intercor VEB interior design combination Berlin
intercor - VEB Inneneinrichtungskombinat Berlin was formed on January 1st, 1969 from the three companies VEB Edelholzbau Berlin (Fruchtstrasse 37), VEB Raumkunst Berlin (Kopernikusstrasse 35) and VEB Innenbaukunst Eichwalde . Later other companies were added, so that in 1986 around 700 employees were employed in the combine . The headquarters of the combine management were in Plant Part I (Kopernikusstrasse), the export office in Eichwalde . The combine worked on the interior design of well-known objects such as the TV tower Berlin , Hotel Stadt Berlin on Alexanderplatz , Palais Unter den Linden with Schinkelklause, Planetarium, Deutsches Theater, Work was carried out in Moscow, Baku, Sotschi, Leningrad and Tallinn, but also in Karlsruhe, Cologne, Lübeck and many other cities. In-company training was provided. The company sports association (BSG Intercor) founded in 1973 still exists today as SSV Intercor . In 1988 a new production facility was created in Marzahn , Straße 13. 1989–1990 the combine moved to Marzahn. The trust operated the sale of the company from the end of 1991. Intercor GmbH, founded at the end of 1992 with around 90 employees, went bankrupt in 1995.
Start-up companies
Two of the three founding companies of the combine were in Berlin-Friedrichshain . The carpentry trade had a long tradition here. There were already numerous joineries in the 19th century, some of which developed into large furniture factories.
VEB Edelholzbau Berlin (O-17 Fruchtstrasse 37 / Strasse der Pariser Kommune 37)
The predecessor company, the Jewish company "Richard Hecht und Co" (1914–1941) was one of the largest Berlin furniture factories with around 120 employees at its locations Fruchtstrasse 37 and Küstriner Platz 4 (today Franz-Mehring-Platz). It was founded in 1914 by Richard Hecht and liquidated as a Jewish property in 1941. His sister Martha Korngold (née Hecht, 1878–1945) and her husband Paul Feivel Korngold (1885–1945), who worked in the company's management, are remembered on a stumbling block at Leibnizstrasse 57. In his memoirs, Walter Grunwald also recounts his experiences as a Jewish apprentice from 1937–1939 at “Richard Hecht and Co”.
After the war, the company operated at Fruchtstrasse 37 as Deutscher Edelholzbau, Treuhänderische Verwaltung Hans Wilk. Hans Wilk then became plant manager of the VEB Edelholzbau Berlin .
In a well-equipped carpentry shop in the multi-storey building O-17, Fruchtstrasse 37 (later Strasse der Pariser Kommune 37), the company produced high-quality furniture and interior fittings. Well-trained carpenters and furniture polishers were mainly employed here. Our own apprenticeship training provided for the next generation of skilled workers. After the first major project to rebuild the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (1953–1955), he worked on the Leipzig Opera , the International Cinema , the Berlin State Library , the Weimar National Theater and other renowned buildings. Short-term appointments often required night work and shift work.
In 1963, the Rigaer Strasse 14 facility , a former hemoglobin factory, was added. First two and later three brigades worked here.
VEB Raumkunst Berlin (O 34 Kopernikusstraße 35)
The company was founded at the suggestion of the VVBB (Vereinigung Volkseigener Betriebe Berlins) light industry, department wood, in order to have the capacity and top quality to rebuild historical buildings with the help of monument protection. The new company was established in the old factory building on the 2nd courtyard at Kopernikusstrasse 35, where the royal joiner's workshop Rössler & Schmidt used to be based. The core workforce - experienced carpenters with experience in interior installation - came from the Berlin furniture factory on Warschauer Strasse (formerly Propellerwerk Heine). The anti-fascist Erich Franz became the director of operations, supported by very good interior installation specialists, for example the technical manager Grünheit and the Obermeister Grupp.
