Friedrich-Ebert-Haus Bielefeld
_logo.svg&filetimestamp=20130518073030&){kind=logo}
The Friedrich-Ebert-house was built between 1930-31 as a cooperative house from the housing association Freie Scholle built eG Bielefeld is located in Bielefeld East 5th Canton at the Heinrich-fork-road no. 5, on the corner of Carl Hoffmann Street in the Heeper Fichten housing estate. The building was built in the Bauhaus style and consists of apartments, common rooms and a restaurant with an inner courtyard.
Emergence
The Friedrich-Ebert-Haus was completed in 1931 by the Bielefeld housing association " Freie Scholle ", which at that time could already look back on twenty years of existence, as part of the workers' housing estate Heeper Fichten in the east of the city of Bielefeld. Despite the global economic crisis, the construction was completed as part of a job creation measure in which the comrades of the Freie Scholle took part. Not only did the members lend a hand at this point, the East Gymnasium at Bleichstrasse 151a was also built after work with voluntary commitment and the technical expertise of the members.
After the opening of the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus, the then board member Gottlob Binder said : “And as the grand finale, a community center with a restaurant, hall, club room, library, bowling alley and restaurant garden was to be built. Here the residents should find stimulation, entertainment and relaxation in their free time, numerous clubs hold their club evenings and be able to meet festive events ”.
The building was built as a cooperative house and quickly developed into a conference and meeting place for the workers' movement . It was considered a political and cultural center in the east of Bielefeld. The cooperative members were closely connected to the political parties of the labor movement, so that the Heeper Fichten settlement was considered a center of resistance against National Socialism in the pre-war years. The premises of the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus used u. a. the SPD , the Iron Front and the trade unions for assemblies, meetings, conferences and events.
The solidarity of the residents was not only of a political nature, but was consciously supported by the Freie Scholle through community facilities in the settlement. This also included supporting working women and mothers. To relieve them of housekeeping and child care, plans for a day care center and a mother's advice center were implemented. In addition to the common rooms, the building also contained five apartments, a restaurant and a separate toilet, which was put into operation on July 1, 1931. That was very progressive for the time, because water closets were not yet standard in every apartment. In the adjoining restaurant, clubs held their meetings, regular tables were set up and family celebrations took place. Dance events in the 200 m² ballroom and a. organized by a Bielefeld dance studio were just as much a part of the hustle and bustle in the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus as the evenings on the bowling alley. Until the 1960s, the beer garden was a popular destination for people from Bielefeld when they went to the summer on Sundays.
The Friedrich-Ebert-Haus, with its purely Bauhaus architecture, which was very modern for the time, is one of the few Bielefeld buildings in this architectural style that have survived to this day.
The following diagram shows the division of the cooperative home into apartments and rooms.
| The Friedrich Ebert House | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| details | number | |||
| building | 1 | |||
| Apartments | 5 | |||
| living rooms | 17th | |||
| 3 rooms | 3 | |||
| 4 rooms | 2 | |||
| Living space in the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus after construction in 1931 | ||||
National Socialism 1933–1945
After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, the then board of directors of the Freie Scholle, the u. a. Gottlob Binder and Heinrich Forke were part of the decision to rename the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus “Fichtenhof” for security reasons. The name of the former Reich President Friedrich Ebert was a thorn in the side of the National Socialists . By renaming, the Freie Scholle wanted to prevent the National Socialists from renaming the house to “Hermann-Göring-Haus”. In a letter to the police chief on April 27, 1933, the board members Gottlob Binder and Heinrich Forke asked for help:
"We sincerely refer to the negotiations that our agents have held at your premises about the events in our cooperative home. The concern has not stopped now. Announcements about a name change and ownership are made again and again. In order to avert damage to our property, the management board and the supervisory board have now decided to remove the characters “Friedrich-Ebert-Haus” and to rename the cooperative home “Fichtenhof”. […] We also ask you to take the property […] under your protection, particularly with reference to the disruptive interventions by the SA men on Sunday evening. [...] Our cooperative is made up of around 2,000 less well-off national comrades who have made and are making heavy sacrifices for their company and who all suffer when our non-profit company is harmed. "
The new name did not protect the cooperative from being taken over by the National Socialists. On June 26, 1933, at the last free general assembly, at which 473 members were present, the board was declared deposed. Like other organizations, the Freie Scholle was brought into line with the labor movement, thereby ignoring the cooperative idea and abolishing democratic structures. On June 27, one day after the forced removal, Gottlob Binder was arrested by the National Socialists as a former social democratic member of the city council. From now on, the National Socialists met in the Fichtenhof and held rallies in the Heeper Fichten. The followers of Adolf Hitler specifically showed their presence in the democratic workers' settlement and demonstrated their power through marches and meetings.
The trade unions, sports and gymnastics clubs, which were also banned by the National Socialists, no longer had their own suitable premises.
The building served in the war a . a. as a home fleet of the Wehrmacht .
