Gerhardine "Gerdy" Troost (née Andresen; 3 March 1904 – 30 January 2003), was a German
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
interior designer and interior decorator and the wife of
Paul Ludwig Troost
Paul Ludwig Troost (17 August 1878 – 21 January 1934) was a German architect. A favourite master builder of Adolf Hitler from 1930, his Neoclassical designs for the ''Führerbau'' and the ''Haus der Kunst'' in Munich influenced the style of N ...
.
Life and work
Troost was born in
Stuttgart, the daughter of the architect Johannes Andresen. After completing her education, she worked in her father's business, where she met Paul Ludwig Troost in 1923. In 1924, the pair moved to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
and were married there in 1925. Through her husband, she became acquainted with
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
in 1930 and became a member of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
in 1932.
After her husband's death in 1934, Troost ran his architectural and design business together with his former partner,
Leonhard Gall. She supervised the construction of the
Haus der Kunst, the remodeling of the
Königsplatz, and the construction of the
Ehrentempel
The Honor Temples (german: Ehrentempel) were two structures in Munich, erected by the Nazis in 1935, housing the sarcophagi of the sixteen members of the Party who had been killed in the failed Beer Hall Putsch (the Blutzeugen, "blood witnesses ...
s.
She remained an architectural and design adviser to Hitler's circle up to the end of the war. In 1943, she received from Hitler an endowment of 100,000
Reichsmark
The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...
s. Troost was one of the few people who actively disagreed with Hitler without fear of being fired or arrested. Hitler listened to Troost about art and architecture.
During
denazification she was classified as "less responsible" (''Minderbelastete'') by the Hauptspruchkammer and sentenced to a fine of 500
DM and a 10-year
Berufsverbot
is an order of "professional disqualification" under German law. Berufsverbot may be translated into English as "professional ban".
A disqualifies the recipient from engaging in certain professions or activities on the grounds of their criminal ...
. At the end of the period, Troost resumed work and resided in Schützing, a town on the
Chiemsee in
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
.
Gerdy Troost remained a friend and confidante of
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Marjorie Wagner ( Williams; 23 June 1897 – 5 March 1980) was the English-born wife of Siegfried Wagner, the son of Richard Wagner, and ran the Bayreuth Festival after her husband's death in 1930 until the end of World War II in 1 ...
after 1945.
Ernst Klee
Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...
: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, , p. 620. She died in
Bad Reichenhall
Bad Reichenhall ( Central Bavarian: ''Reichahoi'') is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Stau ...
at the age of 98 on 30 January 2003.
Citations
Further reading
* Stratigakos, Despina. (2015). ''Hitler at Home''. Yale University Press - analyzing Troost's interior design
In popular culture
* Troost is an important and sympathetic character in
Philip Kerr
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
's historical thriller ''Prussian Blue'', set in 1939 and part of Kerr's ''Bernie Gunther'' series.
References
* Sabine Brantl: ''Haus der Kunst München. Ein Ort und seine Geschichte im Nationalsozialismus.'' Allitera Verlag, München 2007, (''Edition Monacensia'').
External links
*
Full textof Troost's book ''Das Bauen im Neuen Reich 1. Band''
Entryin the
Union List of Artist Names
The Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) is a free online database of the Getty Research Institute using a controlled vocabulary
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Cont ...
The American Media's Awkward Fawning Over Hitler's Taste in Home Decor-
Atlas Obscura
''Atlas Obscura'' is an American-based online magazine and travel company. It was founded in 2009 by author Joshua Foer and documentary filmmaker/author Dylan Thuras. It catalogs unusual and obscure travel destinations via user-generated conten ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Troost, Gerdy
1904 births
2003 deaths
Nazi architecture
20th-century German architects
Nazi Party members
German women architects
Architects from Stuttgart