Assessiug the Historical Significance of Krupp Company Housing from Its Origins Through the Nationajl Socialist Era, 1855-1941
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Constructing fe in tâ t in the Ruhr Valley: Assessiug the Historical Significance of Krupp Company Housing from its Origins through the Nationajl Socialist Era, 1855-1941 by Cedric Bolz B A , Simon Fraser University, 1991 P.O.P., Simon Fraser University, 1993 M.A., Simon Fraser University, 1996 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of History We accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard Dr. Tom ^^nd^S, Sup^yisor (Department of History) Dr. "Bferry BiMescombe, Departmental Member (Department of History) Dr. David Zimmerman, Departmental Member (Department of History) Dr. Peter Liddell, Outside Member (Department of Germanic and Russian Studies) Dr. Susan Henderson, External Examiner (School of Architecture, University of Syracuse) © Cedric Bolz, 2003 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying. or other means, without the permission of the author. ABSTRACT Ill As the central pillar of the Krupp steel firm’s much-publicized company welfare initiatives, employee housing has played a vital role in shaping Krupp’s corporate identity from 1855 to the present. The central objective of this dissertation is to examine and critically assess primary and secondary sources written about Krupp housing in order to determine its historical meaning and impact. Previous historical writings on Krupp have predominantly overlooked the fact that at the conclusion of World War One, Essen’s Friedrich Krupp A G was not only Germany’s largest steel producer and leading armaments manufacturer, but with over 12,000 units constructed also the nation’s largest private sector provider of housing. ’ While Krupp’s integral involvement in the German war effort and the brutality of trench warfare would contribute to transforming its international reputation from the “Armoury of the German Empire” to “Merchants of Death”, àomesûc Heimatkultur [native culture] publications were heralding the company’s housing initiatives as blueprints for planning the post-war communities of returning soldiers.^ It is the fascinating dualism of the firm’s reputation as both agents of mass destruction and apparent social welfare innovator that provides the central impetus fer this study. This dissertation examines the social, economic, political and cultural forces that combined to define the historical significance of Krupp housing activities. Of particular interest in this regard was the role Germany’s largest industrial complex played in promoting cultural perceptions about German housing. More specifically, it depicts how Krupp’s extensive housing activities and marketing strategies influenced the early development of the German Kleinsiedlung form IV during a period (1892-1941) that spanned the Wilhelmine, Weimar and National Socialist years. This study thus contributes another chapter to the growing scholarly literature on the history of the German Kleinsiedlung that Tilman Harlander has fittingly described as a ''spezifisch deutsche Geschichte” [specifically German story]. ^ Within this story Krupp’s company housing legacy represented a Sonderweg [a distinct path]. After having analyzed and thoroughly contextualized the wide range of historical writings on Krupp housing, I conclude that by 1918, three Krupp housing projects in particular — the Altenhof, Margarethenhohe, and Heimaterde — represented highly influential and equally controversial working models of urban planning and social engineering. The most pronounced historical impact of Krupp’s housing was that it was not only portrayed but also interpreted as a very bold, large-scale intervention into alleviating the housing crisis long before this problem was directly addressed by the German state after World War One. Krupp not only possessed the initiative, but more importantly, the financial means to transform theory into practice. In particular for reformers of the political right, Krupp’s Sonderstellung [distinct status] in the German political economy, combined with the absence of labour militancy in the nation’s most heavily industrialized city, proved highly inspirational for their urban planning ideas. Between the final years of the Weimar Republic and the outbreak of the Second World War, this impact would reach unprecedented heights. When noted National Socialist idealogue Gottfried Feder published his blueprint for the ideal new cities of the Third Reich in Die Neue Stadt: Versuch der Begründung einer neuen Stadtplanlmnst ans der sozialen Struktur der Bevolkerung [The New City: An attempt at founding a new planning artform out of the social structure of the population] (1939), he cited Krupp’s Margarethenhohe and Heimaterde as „vorbildlich praktische Beispiele'" [exemplary practical examples] o f ^jnusterhaften Grofisiedlungerf' [model large settlements]. Examiners: (Department of History)Dr. Tom Sauodèrs (Department of History)Dr. Dr : Perry Biddesmmbe, Departmental Member (Department of History) Dr . David Zimmermem, Departmental Member (Department of History) Dr. Peter Liddell, Outside Member (Department of Germanic and Russian Studies) Dr. Susan Henderson, External Examiner (School of Architecture, University of Syracuse) VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Dedication vii Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 Chapter One Cannon Kings and Social Visionaries: Tracing Krupp's Corporate Identity (1851-1923) 33 Chapter Two Chasing Ideals: The German Housing Reform Movement before 1919 75 Chapter Three “We strive for the attainable,. An Assessment of Krupp Housing Activities before 1930 111 Chapter Four “Monuments of Foresight” and “Cemeteries for the Living”; Supporters and Critics of Krupp Housing before 1919 159 Chapter Five The State in Control: Weimar Solutions to the German Housing Crisis 198 Chapter Six Krupp Housing in the National Socialist Years: An N.S.D. A.P. Musterbetrieh and its Mustersiedlungen 234 Conclusion 273 Endnotes 288 Bibliography 312 Figures 334 Appendix 365 vil To my family V lll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation only materialized as a direct result of the help, inspiration and support of many individuals. Dr. Martin Kitchen helped to lay the foundations for this project during my Master of Arts research at Simon Fraser University. Cindy Pagnan at the University of Victoria Interlibrary Loans Division fielded years of challenging German requests and located even the most obscure historical sources abroad. Alfred Peter in the Essen Library Heimatkunde Department was an invaluable source on regional history. Dr. Renate Kohne-Lindenlaub and her very professional staff at the Krupp Villa Hügel Archive, and Herwig Miither in particular, were instrumental in locating key materials. The examining committee, Dr. Perry Biddescombe, Dr. Peter Liddell and Dr. David Zimmerman, all contributed to strengthen this study considerably. I am grateful for Dr. Henderson’s insights and helpful suggestions in her role as external examiner. Georgia Sitara has been a friend, colleague and inspiration to me at the University of Victoria throughout the doctoral program. My senior supervisor, Dr. Tom Saunders, was always willing to assist me and provide key input during all stages of this dissertation. I could not have hoped for a more accommodating and supportive Doktorvater. Much of my interest in German history was shaped during my childhood growing up in Essen. The fascinating personal stories of my grandparents, Helmut and Kathe Bolz and Gerda Boenke, were a constant source of inspiration for me. Whereas these individuals piqued my interest, my godmother, Hella Hinsel, repeatedly sustained it by providing words of encouragement and taking me on field trips to odd places like Eisenheim and Emscher-Lippe. My parents, Helga and Roy Ovington, along with my sisters, Jessica and Emily, were always there for me even during the most challenging phases of this undertaking. My mother Helga has always modelled that will and perseverance can overcome even the most challenging of obstacles. My wife, Yasmin Yalpani, has had the greatest stake in this dissertation from the start. Without her unwavering love and infinite support, this dissertation stood no chance of completion. I am indebted to all my family members who never lost faith in me. INTRODUCTION The initial impetus for this dissertation derived from a 1996 Master of Arts thesis on the post-World War Two reconstruction of housing in the Ruhr River Valley entitled: “Zero Hour has come and Gone - Allied efforts to alleviate the Ruhr Housing Shortage from 1945 to 1949”. At the heart of this initial study was the concept of a German Stunde Null or a Zero Hour; a new beginning after the total collapse of the National Socialist regime as it applied to the re-construction of post-war German communities. In other words, it addresssed the extent to which the state housing initiatives after 1945 represent a break or continuum with the policies and plans of the National Socialists. This meant not only trying to identify what exactly the N.S.D.A.P. housing policies were, but also establishing whether or not these were simply continuations of pre-1933 traditions. Predictably, the tidy “zero hour” construct became more and more blurred as the mounting research material eventually pushed the chronological scope of the study back well beyond even the first German State Housing Law of 1919. Inevitably, tracing the origins of housing traditions in the Ruhr Valley meant examining the unprecedented