Ernst Sauermann

Ernst Eduard Friedrich Sauermann (born March 9, 1880 in Flensburg , † February 28, 1956 in Kiel ) was a German art historian , museum director and provincial curator.

Life and work in Flensburg

Ernst Sauermann was the son of the furniture manufacturer and museum director Heinrich Sauermann(1842–1904) and his wife Marie, née Hennings. The father founded a school of arts and crafts in which his son came into contact with art techniques at an early age. Sauermann went to the secondary school in Flensburg from 1892 to 1899 and then considered working as an architect, among other things. Instead, he passed the university entrance qualification and studied art history and archeology at the University of Berlin. At the same time he received drawing lessons at the Royal College of Applied Arts. Since the Flensburg school had not given him sufficient knowledge of Latin and Greek, Sauermann attended the school of scholars in Ratzeburg. Here he passed an additional exam in classical languages ​​in 1902. After that he studied in Kiel and Heidelberg. In June 1903 he received his doctorate here ("The medieval baptismal fonts of the province of Schleswig-Holstein").

Immediately after completing his studies, Sauermann received a position as a research assistant at the Flensburg Museum of Applied Arts under the direction of his father. In April 1904 he moved to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg as a research assistant . His father died unexpectedly, so that Sauermann took over provisional management of the Flensburg Museum at the beginning of November of the same year. Sauermann moved into the villa that had previously been built for his father at Friedrichstrasse 41 . On November 1, 1906 he was appointed director and thus city civil servant for life. Sauermann expanded the holdings of the museum and took on folk art in particular. He also hosted exhibitions on modern arts and crafts, handicrafts and contemporary visual works. In 1907 he curated an exhibition of artists from the Brücke and thus showed early on that he was interested in Expressionism. Most of the exhibitions, however, featured local artists who were able to exhibit in front of a larger audience.

Working in homeland security

In addition to his activities in the museum, Sauermann tried to preserve the character of the traditional appearance of villages and small towns in Schleswig-Holstein. He was involved in the homeland security movement and in 1908 co-founded the Schleswig-Holstein State Association for Homeland Security. From 1910 to 1914 he sat on the extended association board. The association wanted to combine contemporary building forms with conventional rural building forms. Sauermann wrote several publications on the architecture of Schleswig-Holstein. An extensive building exhibition designed by Sauermann was on view in the Flensburg Museum in 1912. Here he showed photos of historical buildings and impressions of places. There was also a list of the houses built according to the wishes of the homeland security, which existed for the first time in this form.

Sauermann tried very hard to revive craft traditions. On October 1, 1907, he therefore founded the North Schleswig Association for House Weaving. The association in Flensburg had a weaving school that offered an introduction to the Hamkens loom. This school existed for ten years and was then converted into a private company. In Flensburg Sauermann took over the chairmanship of the local association for arts and crafts. From 1909 he worked in the Provincial Commission for the Promotion of Scientific, Artistic, and Applied Endeavors, which determined how provincial funds were distributed.

From 1911 Sauermann published the “Schleswig-Holstein Art Calendar” every year. This quickly developed into the leading publication in the field of maintaining art and culture in the region. The calendar contained articles on current and historical architecture, monument preservation and homeland protection. There were also many texts with research results on folklore traditions and their revitalization. In addition, the calendar dealt with progressive developments by contemporary visual artists. From 1918 the work was published as the "Schleswig-Holstein Yearbook".

Sauermann married Maria Jürgensen on July 29, 1916 in Eimsbüttel (born November 15, 1886 in Eimsbüttel; † February 4, 1986 in Kiel). Her father worked as a shipowner and captain. The Sauermann couple had a son and three daughters.

Change to Kiel

In 1920 Sauermann transferred the management of the museum to Walter Heinrich Dammann . From July 1st he was director of the Thaulow Museum in Kiel . He gradually expanded this into a state museum and added a painting workshop and bookbinding shop. He arranged the library and expanded it. In 1921 he opened a new reading room with specialist literature. He also bought many works by local artists, which significantly expanded the image archive. He only bought a significant number of cultural goods after the inflation.

When Sauermann began his service in Kiel, he did so in a period of recurring conflicts between Germans and Danes. He was very politically active and worked in the museum in the sense of the Germanness of volkischer organs. He led the work on plans to link cultural work in the province with border policy. Among other things, the program stipulated that the state hall, the state museum, the monument office and the state library should move into Kiel Castle . These projects were only partially implemented at first.

In 1920 Sauermann also took over the chairmanship of the State Association for Homeland Security. In the same year he also became a shop steward for the German Werkbund in Schleswig-Holstein. On May 1, 1924, he was appointed provincial curator. Like his predecessor Richard Haupt , he worked on a voluntary basis. He created new principles of monument preservation and reorganized. So he rearranged the monument archive, systematically set up a new file archive and expanded the library. In 1927 he received two permanent research assistants, a photographer and a typist.