The first major project was the reconstruction of the Unter den Linden State Opera (reopening in 1955). Thereafter, the company worked on projects such as the Rotes Rathaus (1956–1958), the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (1952–1954), the Leipzig Opera (1960) , the Chemnitz City Hall (1966), the Berlin City Library (opened in 1966), the Berlin TV Tower (1968/1969), the Weimar National Theater (1968), the GDR cultural center in Budapest (1968).
In 1950, a central training workshop was set up on the 4th floor in cooperation with the magistrate in order to train qualified young people. GDR President Wilhelm Pieck , a trained carpenter who was also present at the inauguration on February 11, took over the sponsorship .
VEB Innenbaukunst Eichwalde
The predecessor company was the carpentry shop founded in 1911 by Heinrich Rottschäfer (1883–1945) as a family business on the site of the disused Eichwalder gas works. From 1939 the "large carpentry for building and interior architecture" was involved with the production of custom-made products for the construction of fighter planes and the destroyer program of the Navy. Rottschäfer employed prisoners of war and housed forced laborers under unworthy conditions. The family was arrested by the Red Army in 1945, Heinrich Rottschäfer was sentenced to death and executed in Brest.
After the appointment of the trustee Fritz Faust (metal worker), the company started with 7 workers. In 1948 there were 67 employees, plus 21 apprentices. The company worked for Berlin housing construction (windows and doors), at the Museum of German History and manufactured arched windows and structural elements for the Red Town Hall. In 1952 hundreds of oak windows were delivered for Lomonossow University and in 1953 windows and doors for the construction of Eisenhüttenstadt . There were conversions for new machines and a better production process. In 1956/1957 the shop and restaurant extension was introduced as a new production profile. The company's first own exhibition pavilion appeared at the Leipziger Messe. In 1958 a new architecture office was opened and a 60 m long machine hall was built in the shell, but it burned down. With the support of the Potsdam District Economic Council, a 120 m long machine hall, a chip and grinding extraction system, a 60 m long bank room, an administration and workshop building and a boiler house were built by 1962.
In 1960 Heinz Luther became operations manager, in 1961 the company was named VEB Innenbaukunst Eichwalde . It became the lead company of the special furniture product group. The export to all currency areas increased steadily.
In 1966 a training workshop was set up in the Schulzendorf branch . In cooperation with the Extended High School KW 52, apprentices received the cabinetmaker's certificate with a high school diploma.
Expansion of the combine in 1976/1979
After the nationalization of PGH companies , the combine was expanded in 1976 by VEB Salonbau Marzahn , VEB Messe und Innenausbau (with two locations), VEB Holztechnik Treptow , VEB Innenausbau Köpenick , VEB Innengestaltung Mitte .
In 1979, veb Aufstieg in Boxhagener Strasse 119 (previously accessed via property no. 117) was incorporated into the main plant. Until 1970 the company was run as a private cabinet maker for interior fittings Max Pantzer, from 1971 with Heinz Kantler as managing director, nationalized on May 8, 1972, the company was called VEB Innenausbau Friedrichshain until 1977 , then veb rose .
Combine director
Johannes Mai (born 1929 in Val Gardena) completed his apprenticeship as a cabinet maker and cabinet maker in Val Gardena after finishing school, came to Berlin in the early 1950s and started working as a carpenter at VEB Raumkunst . After he had also worked as a technologist, he became production manager in 1958, acquired the title of "Furniture and Components Engineer" by distance learning and was appointed Operations Director. With the formation of the combine in 1969 he was appointed director of the combine by the Berlin district building authority. He headed the combine until 1991.
Combine
Many changes were connected with the formation of the Combine and the concentration processes, which were accomplished without layoffs. For example, the veneer cut in the old fire station in Friedrichshain was merged and the solid wood cut was concentrated in Kopernikusstraße. This involved purchasing new machines and necessary construction work. The combine gained recognition at home and abroad for its quality work.
