The Nazis hated the Bauhaus. Now the AfD is picking a fight with its legacy too
Katja Hoyer
The Nazis hated shit architecture. So, if you hate shit architecture you’re a Nazi too.
The Nazis hated the Bauhaus. Now the AfD is picking a fight with its legacy too
Katja Hoyer
The Nazis hated shit architecture. So, if you hate shit architecture you’re a Nazi too.
The Nazis loved government control of business and the media, weaponised the courts against their political opponents, debased the electoral system, and contained more than a few veggies and envirofreaks, so if you love government control of business and the media, like the weaponisation of the courts against your political opponents, are happy with the debasement of the electoral system, and hang around with veggies and envirofreaks, you’re a Nazi.
True story.
The Nazis didn’t so much hate shit architecture rather they hated communists and jews.
They were degenerate and thus produced degenerate art.
To be fair (as she said), the Bauhaus was more modern living. Ikea is basically Bauhaus. And the nazis didn’t just hate the idea of the state funding art wank, they wanted their vision of things imposed.
Interested @ 09.01, that description could equally apply to our government since 1997, the EU since forever and the US since Obama (excepting 2016 – 2021 and hopefully 2025 – 2030).
@addolff
I wouldn’t like to fall into their habit of calling non fascist governments fascist, but they are a lot closer to it than Trump ever was.
This is a good little video with the rogue ex Rolling Stone hack Matt Taibbi and the novelist Walter Kirn discussing this Hitler bullshit.
Taibbi’s substack is worth subscribing to.
https://rumble.com/v5kgrrm-america-this-week-monday-livestream-10282024.html
Bauhaus. Looks good on paper, and I once went to a really nice exhibition of their work and drawings. Nice clean lines and lots of light.
As architecture, though, it never worked. Flat roofs leak, and the windows didn’t work properly. It’s only recently that they’ve developed the modifications to keep the places weatherproof. And, of course, if you’ve got kids, or you leave more than a couple of magazines and a minimalist cup lying around, the interiors look like someone has ransacked a warehouse.
Katja Hoyer is an East German born DDR- Respecter who wrote a book called Beyond The Wall:
A review in The Economist praised the book stating that it brought “depth, texture and colour” to the public perception of East Germany continuing that “Her book is packed with vignettes and anecdotes that bring this half-forgotten side of German history to life. Your reviewer was a foreign correspondent covering the GDR in the late 1980s and married an East German. These stories ring true.” Parts of the review were also critical stating that “…sentimentality and relativism distort her evaluation of a loathsome dictatorship.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Wall_(book)
The AfD wants to slash funding to “art that nobody is really interested in”, as Tillschneider put it. The idea that the state should support only art it deems worthy for the masses was also espoused by Hitler,
How fascinating, now please face the wall.
It’s not just that Bauhaus architecture is shit (it is as @Simon Neale suggests), but it’s also utilitarian to the point of dullness. It aspires to be boring.
I’m not saying “tear it all down”, but rather that it should never have been built in the first place.
If I want a lightbox, I’d prefer Inigo Jones’ Banqueting House in Whitehall. Not only does this provide a feast for the eye, it also acted as a backdrop for regicide.
Can’t get less dull than that.
The AfD wants to slash funding to “art that nobody is really interested in”, as Tillschneider put it.
They are only half way there. Art that lots of people are interested in doesn’t need subsidy.
I’m not saying “tear it all down”
Most of it will fall down anyway. And I say that as a bit of a fan of brutalism. I have always fancied living in the Barbican. I think this is my inner child wanting to live in a castle.
A fellow lover of brutalism and much modern architecture, I too don’t like Bauhaus. I couldn’t live with the low ceilings, in particular, but also the blandness.
Fans tend to be the same as those that love the VW Beetle. Sure it’s iconic. But also noisy and a bit shit all round.
A thing can be good for its time without remaining good into the present.