Gerhard Ziegler (architect)

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Gerhard Ziegler (* 27. February 1902 in Zwiefalten ; † 15. April 1967 in Tübingen ) was a German architect and planners, who in Nazism with state planning for a district in East Prussia , the Sudetenland and in 1940 also within the newly formed Gau Upper Silesia including the area of interest of the Auschwitz concentration camp . After 1945 he worked a. a. as a lecturer for regional planning at the Technical University of Stuttgart and from 1962 to 1966 headed the regional planning department at the Ministry of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg .

Training in Stuttgart and early success as an architect in the USA

In 1920 Gerhard Ziegler passed his school leaving examination in Heilbronn . At the same time he became a member of the Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund . At the age of 19, Gerhard Ziegler began studying architecture at the Technical University of Stuttgart and at the University of Danzig (1921–1926). In Stuttgart he mainly studied with Paul Bonatz and Paul Schmitthenner , two proven representatives of the “ Stuttgart School ” of architecture. In 1926 Ziegler completed his studies as a Dipl.-Ing. in Gdansk. In the previous years (from 1924) he said he had already worked as an architect and government building manager in the State Building Department in Gdansk , then in Hamburg . At the Elbe he participated u. a. at the competition for the design for the Palace of the League of Nations in Geneva . Ziegler continued his studies at this point: from May 1928 to July 1931 he stayed in the USA; he studied English language, architecture and economics (1928–1929) at Columbia University in New York . According to his own account, he financed his studies by working as a construction worker, draftsman and architect in New York. Together with Professor A. Lawrence Kocher, Ziegler designed type designs for 50-storey residential buildings, so-called 'Sunlight Towers' (see links below). He also worked as a lecturer at Columbia University. In Los Angeles he built the prototype of a housing estate.

First professional experience in German regional planning (Königsberg and Gumbinnen)

After a trip to Asia and Russia following his stay in the USA, Ziegler returned to Germany in autumn 1931. After surviving a serious illness, he founded an architecture office. Nevertheless, in October 1934 he followed a college friend, the spatial planner Ewald Liedecke, to Koenigsberg , where he worked as an employee of the state planning office for the head president on the "East Prussia plan " (until 1935). At the same time, he resumed his studies in economics ( University of Königsberg , 1934/35). In 1936 Ziegler joined the German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning (DASL) as a member. The DASL was headed by the architect and city planner Reinhold Niemeyer , who had been the head of regional planning for the province of Upper Silesia from 1927 .

In 1935, Ziegler had become head of the district planning office in the Gumbinnen government (1935–1937). The state planning communities as well as the associated district planning offices were assigned to this soon after the establishment of the Reich Office for Spatial Planning (RfR). During this time, Ziegler developed the “ Preliminary Spatial Planning Plan for the Gumbinnen / Ostpr. District” (1937). A war victims' association settlement was also built according to his design in Tilsit . Ziegler then moved from these activities to the headquarters of the RfR in Berlin and worked in the Reichsstelle from 1937 as a consultant. In the same year he joined the NSDAP .

State planner in Reichenberg and Katowice

In the spring of 1938 Ziegler was transferred from the RfR to Reichenberg (Liberec) in the annexed area of ​​the Sudetengau . There Ziegler u. a. with the cooperation of the planners not only of the Sudetengau, but also with the coordination of the planning for the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . So he organized a planners conference in Prague , which served this goal. The Berlin historian Wolfgang Hofmann described Ziegler's further path into eastern planning as part of a recent study on the history of German spatial planning:

“From December 1940 Ziegler worked as a regional planner in Upper Silesia, based in Katowice. This area, which was expanded to include the annexed Polish territories, was separated from the province of Silesia by order of Hitler at around this time and made a separate district and province, so that the area of ​​Auschwitz now also belonged directly to the Reich. Ziegler was assigned to the Oberpräsident and Gauleiter Bracht , but worked closely with the SS planning organization. Himmler had entrusted him with 'taking care of the concerns of the RKF 's main planning department ', i.e. Konrad Meyer . (...) Because of the mixed ethnic composition of Upper Silesia, the SS paid special attention to this area and, together with the sociologist and population scientist Dr. Fritz Arlt appointed a representative for the 'consolidation of the German Volkstum'. When it came to resettlement, he worked with Ziegler on the definition of 'new building zones', such as the previously Jewish residential areas in eastern, expanded Upper Silesia. From Konrad Meyer's planning department, Udo von Schauroth (...) kept in touch with Ziegler through frequent trips; Ziegler's district planner in Katowice , the economist Udo Froese , was a PhD student by Konrad Meyers. "

Ziegler's regional planning activities against the background of the Auschwitz extermination camp

