)— Intellectual life—20th century. | Modernism (Aesthetics)—Poland—Wrocław—History—20th century. | Arts, German—Poland—Wrocław—History—20th century. | City and town life— Poland—Wrocław—History—20th century. | Bauhaus—Influence—History. | Germany— Intellectual life—20th century. | Germany—History—1918–1933. Classification: LCC DK4780.2 .B37 2016 | DDC 709.438/52—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016010865 2RPP To my beloved husband, Robert, and children, Alexi and Maya 2RPP 2RPP Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Breslau and the Culture of the Weimar Republic 1 1 Tradition and Modernity: Urban Planning in Breslau 22 2 Another Way to Understand Modernism: Breslau Wohnung und Werkbund Ausstellung 1929 51 3 The Breslau Academy of Fine and Applied Arts 81 4 Dissemination of Taste: Breslau Collectors, Arts Associations, and Museums 108 5 Between Idealism and Realism: Architecture in Breslau 133 6 A Nonideological Modernism: Breslau Artists in the 1920s 162 Epilogue 196 Notes 207 Bibliography 237 Index 245 2RPP 2RPP Acknowledgments I first heard of the city of Breslau as a child from my father, Abraham Ascher, who was born there. I must confess, however, that for decades the city re- mained only a remote name since my father’s family had all fled or been mur- dered by the Nazis, and Breslau after the war became Wroclaw, a Polish city situated behind the Iron Curtain that was virtually inaccessible to those of us in the West. Indeed, I knew shamefully little of my father’s Heimatstadt until my father decided to author his own study on the city, specifically on the Jewish community that had resided there during the Nazi period between 1933 and 1941. It was, in fact, toward the final stages of producing his book that my father called one day to inform me that he had discovered material of art histori- cal interest that might prove interesting to me. He sent me a small collection of official Nazi correspondence from 1935– 37 about the extraordinary art Nazi officials had discovered in private Jewish collections in Breslau. My father was correct; the letters were a revelation, although not precisely for the reasons that he had anticipated. For, as I researched Breslau, I soon discovered that it had been home to an extraordinary community of forward-thinking people during the 1920s who were arts patrons but also artists, architects, and urban design- ers, many of whom are still world renowned today. Equally exciting was the discovery that almost none of this history had been documented or dissemi- nated in any language, much less in the English-speaking world. Thus, I have to thank my father first and foremost for this project. As with any book- length study there are innumerable people who offered support, advice, and expertise along the way. Franziska Bollerey enthusiasti- cally encouraged me to pursue the project when I was formulating the idea for the book. The German Academic Exchange Service, Washington State Univer- sity Saupe Fund for Excellence, the Technical University Delft, and University of Technology Sydney Centre for Contemporary Design Practice helped defray 2RPP x Acknowledgments the costs of traveling to Germany and Poland in order to conduct the necessary archival research. The archivists at the Wroclaw state archive, University of Wroclaw Library, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Architecture Museum in Wroclaw gave me invaluable help locating materials and permitted me to pho- tocopy enormous quantities of material relevant to my work. I owe a special thanks to Jerzy Ilkosz, Piotr Łukaszewicz, and Juliet Golden. Juliet was in- domitable chasing down images and permissions for me. Beate Störtkuhl at the Bundesinstitut für Kultur und Geschichte der Deutschen im östlichen Europa pointed me in the right direction at the beginning of the research and gener- ously shared some excellent resource material from her institute with me. The archivists at the German National Museum in Nuremburg; Staatsbibliothek in Berlin; the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz; the Werkbund Archive; the Bau- haus Archive; and the Academy of the Arts, in particular Heidemarie Bock; Petra Albrecht; Tanja Morgenstern; and Dr. Eva-Marie Barkofen went beyond the call of duty in order to offer assistance. In addition to sitting in archives and libraries, I was fortunate to be able to interview several people who offered vital perspectives on Breslau; the interview with Brigitte Würtz, Oskar Moll’s daughter, helped me understand the cultural milieu in Breslau during the 1920s as well as the outstanding art made by both her parents; the interview with Chaim Haller about his wife Ruth’s father, Ismar Littmann, provided me with important insights into collecting in Breslau; Walter Laqueur shared some key memories; and the lawyer Willi Korte helped me understand the complex nature of looted art research and recovery. Portions of three chapters were previously published as articles. Part of chapter 4, “The Breslau Academy of Fine and Applied Arts,” was published in the Journal of Architectural Education; part of chapter 6, “Between Idealism and Realism: Architecture in Breslau,” was published in the New German Cri- tique; and part of chapter 5, “Dissemination of Taste: Breslau Collectors, Art Associations, and Museums,” was published in The Art Journal. In addition, much of the material in this book was initially tested in academic conference presentations, from which I received detailed and valuable feedback. These included the German Studies Association and the Association of Art Historians of Great Britain. The two readers for University of Michigan Press, professors Elizabeth Otto and Claire Zimmerman, both gave the manuscript a thorough reading, delivering extremely insightful and helpful criticism and direction at a crucial time in the project. Without their tough but thoughtful comments, the book would have been far weaker indeed. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband, 2RPP Acknowledgments xi Robert, and my children, Alexander and Maya, who all tolerated my obsession with Breslau, my frequent absences, and hours upon hours spent glued to my computer. My children are convinced that I cannot survive

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