Portraits of the protagonists. A selection. Gertrud Arndt, 1903–2000 Photographic artist at the Bauhaus Dessau 1929–1932 Cheeky, sylphlike and innovative. With a fish-like pout or as a sophi- sticated woman.Gertrud Arndt is regarded as a modern photographer and pioneer of the selfie. Having trained as a weaver at the Bauhaus, Arndt, who in fact wanted to be an architect, focuses increasingly on photography. From 1929 she experiments with various costumes, facial expressions and angles in front of the camera, thereby reinventing her- self again and again. The resulting 43 “Mask Portraits” show a mercurial and self-confident master of disguise. The artist also shows her diverse talents in another series of photographs in which her particular feel for black, white and grey contrasts comes to the fore. Marianne Brandt, 1893 – 1983 Artist and metal designer at the Bauhaus Dessau 1927–1929 Ceiling lights, pendant lights, the famous Bauhaus teapot MBTK 24 SI. With unflagging creativity, Marianne Brandt made design history in just five years (1924–1929). Today, the lamps designed by the trained artist are famous the world over. Brandt seeks to express the complexity and dynamic of her age not only in geometric and functional experiments with form and in product designs, but also in photographs with modern colla- ge techniques in which she depicts the tempo, advances and culture of the day in relation to the individual. In addition, she makes an important contribution to early emancipation as the first female head of the metal workshop of the Bauhaus Dessau (1928). 1 / 4 2 / 4 Karla Grosch, 1904–1933 Dancer and sports teacher at the Bauhaus Dessau, 1928–1930 “That’s just how I am, light-dark, hot-cold, up-down.” Karla Grosh, student of Gret Palucca, came to the Bauhaus in 1928 as a sports and gymnastics teacher and was at that time one of two female teachers at the Bauhaus Des- sau. Grosch represents the new awareness of the body. With a forceful and resilient personality, she collaborated as a dancer and choreographer among other things on Oskar Schlemmer’s Metal Dance and Glass Dance. Together, the two of them devise experiments in movement intended to establish a new connection between body and mind. Karl Plättner, 1893–1945 Left-wing agitator, gang leader and author in Halle, Leuna, the Mansfeld Land region and in prison, 1920–1928 Karl Plättner is the red Robin Hood of the 1920s. The founding member of the initially radical communist workers’ part of Germany (KAPD) later became lea- der of the March Action of 1921 that reduced Leuna-Merseburg and Halle to a civil war-like state. For the revolutionary workers, Karl Plättner fights an embit- tered class war with incendiary attacks and robberies. Following an eight-year prison sentence he analyses his experiences and observations of the prison and justice system in texts and books. In “Eros in Prison. On the Sexual Needs of Prisoners”, he actively support the introduction of more humane conditions in prisons and shines a clear and uninhibited light on taboos such as sexual needs, masturbation and homosexuality among prisoners. Gustav Nagel, 1874–1952 Advocate of nature and temple guard on Lake Arend, 1920–1933 Go veggie! Toughening up by bathing in winter, fresh air and always walking barefoot. The prophet Gustav Nagel is one of Germany’s most renowned itine- rant preachers. Owing to chronic illnesses and numerous allergies the young Nagel soon chooses to turn his back on civilisation. In earthen caves and on his wanderings he discovers his love for naturopathy. Riding his new, alterna- tive wave, Nagel is carried to Lake Arend. There, he builds a temple complex from crude natural materials. His business model becomes popular and tens of thousands of pilgrims visit him every year. With the sale of natural products and promotional items, he is for a time the town’s most important taxpayer. His messages are still well received today. Easy for everyone to understand, they show how to live a healthy lifestyle. Once outlandish, now more topical than ever. 3 / 4 Rudolf Nebel, 1894–1978 Rocket designer, founding father of space travel, advocate of research into spaceflight in Magdeburg, 1932–1933 The mechanical engineer, rocket scientist and inventor of patents Rudolf Nebel had grand plans. His rockets were designed to fly high. Known as a contact broker, Nebel connects the various parties involved in the city’s space research scene. Together they build the first rocket launch pad in Berlin. The rocket designer’s visions lead him to Magdeburg in the later 1920s. In the prospective city of spaceflight, he was to test the most pioneering prototype rocket design – the first flight of a manned rocket into space and therefore the first flight into the future. Max Valier, 1895–1930 Astronomer, science fiction author and pioneer of rocket propelled cars in Blankenburg (Harz), 1928 Courage, dogged commitment and almost limitless determination. Max Valier, a trained astronomer, has dreams and visions of voyaging to the moon and with that, the possibility of venturing into outer space. Valier is one of the greatest pioneers of rocket technology, a project developer and an orator in the lecture theatre. The trailblazer designs rockets as precursors to the space rocket. He constructs the first rocket propelled airplanes and cars. As a scien- ce fiction writer, he foresees even the atom bomb. His last experiment with a paraffin-fuelled rocket ends fatally, making him the first casualty of spaceflight. He leaves behind a fascination with his unflinching quest to change the world. Erich Rademacher, 1901–1979 Swimming world champion and sport icon from Magdeburg “Ete” Rademacher, a qualified insurance salesman, found his passion in swimming. He became the most successful swimmer of the 1920s. With 30 world records, the winner of eight German championship records in the 100 m breaststroke as well as numerous other medals is regarded as a sports icon. Rademacher exemplifies the appreciation for the athleticism of the New Man and is moreover the figurehead of the city of Magdeburg. Through his fame as a sportsman, Rademacher plays a part in the reintegration of Germany in the international community following its isolation in the wake of the First World War. 4 / 4 Edith (Schulze) Dinkelmann, 1896–1984 Town planner and architect in Dessau, 1919–1927 Entirely common now, but a sensation at the time: Edith Dinkelmann is the first woman to study architecture at the University of Braunschweig. She gets her first job after an internship with the Dessau building authority. Active in housing development and large-scale town planning projects, Dinkelmann leaves a significant footprint in Dessau. The Bauhaus Dessau is sceptical and critical of the graduate engineer. In 1926 Dinkelmann publishes an open letter attacking the Bauhaus and specifically the architecture of Walter Gropius. Dinkelmann exemplifies the tension-laden disparities in the visions of modern architecture. Siegfried Ebeling, 1896–1984 Visionary architect at the Junkers works in Dessau, 1925–1927 Buildings must breathe. Walls are membranes. The visionary Siegfried Ebeling calls for an organic architecture and advocates energy-efficient construction. 1926 sees the publication of his text “Space as Membrane”, a result of his time at the Bauhaus Weimar. With his cosmological theories of architecture, the friend and student of Wassily Kandinsky and Marcel Breuer causes a furore in architectural circles. Even Ludwig Mies van der Rohe subsequently refers to the thought processes of the artist, cosmologist, dancer and later architect. Today, his views are regarded as game changing for modern architecture and bionics. Bruno Taut, 1880–1938 Ingenious architect and head of the municipal planning office, Magdeburg 1921–1924 Colours, glass and light: these are incisive criteria in the work of Bruno Taut. During his time in Magdeburg, the town councillor and architect unites functio- nality and pictorial art. Stale and dreary looking workers’ settlements are made more people-friendly with intense colours. To this day, entire streets are still decorated with the municipally ordered graffiti. The enthusiastic painter revives the lost tradition of colour in architecture and thus allows for the emotional effect. Affordable homes for tenants, light-filled buildings and the social signi- ficance of architecture all have an influential role to play in his visionary town planning .