H.Köhn Schelling's Work During National Socialism
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1 Architect Erich Schelling's (1904-1986) work during National Socialism Erich Schelling: Tabular resume * Born September 11, 1904 in Wiesloch 1910-1919 Attended Elementary School and Secondary School (Humboldt School) in Karlsruhe, 1919, Minor Secondary Diploma 1919-1921 Apprenticeship as a Draftsman at the Pfeifer & Grossman architect association, Karlsruhe and Mühlheim an der Ruhr 1921-1923 Bricklayer apprenticeship at the Friedrich Pfeifer construction company, Karlsruhe 1923-1928 Studies in Architecture at the State Technical College in Karlsruhe (today it is known as University Karlsruhe – Technology and Commerce); work at multiple architecture firms during his years of study and/or between semesters: Otto Herrmann (Ottenhöfen), Hermann Billing building atelier, Pfeifer & Großmann architect association 1926-1927 Head of the Structural Ceramics Department at the "Großherzoglichen Majolika Manufaktur" factory, Karlsruhe, façades and interior design 1928 State Exam for clerical technical service (with distinction); short-term Assistant in the Structural Engineering Department, State Technical College in Karlsruhe. 1928-1929 Assistant at the Josef Graf architecture firm 1930 Finished high school 1930-1933 Studies in Architecture at the Technical University (TH) in Karlsruhe (today known as the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology); teachers: Hermann Alker, Hermann Billing, Max Laeuger, Otto Ernst Schweizer 1931 Preliminary draft for a "new settlement in the Rhine Valley" 1933 Award for the best diploma dissertation at the TH Karlsruhe (the university's medal) 1933-1935 Assistant and construction supervisor at the Hermann Alker architecture / construction firm 1933-1945 Member of the SA (as of 1937 Scharführer - Squad Leader, 1943 Truppführer - Troupe Leader, 1944 Sturmführer - Storm Leader) 1933-1945 Member of the Reichskammer der bildenden Künste (the Third Reich's Imperial Chamber of Fine Arts) 1933-1945 Member of the Deutschen Arbeitsfront - DAF (German Labour Front) 1934-1945 Member of the Nationalsozialistischen Volkswohlfahrt – NSV (National Socialist People's Welfare Organisation) 1935 Military Service at the Pioneer Battalion in Ulm As of 1935/36 Freelance Architect in Karlsruhe; private houses and industrial buildings 1936--1939 "Führer-Verlags" publishing house on Lammstrasse (today: "Badische Neueste Nachrichten" - Newest Baden News), renovation/new construction and interior design 2 1937 Teaching position at the State Technical College, Karlsruhe (Design and Architecture): Appointed to Baden Civil Service, initially as an "Assistant Teacher under contract" (March 1937) 1937 District Vocational Consultant for the DAF 1937 Member of the NS-Student relief aid Approx. 1937-1943 Member of the National Socialist Teacher Alliance (NSLB) Approx. 1937--1945 Member of the National Socialist German Technology Alliance (NSBDT) 1937-1945 Member of the NSDAP (Member no. 4,141,667) 1938 Appointed into Civil Service as an unscheduled Lectureship Assessor at the State Technical College, Karlsruhe 1939 Appointed as Professor at the State Technical College Karlsruhe and appointed as scheduled Civil Servant 1939) 1940 Marriage to Margarete Derkum 1940 Official leave of absence from teaching due to "important economic-political tasks" (October 1940) 1940-1942 Draft for the "New Strasbourg" competition Approx. 1940-1943 NSDAP Gau School in Strasbourg, restructuring and interior design Approx. 1941-1944 Representative interiors of additional buildings in Strasbourg, including individual rooms in the Reich University as well as offices of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, on order from the NS-regime 1943 Military Service Cross Class 2 without swords (at the suggestion of the Head of Civil Administration in Alsace, Robert Wagner) Approx. 1944/45 In French internment camp 1945 Return to Karlsruhe 1945-1948 Resides (officially registered) in Bühl (Kappeler Forest) 1948-1986 Resides in Karlsruhe, where he runs an architecture office; Architect of many residential and administration buildings plus culture, sports and industrial buildings, including the Schwarzwaldhalle (1952-1953), the Volksbank office building (1954-1955), the Wildpark stadium (1954/1978), a building extension of the BGH (1957-1960), an LVA administration building (1958-1963), The Nancy Hall (1964-1966) as well as housing blocks on order from Volkswohnnungen GmbH (1961-1971) 1949-1960 Industrial and administration building for FAG Kugelfischer factories in Schweinfurt 1954 City Hall in Schweinfurt 1955-1986 Nuclear Research Centre Karlsruhe: Basic planning and development of the general building plan plus the new construction of many operating buildings 1961-1966 State Theatre Schweinfurt 1966 Appointed