The building historian Niels Gutschow reported on multiple contacts between Ziegler and the camp commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp , Rudolf Höss, during his activities in Upper Silesia . There were also meetings between Höß and Ziegler on the site of the concentration camp that was being built. The city of Oświęcim (Auschwitz) should grow significantly in the future because of the industrial facilities to be built up by IG Farben . A “ spatial planning sketch ” was drawn up for the city , which was drawn up by the architect Hans Stosberg until March 1941 and which “ may not have been commissioned by the regional planner Ziegler until February to deal with the area requirements of the concentration camp, the IG Farbenindustrie and a future To coordinate the city . "

At these plans were Ulrich Greifelt involved (representing the RKF), Udo Froese, some local architects and Rudolf Hoess. According to Niels Gutschow, the spatial planning sketch for Auschwitz could be "saved" by Ziegler at the end of the war and later handed over to the Federal Archives in Koblenz. "Today, architectural historians consider the work approved by Ziegler to be the lowest point in German architectural history .

A statement by Gauleiter Fritz Bracht, who did not want to hand Ziegler over to the Wehrmacht for military service, also proves that Ziegler's tasks in Upper Silesia were rated as important :

"Dipl. Ing.Ziegler is the general consultant for spatial planning in my office and at the same time, as a regional planner, manages the business of the regional planning association. In addition, state planner Ziegler has received a number of most important special orders from me that are entirely related to his person. In my office, regional planner Ziegler has to carry out the overarching planning of my province, which in Upper Silesia has the most important tasks, especially during the war, because a number of the most important armed forces and armaments companies cannot be carried out without the decisive preparatory work of the regional planning community. Regional planner Ziegler is also the planning officer of the Reichsführer SS, Reich Commissioner for the Consolidation of German Ethnicity and as such has to prepare the urgent resettlement of the ethnic Germans who have emigrated . "

In 1944 Ziegler presented the “Development Plan for Upper Silesia” . In January 1945 the administration of Upper Silesia was relocated to Neisse (Nysa). But shortly afterwards Ziegler was taken prisoner of war, from which he was able to escape to the Black Forest (early summer 1945).

A German career in the 20th century

In July 1945, Ziegler made contact with the Württemberg administration and was provided with planning a. a. entrusted for the reconstruction of Heilbronn. From January 1946, he officially worked in Tübingen for the newly formed Ministry of the Interior in Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1946–1952; as "Head of Department for Building Material Distribution, Reconstruction, Spatial Planning and Regional Planning"). In July 1948, he was classified as a “fellow traveler” in the court proceedings against him . From Tübingen Ziegler u. a. dealt with the reconstruction of Freudenstadt . At the same time, the spatial planner Gerhard Isenberg, who also came from the RfR, worked in the planning department of the Ministry of the Interior of Württemberg-Hohenzollern (from 1946). Ziegler became a civil servant in 1950 and “was promoted to ministerial advisor and ministerial director until his retirement on May 23, 1966. “ Gerhard Isenberg and Gottfried Müller had similar career paths in spatial planning after 1945 .

In 1952, Ziegler and Josef Umlauf were appointed to sub-commission I (planning and ground handling) for the preparation of a building law by the Federal Ministry for Housing and the building ministries of the federal states. Both sat there, representing the working group of state planners .

In the 1950s and early 1960s, Ziegler mainly dealt with area development plans for the Lake Constance area, the Odenwald area, the southern Upper Rhine area and the Oberland (1952–1964).

From 1957 Gerhard Ziegler was a lecturer for regional planning at the TH Stuttgart, from 1964 in the position of honorary professor. In the last years of his professional career, Gerhard Ziegler worked as head of the state planning office at the Ministry of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg (1962–1966). In this function he worked on the state development plan for Baden-Württemberg (1965).

The Academy for Spatial Research and Regional Planning (ARL) accepted Ziegler in 1953 as a member of the first generation of "ordinary members". Within the ARL, he was a member of the Board of Trustees (1961–1966), the Scientific Council (1966–1967), the Scientific Plenary Meeting and the editorial committee of the journal “ Raumforschung und Raumordnung ”.

Honorary positions and awards

Fonts (selection)

  • Basics of future urban development in Upper Silesia. Levels of knowledge in urban planning . In: Raumforschung und Raumordnung 5 (1941), volume 3/4, pp. 151–159.
  • Practice of spatial planning in the Sudetengau . In: Raumforschung und Raumordnung 3 (1939), Heft 11/12, pp. 552–555.
  • Spatial planning and inventory . In: Raumforschung und Raumordnung 2 (1938), issue 7.
  • The new art and discipline of state planning . In: Bad-Württembergisches Verwaltungsblatt, 1957.
  • State planning and development of the communities . In: Baumeister-Zeitung, March 1958.
  • Regional planning communities, a necessity . In: information. Edited by the Institute for Spatial Research , 1959
  • Foundations for better social and spatial planning . In: Research work of the Baden-Württemberg regional group of the DASL, Contribution No. 4, 1960.
  • Tasks of spatial research in the preparation of state development plans . In: Raumforschung. ARL (Ed.), Bremen 1960.
  • The cell structure of a healthy, highly industrialized country . In: Messages from DASL, No. 3–4, Cologne 1963
  • Regional planning, planning communities and land-use planning . In: Bauleitplanung, Württembergische Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsakademie (Ed.), 1964.
  • The structurally balanced space . In: Trends in spatial development in our time. ARL-FuS Vol. 31, Hanover 1965.
  • Article 'Raumschaften', 'Regional Planning Communities'. ln: Concise dictionary of spatial research and spatial planning. ARL (Ed.), Hanover 1966.