As an example, Krasny, Lehmann and Ober cite “... the sound-insulating doors that were developed and patented by Raumkunst and that have been continuously improved in terms of technology and material use in the combine. They were used in many countries ... "
In the section “Foreign assemblies” they report: “The construction sites were in many places in Europe. The Soviet Union was an important market ... Many assemblies lasted weeks and months ... The more extensive assemblies were usually divided into 8-week sessions. During that time, in addition to your wages, you received a allowance, part of which you could pay into a Genex account. "
As in the previous companies, there was company apprenticeship training (2nd year), basic training in the first year of apprenticeship in Schnellerstraße until 1978 and a specialized interior construction carpentry school at intercor in Rigaer Str. 14 in the second year of training completed.
Apprentices also received orders from major projects; For example, the FDGB home in Klink and the brewery in Budapest were assembled by apprentices.
From 1985 a better production facility was sought, which was found in 1988 in Marzahn, Straße 13. A new production hall with siding and the administration building were built and new machines were purchased. The move began in 1989, beginning with the prefabrication and finally at the end of 1990 when the last brigades moved from Kopernikusstraße.
BSG Intercor
At the end of the 1960s, the VSG (Volkssportgemeinschaft) Intercor was founded, which was converted into BSG (company sports community) Intercor in 1973 .
Some of the sections were: football (chairman Thomas Lenz), volleyball (chairman Axel Rehbock), bowling (chairman Richard Jakob), table tennis (chairman W. Babylowski), badminton (chairman Peter Mange), fishing (chairman Wolfgang Hertel), basketball (Chairman Hans Lehmann). The meetings with the partner association in Zakopane were popular. There was special leave for this.
In 1976, a bowling alley with an automatic set-up system was set up in the basement where wood was previously stored. The cellar was expanded with a bar and seating areas so that brigade celebrations, weddings and other things could also be celebrated here, and the cone cellar developed into a social and sporting center for the workforce.
Today the SSV Intercor still exists (since 1983) with some basketball teams.
completion
On June 1, 1991, 3 additional managing directors were appointed at the initiative of the director of the combine. They all managed the company until the end of 1991. In December, the Treuhand appointed the potential buyer as managing director together with one of the previously named, the others were fired. In 1992, a buyer took over the business through the trust and managed it as intercor GmbH from the end of 1992 until bankruptcy in April 1995 as sole managing director.
Some colleagues were able to find employment in the newly founded Schulz company .
Krasny, Lehmann and Ober write about the former combine sites:
“The parts of the business on Rigaer Strasse and Boxhagener Strasse were converted into apartments. The part of the business in Kopernikusstraße was largely rebuilt in the original floor plans and structures and now houses a mix of handicrafts and businesses under the roof of the new Comeniushöfe. The operating part in the Paris Commune was soon demolished and an office tower was built in its place. Only the veneer cutting building is still standing and today it houses cultural offerings ... "
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Dieter Krasny, Hans J. Lehmann, Holger Ober: intercor - VEB Inneneinrichtungskombinat Berlin. Self-published by the authors, Berlin 2016, 42 pp.
- ↑ Club restaurants and old Berlin shops. In: Berliner Zeitung. 4th / 5th January 1986.
- ↑ SSV Intercor website. Accessed January 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Stolpersteine biographies Martha Korngold (born Hecht, 1878–1945) and her husband Paul Feivel Korngold (1885–1945). Accessed January 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Walter Grunwald: Experienced. Youth - Persecution - Liberation. An autobiography. (PDF) Retrieved January 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Wolfgang Müller: Eichwalde under the swastika. On the history of the place from 1933 to 1945. In: Eichwalder Heimathefte. III, 184 pages
- ↑ Andreas Weigelt, Klaus-Dieter Müller, Thomas Schaarschmidt, Mike Schmeitzner (eds.): Death sentences of Soviet military tribunals against Germans (1944-1947). A historical-biographical study. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2015, p. 573.