Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S86527, Berlin, Pressekonferenz Hermann Henselmann

Hermann Henselmann (3 February 1905 – 19 January 1995) 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 ...

most famous for his buildings constructed in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

during the 1950s and 1960s.

Early years

Henselmann was born in

Roßla Roßla (also: ''Rossla'') is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Südharz. From 1706–1803, Rossla was the seat of Stolberg-Rossl ...

and studied at the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for thes ...

in Berlin from 1922 to 1925. His early projects, such as

a house A House were an Irish rock band that was active in Dublin from the 1985 to 1997, and recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of frontman Dave Couse ... bolstered by the and'sseemingly effortless musicality". The single " ...

on Lake Geneva near Montreux (1930) were Modernist in style, showing a clear

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

influence, and due to this and Henselmann's partly Jewish ancestry he was prevented from working as a private architect by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

government.

Socialist Realism

After the war he was appointed head architect in the city of

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

and later in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

in the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

Zone of Germany, although his projects were subjected to harsh criticism for their

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

. He served in

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important ...

's town planning group that tried to convert the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

's leaders to Modernism, although unlike Scharoun, Henselmann stayed in East Berlin after their rejection. His neo-classical Weberwiese building in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, emblazoned with quotes from his friend Bertolt Brecht (who had personally convinced him not to leave for the West) announced his conversion to the historical revivalism of the style known as

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

or Stalinist architecture. Henselmann would subsequently design the towers that cap each end of the Stalinallee boulevard (renamed

Karl-Marx-Allee Karl-Marx-Allee ( en, Karl Marx Alley) is a monumental socialist boulevard built by the GDR between 1952 and 1960 in Berlin Friedrichshain and Mitte. Today the boulevard is named after Karl Marx. It should not be confused with the ''Karl-Mar ...

in the 1960s) at Frankfurter Tor and Strausberger Platz, which showed the influence of

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

as well as the 'Seven Sisters', the Stalinist 'wedding cake' skyscrapers in Moscow.

Return to Modernism

Henselmann was appointed head architect for the city of Berlin in 1953 and held various town planning positions until his retirement. After

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's death and the rehabilitation of Modernism, Henselmann returned to his earlier concerns, designing flagship buildings for East Berlin such as the Haus des Lehrers (House of Teachers) and Congress Hall in Alexanderplatz and the housing complex of Leninplatz (which was renamed Platz der Vereinten Nationen or United Nations Square in 1992, and its large statue of Lenin removed). Plans for a 'Signal Tower' drafted in 1958 became early drafts for the vast Fernsehturm, finished in 1969. Other late projects in a modernist and high rise style included the cylindrical

Jen-Tower The JenTower is a skyscraper in Jena, Germany. Common names The tower has been known by many names, official and unofficial. From 1992 until January 2005, the tower was called the ''Intershop Tower'' after its principal tenant, Intershop Commu ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

and

a tower {{short description, Type of communication tower in East Germany An A Tower (german: A-Turm) was a standard type of communication tower that was built in all provinces (''Bezirke'') of East Germany during the 1950s. These towers were 25 metres high, ...

for the

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

in the shape of an open book. Henselmann's later projects gave a modern, technocratic face to the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, akin to the skyscrapers being built at the time in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. He dismissed the brief period of

as a 'childhood illness', though his buildings on

are now protected monuments. Henselmann retired as an architect in 1972, and died in

Selected buildings

* 1929-1931: Villa Kenwin,

La Tour-de-Peilz La Tour-de-Peilz () is a municipality in Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The city is located on Lake Geneva between Montreux and Vevey (their agglomeration counting some 80,000 inhabitants). History In the ...

, Chemin du Vallon 19, 1820

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

; ( Switzerland), with

Alexander Ferenczy Alexander Ferenczy (1895–1931) was a Hungarian art director.Tabori p.70 Selected filmography * ''Samson and Delilah (1922 film), Samson and Delilah'' (1922) * ''The Portrait (1923 film), The Portrait'' (1923) * ''Fadette'' (1926) * ''Attorney fo ...

* 1931–1932: Heinecke House,

Kleinmachnow Kleinmachnow is a municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated South-West of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and East of Potsdam. First mentioned in the Landbuch of Karl ...

(near Berlin) * 1945: Concept for "Neubauernsiedlung Großfurra", a settlement for farmers on newly cleared farms, with 30 residential hutches of the type "Thüringen" – first such settlement after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in Germany * 1951: Hochhaus an der Weberwiese, Berlin * 1953–1956: Towers on Frankfurter Tor and Strausberger Platz,

, Berlin * 1958: Study for a TV Tower (early version of the

Berlin TV Tower The Berliner Fernsehturm or Fernsehturm Berlin ( en, Berlin Television Tower) is a television tower in central Berlin, Germany. Located in the Marien quarter (''Marienviertel''), close to Alexanderplatz in the locality and district of Mitte, ...

, 1969) * 1961–1964: Haus des Lehrers, Alexanderplatz, Berlin * 1968–1970: Leninplatz, Berlin (since 1992: Platz der Vereinten Nationen) * 1968:

City-Hochhaus Leipzig City-Hochhaus is 36- story skyscraper in Leipzig, Germany. At , it is the tallest multistory building in Leipzig and is located proximately of the eastern part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's district Mitte. The tower was designed by ...

, formerly University of Leipzig * 1972:

, Jena

References

*Anders Åman, ''Architecture and Ideology in Eastern Europe in the Stalin Era'' (MIT, 1988)

External links

Hermann Henselmann and the Architecture of German Socialist Realism- article in ''Slavonica''
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henselmann, Hermann 1905 births 1995 deaths People from Südharz People from the Province of Saxony German people of Jewish descent Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Cultural Association of the GDR members East German architects Modernist architects 20th-century German architects Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Bauhaus University, Weimar faculty Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf