Caught in the Titotality Machine / Gefangen in der Titotalitätsmaschine
The Bauhaus Architect Franz Ehrlich
Rediscovering architect Franz Ehrlich, a forgotten representative of the Bauhaus movement
Franz Ehrlich’s (1907-1984) eventful life as an architect began at the Bauhaus in Dessau. In 1937, he was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp as a resistance fighter, where he had to design the gate with the inscription »To each his own«. Ehrlich later had a successful career in the GDR – but his all-encompassing assertiveness collided with the political guidelines.
In their biographical essay, design scholar Friedrich von Borries and historian...
Franz Ehrlich’s (1907-1984) eventful life as an architect began at the Bauhaus in Dessau. In 1937, he was taken to Buchenwald concentration camp as a resistance fighter, where he had to design the gate with the inscription »To each his own«. Ehrlich later had a successful career in the GDR – but his all-encompassing assertiveness collided with the political guidelines.
In their biographical essay, design scholar Friedrich von Borries and historian Jens-Uwe Fischer follow in the footsteps of a forgotten representative of the Bauhaus. In doing so, they reflect on the contradictions in Ehrlich’s biography as well as the ambivalences of modernism and its claim to totality.
»Von Borries and Fischer have expressed their approaches concisely. [The book] is also a worthwhile read as it contains a brief history of architecture and art in the GDR.« Christian Schröder, Der Tagesspiegel
»Well researched, clearly edited and written matter-of-factly.« Julian Ignatowitsch, Deutschlandfunk
»Von Borries and Fischer have expressed their approaches concisely. [The book] is also a worthwhile read as it contains a brief history of architecture and art in the GDR.« Christian Schröder, Der Tagesspiegel
»Well researched, clearly edited and written matter-of-factly.« Julian Ignatowitsch, Deutschlandfunk