literature

  • Academy for spatial research and regional planning (ed.), 50 years of ARL in facts . Hanover: ARL 1996, ISBN 3-888 38-514-8
  • Niels Gutschow, Ordnungswahn: Architects plan in the "Germanized East" 1939–1945 . Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag für Architektur 2001, ISBN 3-7643-6390-8
  • Heinrich Mäding , Wendelin Strubelt (ed.), From the Third Reich to the Federal Republic. Contributions to a conference on the history of spatial research and spatial planning on June 12 and 13, 2008 in Leipzig . Hanover: ARL 2009 (= ARL working material No. 346), ISBN 978-3-88838-346-5
  • Sybille Steinbacher : "Model City" Auschwitz. Germanization Policy and the Murder of Jews in Eastern Upper Silesia. München KG Saur 2000, (= representations and sources on the history of Auschwitz. 2, edited by the Institute for Contemporary History ) ISBN 3-598-24031-7
  • Götz Aly , Susanne Heim , thought leaders of annihilation. Auschwitz and the German plans for a new European order. Hamburg: Hoffmann and Campe Verlag 1991, ISBN 3-455-08366-8

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b All data from: Academy for Spatial Research and Regional Planning: 50 years of ARL in facts . ARL, Hannover 1996, p. 268; Niels Gutschow: Ordnungswahn: Architects plan in the "Germanized East" 1939–1945 . Birkhäuser publishing house for architecture. Basel 2001, pp. 208–212.
  2. ↑ About Ziegler and Liedecke see also: Katja Bernhardt: Style - Space - Order. Architecture apprenticeship in Gdansk 1904-1945 . Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2015 (= humboldt publications on art and image history XIX), p. 131ff.
  3. ↑ Planners' meeting from December 4-6, 1939 in Prague . In: Raumforschung und Raumordnung, 3rd year, 1939, p. 579.
  4. ↑ The historian Sybille Steinbacher corrected this date: Ziegler had already become head of the State Planning Community of Silesia and General Advisor for Spatial Planning at the Upper Presidium in January 1940: Sybille Steinbacher: "Model City" Auschwitz. Germanization Policy and the Murder of Jews in Eastern Upper Silesia. Munich KG Saur 2000, p. 130.
  5. ↑ Wolfgang Hofmann: Spatial planner between the Nazi state and the Federal Republic. On the continuity and discontinuity of spatial planning from 1933 to 1960. In: Heinrich Mäding, Wendelin Strubelt (ed.): From the Third Reich to the Federal Republic. Contributions to a conference on the history of spatial research and spatial planning on June 12 and 13, 2008 in Leipzig . Working material from ARL No. 346, Hannover 2009, p. 57 .
  6. ^ A b Niels Gutschow: Ordnungswahn: Architects plan in the "Germanized East" 1939-1945 . Birkhäuser publishing house for architecture. Basel 2001, pp. 85f.
  7. ^ Roland Stimpel: Architects in Auschwitz. Low point in architectural history . In: Deutsches Architektenblatt, December 1st, 2011.
  8. ↑ According to Federal Archives R 113 (Reichsstelle für Raumordnung) / 1941, Issue 2, copy of the RfR (July 28, 41): President of the Province of Upper Silesia - Planning Authority (Kattowitz) Bracht - from July 26, 1941 to the Wehrmeldeamt Breslau 2.
  9. ↑ a b Academy for Spatial Research and Regional Planning: 50 Years of ARL in Facts . ARL, Hannover 1996, p. 268.
  10. ^ Niels Gutschow: Ordnungswahn: Architects plan in the "Germanized East" 1939–1945 . Birkhäuser publishing house for architecture. Basel 2001, p. 211.
  11. ↑ A few years earlier (1938) the former RAG functionary Frank Glatzel had dealt with the town planning for Heilbronn .
  12. ^ Niels Gutschow: Ordnungswahn: Architects plan in the "Germanized East" 1939–1945 . Birkhäuser publishing house for architecture. Basel 2001, p. 212.
  13. ↑ State Archives North Rhine-Westphalia, Westphalia Department (Münster), State Planning Association Westphalia No. 59: Working Group of State Planners of the Federal Republic of Germany, from March 14, 1953 to State Planning Association Westphalia
personal data
SURNAME Ziegler, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect and spatial planner
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Double folds
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1967
Place of death Tübingen