During Sauermann's service, repairs were carried out, most of which were carried out pragmatically. The important thing was the individual building that was preserved or restored in a specific way. Sauermann spoke out against processing all monuments here using a uniform method. He wanted the appearance to be as complete as possible and intended, as far as possible, to return to the original state. He attached great importance to the integrity of the monument. Sauermann made his decisions based on well-founded scientific sources. He always asked to use appropriate materials and to work with old craft techniques. When it came to reconstructions, he proceeded more carefully than Richard Haupt. Basically, he was more oriented towards qualitative-artistic guidelines. For example, when carrying out repairs, he took contemporary art into consideration, which his predecessor had always rejected.

time of the nationalsocialism

After the seizure of power , Sauermann's work changed very differently. In the preservation of monuments he had to accept almost no restrictions, as chairman of the National Association for Homeland Security, however, clear. He was very diverse and ambivalent about the new situation. On the one hand, he could not actively oppose the system because of his nationally German-folk and politically conservative attitude. On the other hand, however, he was not prepared to unconditionally accept all the instructions of the government. This was particularly evident when the ideological content did not correspond to the technical principles.

Sauermann did not enter the Reichsschrifttumskammer . Since he had to fear content restrictions, he wrote significantly less. From 1933 he no longer published a yearbook. He repeatedly sat openly for Ernst Barlach and thus got into constant disputes with the National Socialists. He had the biggest problems with Friedrich Knolle, who later headed the Kiel branch of the Kampfbund for German culture as a later Gau culture warden. In mid-1933, Knolle failed when he tried to take Sauermann's chairmanship of the National Association for Homeland Security. Knolle continued to take action against him, whereby the club's activities came to a standstill. The association then merged with the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Heimatbund in 1939 and no longer existed independently.

For the most part, Sauermann had few problems with the new rulers. At the express request of the provincial administration, he joined the NSDAP on May 1, 1933 . The early date of accession gave him a fairly stable position. For the most part, the new political leaders judged him to be a renowned expert and a conscientious employee who correctly ran his office.

The National Socialists mostly used an exhibition for propaganda purposes in the Thaulow Museum, which was run by Sauermann. Several exhibitions were held here in 1933. In December, a new section “Schleswig Folk Art” opened to the public. In 1935 Sauermann again significantly expanded the holdings of his collection. He acquired the section on art and cultural history of the Museum of Prehistoric Antiquities and the Schleswig collection with historical objects from the province and built them into the Thaulow Museum.

In the area of ​​monument preservation nothing changed in terms of content in Sauermann's work. The personal and financial situation improved gradually. Thanks to a program run by the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft , he was able to record the holdings of architectural and art monuments in the German Reich more quickly. In 1939 this work in Schleswig-Holstein was almost completely done. However, publications on this only appeared partially.

From 1936, the work of monument preservation improved due to increased budgets, in some cases significantly, so that many repairs were carried out. In some cases Sauermann came into conflict with the ideology of the National Socialists, but was able to assert his points of view. In 1934, for example, the "Eye of God" and the inscription "Jehovah" were to be removed from one of the altars in the town church of Oldenburg in Holstein . Sauermann successfully resisted the request. In addition, he succeeded in influencing the reconstruction of the Plön Castle into an educational institution and the Borstel manor into a training camp for the female Reich Labor Service in terms of monument preservation.

The Greater Hamburg Law of 1937 changed Sauermann's activity as a provincial curator most clearly. He had to give up areas of responsibility such as Altona and Wandsbek, which were incorporated into Hamburg. In return, the supervision of the areas of the previous Principality of Lübeck and the city of Lübeck itself was given.

Second World War and end of service

After the beginning of the war, Sauermann had to significantly reduce and relocate his work as museum director and conservator. In particular, he now had to monitor measures to protect the monuments against fire and air attacks. In 1940 he took over the supervision of voluntary material donations in Schleswig-Holstein. Thus valuable works of art are to be protected from destruction. In January he also took over the management of the inventory of bells that were confiscated in the German Empire and the occupied region. Sauermann should record which bells were sent to Hamburg to be melted down there. He should keep the most important specimens from here. Together with mostly female helpers, he created documents that later became the German Bell Archive.

Due to increasing air raids on Kiel, the Thaulow Museum had to be evacuated. The collected works went to Gut Güldenstein at the end of 1941 . Sauermann's office and all administrative files as well as the photo archive moved to Malente in autumn 1942 and stayed there for seven years. Sauermann lived there with his family during this time.

After the end of the war, the British military government confirmed Sauermann in all positions on September 25, 1945. After that, it was only possible to work professionally under extremely difficult conditions. He was mainly concerned with returning bells that still existed intact in Hamburg. He was also politically active again, especially in the area of ​​Schleswig's nationality. He came into conflict with the state government regarding his salary and resigned from all offices in autumn 1947.

Sauermann retired on September 30, 1947. He then continued to work as a consultant in cultural matters, in particular in the design of the Gottorf Palace into a state museum. In addition, he wrote again essays. In 1950 he moved his family's residence back to Kiel.

Sauermann was buried in Flensburg.

Honors

• In 1917 Sauermann was awarded the Cross of Merit for War Aid.
• The Society for Schleswig-Holstein History made him an honorary member in 1933.
• In 1945 he received the War Merit Cross 2nd Class.
• The University of Kiel appointed him professor in 1947.
• Sauermann was the bearer of the Cross of Merit (Steckkreuz) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

literature

• Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 330-336.
• Manfred Jessen-Klingenberg : Withdrawal from the nation to the region. From the correspondence of three Schleswig-Holstein residents in 1946 . In: Grenzfriedenshefte . tape 43 , no. 3 , 1996, ISSN  1867-1853 , pp. 131-144 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 330.
2. ^ Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 330-331.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 331.
4. ^ Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 331-332.
5. ^ ^{A b c} Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 332.
6. ^ ^{A b c} Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 333.
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, p. 334.
8. ^ Thomas Scheck: Sauermann, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 10. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994, pp. 333-334.