Post war history
The Friedrich-Ebert-Haus was spared from the heavy bombing raid on Bielefeld on September 30, 1944 . With the liberation of Bielefeld by the Allies on April 4, 1945, the National Socialist era in the Freie Scholle also came to an end. The incumbent managing director of the National Socialists was arrested and dismissed by the board of directors without notice on May 7th. This cleared the way for Freie Scholle to return to its cooperative roots.
From 1948 to 1955 there were regular film screenings in the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus. For this purpose, a movie theater was set up in the large hall, which became a crowd puller.
In the period from 1969 to 1973 there were various modernizations and renovations. So 25 parking spaces were created in the courtyard of the building, which are still there today. The guest room, the lounge and the large hall were renovated. At the end of the renovations in 1973, the connection to the gas heating was available, which increased the comfort in the cooperative home.
It was not until 1984 that the traditional house of the cooperative was given the name "Friedrich-Ebert-Haus" back on May 1st in a ceremony with the future Federal President Johannes Rau .
In 2006 the Freie Scholle celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus with members and friends.
In 2009 the Fichtenhof was again extensively renovated. On May 24th, the public was able to marvel at the new brightly painted rooms on the open day and inaugurate the newly built counter with high tables.
The building is better known to the people of Bielefeld today as the “Fichtenhof”. Freie Scholle regularly invites representatives to the “Friedrich-Ebert-Haus, Fichtenhof restaurant”. Long-standing members of the building cooperative are also honored in the old cooperative home.
architecture
Gustav Vogt from Bielefeld was the architect of the Heeper Fichten estate, whose construction method still attracts a lot of attention today. He succeeded in creating a self-contained, almost autonomous settlement in the east of Bielefeld, in which there was a consumption, a day care center and a central wash house.
The Heeper Fichten settlement
The workers' housing estate is a model for the construction of the Freie Scholle estate in Bielefeld and, along with the "Im Siekerfelde" estate, was considered a reform estate because not only living space, but also communal facilities and sufficiently large courtyards with green areas and playgrounds were available for its members.
The housing construction was financed by the members of the cooperative , which made the Freie Scholle independent of public funding. The cooperative set up its own savings scheme for its members. The cooperative shares made it possible to realize several comparable large-scale projects such as the Heeper Fichten estate.
The 5th canton
The area bounded by Herford Street, Langen Kampe, Heeper Fichten and Hakenort is called the 5th canton of Bielefeld. At the beginning of the 19th century, farm workers, day laborers, factory workers, weavers, spinners, disabled widows and pensioners lived there. On August 6, 1828, the area was added by the decision of the royal Prussian government as the 5th canton of the municipality of Heepen zu Bielefeld. The name is still used today. In the series of its historical city walks in 2016 , the Bielefeld Historical Museum offered a tour of the so-called “5th Canton ”.
Fichtenhof restaurant
_logo.svg&filetimestamp=20130518073030){kind=link}
Today, the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus is known to most Bielefeld residents as the Fichtenhof restaurant. Under the roof, on which the flag of the city of Bielefeld flies, larger celebrations and events of the cooperative, families or companies with a size of 20-300 people took place until the end of 2018. The restaurant was closed at the end of 2018. Until then there was a bowling alley in the basement and an outdoor restaurant with a beer garden.
| Well-known hosts of the Fichtenhof | Period |
|---|---|
| Wilhelm Muller | 1931-1938 |
| Wilhelm Blome | 1938-1957 |
| Josef Rose | 1957 |
| Wilhelm and Gerda Pundmann | 1958-1980 |
| Jürgen and Marion Pundmann | 1980-1998 |
| Dragan Radojevic | 1998-2007 |
| Ramona Da Silva Araujo and Ralf Vorderwisch | 2008-2011 |
| Ramona Da Silva Araujo | 2011 – today |
In October 2007, the then landlord Dragan Radojevic filed for bankruptcy. Thereupon the "Freie Scholle Bau- und servicegesellschaft", another business field of the "Baugenossenschaft Freie Scholle eG", took over the restaurant with the aim of keeping the business running in full. Radojevic continued to run the restaurant as managing director. Ramona Araujo and Ralf Vorderwisch took over the management of the Fichtenhof restaurant. The task of the Scholle subsidiary "Freie Scholle Bau- und Dienstleistungsgesellschaft", which is part of the Freie Scholle group, is to manage the commercial units owned by the cooperative.
Bibliography and sources
- Address books of the city of Bielefeld (1931, 1938, 1950)
- Thank God Binder: Becoming and working of the building cooperative Freie Scholle. Building cooperative Freie Scholle, Bielefeld 1931.
- Freie Scholle: 40 years of the building cooperative Freie Scholle EGmbH. Bielefeld. Building cooperative Freie Scholle, Bielefeld 1951.
- Freie Scholle: 100 years of Freie Scholle. Cooperative is neighborhood . Building cooperative Freie Scholle, Bielefeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-00-033788-8 .
