Goehle factory

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Former Goehle-Werk, community center and tower C (from left to right) on Riesaer Straße
Former Goehle-Werk, Building A on Heidestrasse
Building A from the air
Former Goehle-Werk, inner courtyard with tower D and building B (from left to right) on Riesaer Straße (2016)

The Goehle-Werk (also Goehlewerk) is a former arms factory in Dresden- Pieschen .

Part of the site is now used as a commercial center for start-ups, small and medium-sized companies, another part of the listed building complex has been renovated since 2015 and operated as a cooperative as a Kulturfabrik Zentralwerk .

architecture

The Goehle plant consisted of two buildings, each with two reinforced concrete skeleton structures , each with two connected towers, and a communal house on a plot of around 7,000 m²: Building A with towers A and B in Grossenhainer Strasse, Building B with towers C and D. as well as the community building at Riesaer Straße  32. The reinforced concrete towers, designed as high bunkers, show the typical industrial architecture of the 1930s and 1940s with small windows and reinforced stairwells. To protect against air attacks with explosive bombs up to 500 kilograms and incendiary bombs , the towers were designed as air raid stairwells and equipped with air locks , ventilation systems and cantilevered protective roofs. In addition, all buildings were connected to one another underground and some of them still are today.

history

19th century

The first development took place in 1871 with the construction of a building for the sewing machine factory of the company "Clemens Müller" on Großenhainer Straße (building A).

20th century

In addition to sewing machine production, the production of large typewriters was started in 1922 with the construction of an additional factory (building B).

1938-1945

From 1938 the site was converted into an armaments factory. The order was placed on November 14, 1938. Time fuses , incendiary shrapnel for the 12.8 and 8.8 cm flak projectiles and bomb detonators were produced. The conception was carried out by the professor for building design and industrial buildings Georg Rüth, who works at the TH Dresden , and the architect and professor for spatial art Emil Högg . The hall building, consisting of the ballroom with 400 m² and the small hall with 200 m², was completed in 1940 as a "community house".

In 1941 a total of 1,046,200 detonators were manufactured. The work was commissioned by the Navy High Command , and it was named after the Rear Admiral of the Navy, Herbert Goehle (1878–1947). The company owned by the Reich was handed over to Zeiss Ikon for use.

From October 9, 1944, the Goehle factory housed forced laborers in a satellite camp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp . At the facility was obersturmführer and Crime Commissioner Henry Schmidt instrumental. On October 18, 200 female concentration camp workers were assigned to the plant, almost exclusively Russian and Polish prisoners. Another 300 women arrived ten days later. In addition, mostly unskilled female forced laborers worked there, most of whom came from Poland and the Soviet Union . Among other things, the Jewish woman Henny Brenner was forced to work there. Witnesses testified that the living conditions of the workers were extremely adverse: Their food was completely inadequate and consequently their state of health was poor. In December 1944, for example, the factory kitchen billed about 500 grams of bread per woman . The workers slept on the upper floors of the Goehle-Werke, manufacturing took place below.

The female guards were part of the SS entourage and used rubber clubs . The supervisor in October 1944 was Gertrud Schäfer , who was replaced by Margarete de Hueber in February 1945 . This was described by inmates as harsh and cruel. An undated list included 22 female guards, all of whom came from Dresden or the surrounding area. Numerous escape attempts speak of the great suffering of women. In the month that the subcamp was set up, on October 24, 1944, the attempt to escape by two Russian women is recorded in the plant's number book. During the air raids on Dresden on the night of February 13-14, the women were locked up in the Goehle factory. Some escaped successfully in the turmoil that followed. In December 1944, 679 daily rates were still billed for the workers, after the heavy air raids on Dresden from February 13 to 20, 1945 almost none at all. The last work schedule on April 13, 1945 had 684 prisoners.

There was no evidence of prisoner killings. Two deaths are recorded for November 1944. A Russian woman who had previously worked at the Goehle factory died in January 1945 after receiving " special treatment " in the Flossenbürg concentration camp .

In mid-April 1945, the prisoners at the Goehle factory were evacuated on foot along the Elbe and by train to Leitmeritz . Some inmates were able to escape beforehand.

Information board II with a view from 1949

1945-1996

After the air raid on Dresden on February 13, 1945, the public water network collapsed, and the local residents could be supplied from the deep wells of the facility. After the end of the Second World War , the factory equipment was dismantled by the Soviet occupiers and the property was expropriated . Along the Heidestrasse was a cultural hall, Karl-Hermann-Saal , which was used for cultural and political events in the destroyed post-war Dresden.

