Designing Transformation: Jews and Cultural Identity in Central European Modernism

Description

Jewish designers and architects played a key role in shaping the interwar architecture of Central Europe, and in the respective countries where they settled following the Nazi’s rise to power. This book explores how Jewish architects and patrons influenced and reformed the design of towns and cities through commercial buildings, urban landscaping and other material culture. It also examines how modern identities evolved in the context of migration, commercial and professional networks, and in relation to the conflict between nationalist ideologies and international aspirations in Central Europe and beyond. Pointing to the production within cultural platforms shared by Jews and Christians, the book’s research sheds new light on the importance of integrating Jews into Central European design and aesthetic history. Leading historians, curators, archivists and architects present their critical analyses further to ‘design’ the past and push forward a transformation in the historical consciousness of Central Europe. By reconsidering the seminal role of Central European émigré and exiled architects and designers in shaping today’s global design cultures, this book further strengthens humanistic, progressive and pluralistic cultural trends in Europe today. Cover Contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction: Jews and Cultural Identity in Central European Modernism Elana Shapira Part 1 Designing Their Homes in Central Europe 1 The “Bauhaus Shtetl”: Opposing Conservatism in New Leopold Town in Budapest Rudolf Klein 2 Shaping Modern Bratislava: The Role of Architect Friedrich Weinwurm and His Jewish Clients in Designing the Slovak Capital Henrieta Moravčíková 3 Adolf Sommerfeld—Co-Producing Modern Architecture and Urban Design in Berlin Celina Kress 4 Entangled Histories: The Contribution of Jewish Architects to Modernism in Croatia Jasna Galjer 5 An International Style Synagogue in Brno: Otto Eisler’s Agudas Achim Synagogue (1936) Zuzana Güllendi-Cimprichová 6 Identity and Gender as Obstacles? A Comparison of Two Biographies of Jewish Architects from Krakow Kamila Twardowska Part 2 Outsiders/Insiders—Cultural Authorship and Strategies of Inclusion 7 Lajos Kozma, “Judapest,” and Central European Modernism Juliet Kinchin 8 Refuge and Respite: Oskar Wlach, Max Eisler, and the Culture of the Modern Jewish Interior Christopher Long 9 The Art and Design of Anna Lesznai: Adaptation and Transformation Rebecca Houze 10 The Art of Survival: Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and Children’s Art at the Theresienstadt Ghetto Megan Brandow-Faller Part 3 Survival Through Design—Projecting Transformative Designs onto the Future 11 Flights of Fancy: Willy de Majo and the Youthful Foundations of a Lifelong Design Practice Lesley Whitworth 12 Sustaining Independence: Marie Frommer’s Networks and Architectural Practices in Berlin and in New York Tanja Poppelreuter 13 “Memory’s Instruments and Its Very Medium”: The Archival Practices of Émigré Designers Sue Breakell 14 Facing the Sun: German-Speaking Émigrés and the Roots of Israeli Climatic Building Design Or Aleksandrowicz Bibliography Index