- Bernd Hey, and others: History processes: Historical walks through Bielefeld. 2nd corrected edition. AJZ Druck & Verlag GmbH, Bielefeld 1990, ISBN 3-921680-81-6 .
- Hans-Jörg Kühne: Bielefeld from A to Z. Interesting facts in 1500 key words about history, art and culture. Aschendorff, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-402-00233-9 .
- Social Democratic Party of Germany / Ostwestfalen-Lippe district. "Democracy: our way, democracy: our goal!" Establishment and expansion of the East Westphalian-Lippe social democracy. For the 100th anniversary of the SPD district of Ostwestfalen-Lippe. 1st edition. Results Verlag, Hamburg-Eppendorf 1993, ISBN 3-87916-025-2 .
- Bielefeld city archive, 400.3 photo collection
- Bielefeld City Archives, holdings of 400.6 postcards
- Newspaper article from the Bielefeld daily newspaper Neue Westfälische
- NW of March 12, 1969: " In the Heeper Fichten estate: New exterior plaster and new bathrooms for around one million marks. "
- NW of August 29, 1973: " Bare dungeon became a festive hall. Renovation of the" Fichtenhof "has been completed. "
- NW of February 8, 1980: " In the" Fichtenhof "there has been a change in management. "
- NW of August 18, 2006: " An institution turns 75. Freie Scholle celebrates the anniversary of the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus with members and friends. "
- NW of October 3, 2007: " Fichtenhof tenant files for bankruptcy. Restaurant remains open. Freie Scholle is looking for a solution. "
Digital sources
- Building cooperative Freie Scholle Bielefeld: 100 years of Freie Scholle. Cooperative is neighborhood. DVD-ROM. Bielefeld: sponsorship group, Bielefeld 2011.
Web links
- free-scholle.de
- free-scholle.de
- free-scholle.de
- http://www.bielefeld.de/de/biju/stadtar/rc/rar/01082011.html Bielefeld City Archives
- http://www.bielefeld.de/de/biju/stadtar/rc/rar/01042015.html Bielefeld City Archives
Individual evidence
- ^ Building cooperative Freie Scholle Bielefeld: 100 years Freie Scholle. Cooperative is neighborhood. DVD-ROM. Bielefeld: sponsorship group, Bielefeld 2011.
- ^ "An institution is turning 75. Freie Scholle celebrates the anniversary of the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus with members and friends." New Westphalian. August 18, 2006.
- ↑ Bielefeld City Archives 108.13 Traffic Office No. 21
- ↑ Gottlob Binder: Becoming and working of the building cooperative Freie Scholle. Building cooperative Freie Scholle, Bielefeld 1931. p. 54.
- ↑ Gottlob Binder: Becoming and working of the building cooperative Freie Scholle . Ed .: Gottlob Binder. Building cooperative Freie Scholle eGmbH Bielefeld, Bielefeld 1931.
- ↑ Bielefeld City Archives, holdings 108.13 / Traffic Office No. 21
- ↑ Bielefeld City Archives 108.13 Traffic Office No. 21
- ^ Social Democratic Party of Germany: Democracy: our way, democracy: our goal! Establishment and expansion of the East Westphalian-Lippe social democracy. For the 100th anniversary of the SPD district of Ostwestfalen-Lippe. Ed .: Social Democratic Party of Germany. 1st edition. ISBN 3-87916-025-2 , pp. 123 .
- ↑ "In the Heeper Fichten estate: New exterior plaster and new bathrooms for around one million marks." New Westphalian. March 12, 1969.
- ^ Building cooperative Freie Scholle eG: 1945 - 1953: Housing shortage and reconstruction . In: Building cooperative Freie Scholle eG (Ed.): 100 years of Freie Scholle. Cooperative is neighborhood. Freie Scholle, Bielefeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-00-033788-8 , p. 33-36 .
- ↑ Dr. Jochen Rath: April 4, 1945: End of the war in Bielefeld. Retrieved May 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Gottlob Binder: Becoming and working of the building cooperative Freie Scholle . Ed .: Gottlob Binder. Building cooperative Freie Scholle, Bielefeld 1931.
- ↑ Freie Scholle: 100 years of Freie Scholle. Cooperative is neighborhood. Ed .: Building cooperative Freie Scholle eG. Bielefeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-00-033788-8 .
- ↑ An institution turns 75. Freie Scholle celebrates the anniversary of the Friedrich-Ebert-Haus with members and friends. New Westphalian. August 18, 2006.
- ↑ Historical walk in the 5th canton . In: Focus . ( focus.de [accessed on May 26, 2018]).
- ↑ Westfalenblatt January 3, 2019 ( online ), accessed on January 15, 2020
- ↑ Data from the Bielefeld address books (in the Bielefeld City Archives) from 1931, 1938, 1950, 1980, 1998 and all newspaper articles named in the references and sources.
- ↑ "Fichtenhof tenant files for bankruptcy. Restaurant remains open. Freie Scholle is looking for a solution." Neue Westfälische from October 3, 2007.