to the Karlsruhe City Planning Committee 3 1967 Marriage to Set Designer and Interior Architect Trude Karrer, who Schelling had been working together closely with for several years 1968-1970 Administration and reactor plant building in Grenoble (France) † November, 14, 1986, in Karlsruhe 4 Erich Schelling's work during the NS-era Until his death in 1986, Eric Schelling was active as an architect during the second half of the 20th century, mainly in Karlsruhe where he lived and ran his office from. He was responsible for many major building projects here, including the architecturally outstanding Schwarzwaldhalle (1952-1953). He was also responsible for extensive building activities over a long period of time at the Nuclear Research Centre, Karlsruhe. In addition, he also worked as an architect in Schweinfurt and Grenoble (see "Tabular Resume" above). Even during the NS-era, Schelling worked as an independent architect in Karlsruhe and Strasbourg. Work as an architect in Karlsruhe 1933-1940 After his studies in Architecture at the State Technical College Karlsruhe (1923-1928, graduation with distinction), Schelling studied Architecture at the TH Karlsruhe from 1930 to 1933. His teachers included Hermann Alker, Hermann Billing, Max Laeuger and Otto Ernst Schweizer (more on how they influenced his understanding of architecture, cf. Erhardt, pg. 15 ff.). In the meantime, he also went back to school to get his high school diploma (1930). Hermann Billing, in whose building atelier Schelling had already worked during his studies at the State Technical College (1925), helped the young architect to get into TH Karlsruhe. As part of an Otto Ernst Schweizer event, Schelling finished the preliminary draft for a"new settlement in the Rhine Valley" (1931). The young architect passed the exams to become a graduate Engineer with distinction (diploma exam on May 12, 1933); he received the "University Medal" for the best final dissertation. After that, Schelling worked for two years (May 1933 to May 1935) in the Hermann Alker building atelier and construction office, as an Architect and Associated Professor at TH Karlsruhe (cf. Roos in detail on Alker 2011, pg. 38 ff.). Only military service, served with the supplemental company of the Pioneer Battalion in Ulm (05/01-10/03/1935), interrupted his activity there. In a work reference letter, Hermann Alker summarised all of Schelling's important activities during his time at the building atelier: "Mr. Schelling worked on building plan treatments for a whole range of building tasks based on my designs. Thus he worked on plans for the paramilitary sports facility at the university stadium Karlsruhe, the expansion of the Karlsruhe university stadium into Gau marching grounds, as well as on a large new hotel building and a large administration building. Particularly valuable was his participation in the plan processing and development of construction plan drawings for the extensive renovations of the Wolff & Sohn ["Kaloderma"] business buildings in Karlsruhe, plus the printing and publishing building of `Führer`publishing and the 'Bad[ischen] Presse' for the Südwestdeutsche Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft (South-western German Print and Publishing Company). Furthermore, Mr. Schelling also worked in detail on the plan treatments, including the detail drawings, for the Thingstätte open-air theatre in Heidelberg and Karlsruhe, which were designed by me (04/05/1935, GLA Karlsruhe, 235-1 no. 101496)." 5 Alker had received the assignment for the Thingstätte from Goebbels in March 1934; the client was the Reich Propaganda Ministry. The facility, built in the style of an open-air theatre with approximately 8,000 seats, was inaugurated in June 1935; the Thingstätte in Karlsruhe (here the client was Gauleiter and Reich Lieutenant Robert Wagner) was not realised (Ross 2011, pg. 298-302, 379). Alker was extremely satisfied with Schelling's achievements, and "thanks to his in-depth, practical, educational background" he was able to entrust him with tasks like site supervision during the conversion of the university stadium into Gau marching grounds and extensive and difficult printing plant renovations. Schelling left his atelier, Alker concludes, solely "in order to achieve an absolutely independent position" - an intention that he felt Schelling was "suitable for in all ways". From then on, Schelling worked as an independent architect in Karlsruhe. Documents that were passed down with his estate document the construction of private residential buildings (Lenz residential building, 1936; Boser residential building, 1940; two-storey, free-standing single-family homes with pitched roofs), the new construction of two residential buildings in an already existing block development in Ettlinger Straße 16-18 (1937) as well as renovation work on the Adler Inn in Varnhalt