Insel Sylt

Sylt is the most northerly island off Germany’s North Sea coast, accessible only by trains that run along the Hindenburgdamm causeway built in 1927 to connect with the mainland. Its landmass is 38 sq. miles in area, a little larger than the Isle of Sheppey off the Kent Coast (36 sq. miles) but with less than half the population. It has a long history as a resort, noted for its extensive sandy beaches and a bracing summer climate. Through trains run from Westerland to Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin and Köln. Based on the address of the postcard publisher, we can assume that this is a group of holidaymakers photographed on their arrival at Westerland on an unseasonably wet day. Resolutely cheerful, most seem determined to make the best of things. The only clue as to the date of the image is the absence of Nazi insignia or symbols on the station that might indicate the years 1927 to 1933.

During the Third Reich, Sylt marketed itself as the first German resort to be declared Judenfrei (free of all Jews). Hermann Göring had a palatial beachside holiday home on Sylt. It seems the spirit of Aryan suprematism lingered longer on the island than elsewhere. In 1951 the voters of Westerland elected a new Mayor with a dark past as a member of the Waffen SS. During the war Heinz Reinefarth rose to the rank of Gruppenführer and troops under his command were responsible for innumerable atrocities in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Reinefarth escaped retribution by offering his services to US military intelligence and returned to civilian life as a local politician and lawyer. Only last year a video emerged featuring a group of affluent young residents of Sylt chanting anti-immigrant slogans. Widespread condemnation followed but the suspicion remains that the breezy, sunny air of Sylt continues to carry the stain of right wing extremism.

 

Pioneers of German Graphic Design - Part Two

This is the long promised follow-up to the post of May 26. A further selection from the book, Pioneers of German Graphic Design, Callisto Publishers Berlin, 2017 (ISBN: 9783981753912) featuring Karl Schulpig to Jupp Wiertz plus an appendix of less well known designers.  The visual ingenuity and graphic impact of these images have lost none of their power over the years and will continue to serve as a vital source of inspiration for generations to come.  A superb book that I shall never tire of browsing.

 

Pioneers of German Graphic Design - Part One

In my judgement, by some distance the best book on this subject in English. Comprehensive and beautifully organised and illustrated, it does real justice to some highly accomplished artists and designers whose achievements tower over many of their counterparts in the English-speaking world.  The Weimar years famously created the conditions for an extraordinary explosion of experimentation and creativity in the visual arts as Germany began rebuilding its industrial power. From 1919 the Bauhaus was promoting a reinvention of architecture and industrial design as well as developing the visual language of Modernism and New Typography (Universal, Futura) whose influence can still be seen today. Herbert Bayer’s work is the best representation of the Bauhaus in this book.  

While commercial and public sector clients were increasingly accepting of radically new graphic styles there was a menacing tide of resistance building as the Nazi culture warriors intruded into every aspect of national life. Most of these designers would run into trouble after 1933 with the rise of the Third Reich and many would be barred from working.  Five were forced into exile, one was murdered in the Holocaust while more than a few made unworthy accommodation with the Nazi regime - at least one, Ludwig Hohlwein was a committed Nazi cheerleader who continued to prosper as his former colleagues faced persecution and, in the case of Julius Klinger, death.

Fourteen key figures have been selected for a twenty page extended career survey, including some like Jan Tschichold known as designers and typographers and Peter Behrens whose graphic work on corporate identity for AEG was complementary to his career as an architect (often for AEG) and designer maker. There are others like Hohlwein who were almost exclusively illustrators, with most combining graphic design with illustration. Emil Preetorius was better known for his 9 year tenure as Stage Director of the Bayreuth Festival until he fell victim to the internal politics of the Wagner clan and in 1942 faced Gestapo interrogation after being accused of being friendly to Jews - his release from detention followed Hitler’s personal intervention.  

Callisto Publishers Berlin, 2017 (ISBN: 9783981753912)

Part 2 (Schulpig to Wiertz) will follow soon.

 

A Meeting on the Rhine

An intriguing studio portrait of a group of serious minded young women, on the reverse is a pencilled date of January 1894.  They are soberly dressed with padded shoulders and smocking to the fore and have the appearance of educated middle class women but there are no obvious clues as to the reason for their gathering. Some  look out of the photo with impressive self-assurance, others look more diffident or apprehensive. Perhaps it was a social event - a reunion of a sort - but there’s no evidence of frivolity. The studio responsible was located in Neuwied, a small town on the banks of the Rhine near Koblenz.  Germany in 1894 was a rapidly expanding industrial and military power and it may be no more than a coincidence but the nation’s first major group to campaign for the rights of women, the Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine (BDF) was founded in March of 1894. Needless to say, it ceased to exist in 1933.

 

Rundfahrten

The tour bus never goes away - every major city has fleets of these vehicles, usually open-topped, finished in garish colour combinations and accompanied by teams of outriders roaming the streets to sign up new customers.  It’s sightseeing at its most basic,  sit back and let the sights come to you.  Seconds later your photos can be glowing on Instagram.  In the interwar years the tradition was for a jobbing photographer to capture the tour bus and its passengers before its departure.  Darkroom technicians would swiftly do their magic and sparkling prints would be sold to passengers on their return.  The results were often surprisingly good considering the time pressure and as you might expect, these examples from German cities achieved a remarkable degree of definition.

We begin with the Berlin tour guide posed in front of the bus on the Unter Den Linden - like everyone else she squints into the glare of low autumnal sun. Hats, overcoats and furs offer protection from the cold, the date is October 6th. 1922. Most passengers make the effort to smile for the camera and have the air of belonging in upper income groups.  A potential subversive loiters second from the right, his prominent facial hair indicative of a non-conformist nature.  Moving on to Cologne in 1910 we meet a horse drawn charabanc outside the west doors of the cathedral. Uniformed staff in top hats are in charge and the group are perched high on upholstered benches. Not so many smiles in 1910 and some notably grumpy veiled faces. Three further examples from Cologne, all posed outside the cathedral and examples from Munich and Nuremberg complete the selection.