In the “Goehlewerk trial” in January 1949 ten people were charged - including the deputy works manager, several foremen and SS guards - and sentenced to sentences of between one and eight years in prison.

The Sächsische Zeitung print shop moved into the building, which was later a company of the VEB Grafischer Großbetrieb Völkerfreundschaft . After the reunification, the printing works continued to be operated as "Operating Part Riesaer Straße 32" of Dresdner Druck- und Verlagshaus GmbH & Co. KG until 1996.

1996-2015

With the closure of the "operating section Riesaer Straße 32" at the end of 1996, all uses as a printing shop were ended. At the beginning of the 2000s, the site was divided and building A (with the bunker towers A and B) was converted into a commercial center for start-ups and small and medium-sized companies. Around 9,000 m² of commercial space is available on four floors and towers and around 1,000 m² of storage space in the basement.

In 2012, three information boards on the history of the Goehle plant were installed as a concentration camp branch on Heidestrasse.

Since 2015

Buildings B (with the bunker towers C and D) and F (community building) were bought in 2015 by the non-profit foundation trias for approx. 900,000 euros and given to the "Zentralwerk Kultur- und Wohngenossenschaft Dresden eG" with heritable building rights for 99 years. The cooperative uses the building as residential, commercial, studio and event rooms. Since 2015 the buildings have been renovated and converted into a cultural and residential complex. Around EUR 5.7 million were invested. The municipal offices for culture, economic development and urban planning in Dresden contribute 450,000 euros and the state of Saxony and the federal government with 900,000 euros. The aim is to divide it into around 50 percent studio space, 20 percent for cultural events and 30 percent for apartments.

As a reminder of the history of the building, there will be an exhibition and event room.

An event hall and studio space will be available in the community center. The renovation is financed, among other things, with the help of a crowdfunding campaign; in a first call in 2018, EUR 30,000 were raised for the installation of a ventilation system.

literature

Web links

Commons : Goehle-Werk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Benz & Distel (2006), pp. 88–91
  2. ↑ a b Gerhard Bauer (Ed.): Saxony in the bombing war . Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr, Dresden 2005, p. 25 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ↑ a b Jens Herbach: Igniter factory Dresden-Pieschen, Goehle-Werk. May 7, 2014, accessed April 22, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Zentralwerk e. V .: Construction diary October. October 2018, accessed February 12, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b Clemens Müller AG, Dresden (inventory). Saxon State Archives, September 26, 2016, accessed on September 26, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Zentralwerk e. V .: The hall building. Retrieved February 12, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b Dresden (Riesaer Strasse). www.tenhumbergreinhard.de, 2010, accessed on April 22, 2016 .
  8. ↑ a b Pascal Cziborra: Women in the concentration camp . Lorbeer Verlag, Bielefeld 2010, p. 46–49 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  9. ^ Founder and industrial estate in Großenhainer Straße 101. www.dresdner-gewerbehof.de, accessed on April 22, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Iris Hellmann: When Jews had to manufacture weapons in Pieschen . In: Saxon newspaper . January 27, 2012 ( online, free of charge for users of the Dresden City Library [accessed on April 22, 2016]).
  11. ↑ a b Heiko Weckbrodt: Former armaments smiths in Dresden becomes a center for creative people. www.oiger.de, April 22, 2015, accessed on April 22, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Juliane Hanka: Bunkers are not wellness oases . In: Saxon newspaper . September 6, 2013 ( online, free of charge for users of the Dresden City Library [accessed on April 22, 2016]).
  13. ↑ Steffen Möller: Zentralwerk writes a success story. In: Dresden district newspapers. SV Saxonia Verlag für Recht, Wirtschaft und Kultur GmbH, May 12, 2016, accessed on January 16, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Central Work. Zentralwerk Kultur- und Wohngenossenschaft Dresden eG. (No longer available online.) Foundation trias non-profit foundation for soil, ecology and living, Hattingen, archived from the original on April 14, 2017 ; Retrieved September 26, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stiftung-trias.de
  15. ↑ Zentralwerk eG - halls. Zentralwerk eG, September 26, 2016, accessed on September 26, 2016 .
  16. ↑ 30,000 for hot air? 2018, accessed February 12, 2019 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 4 ′ 53.5 "  N , 13 ° 43 ′ 42.4"  E