Olympic furniture

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" Olympia furniture " or "Olympia furniture" is the slang term for furniture in the Bundeswehr and other authorities from the "Olympia" series based on designs by the designer Otl Aicher .

Bundeswehr parlor 1982, "Olympia" chairs in blue and dark green, blue table
Bundeswehr parlor 1982, "Olympia" chairs in blue and dark green, blue table

The name can be traced back to the furnishing of the Olympic Village at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich with this, at that time modern, furniture. It was a furnishing system that, in accordance with the technical delivery conditions of the German Armed Forces, was made from blockboard , later hardboard with a plastic surface in the colors dark green, blue, kress (now called orange) or white.

Before the introduction of Olympic furniture, “oak, light” veneered furniture, one-colored in wood, as part of the initial equipment of the Bundeswehr , was procured.

First of all, the new standard furniture was procured in blue and dark green. Like the blue and green tones of the Games, the topography of the Munich Olympic site was also inspired by the pre-alpine landscape of the Allgäu . The color dark green of the Olympic furniture was originally reserved for the army , while blue was intended for the air force and the German navy . Furniture in the color Kress should be used in educational institutions. This system did not last long; At the end of the 1990s, “colorful parrots” could be found in office and accommodation furnishings in the properties.

The successor decor for property furniture introduced into the Bundeswehr since the end of the 1990s is known as "beech, decor". This is chipboard furniture with a plastic surface.

Procurement background

At the request of Willi Daume, in his function as President of the National Olympic Committee for Germany (NOC), for the Bundeswehr's support for the Games, the Federal Minister of Defense in 1970, at that time Helmut Schmidt , decided to support the event to a considerable extent, whereby this reserved all decisions regarding assistance.

Among other things, “representative accommodation and furnishing equipment”, “in keeping with the international character of the competitions”, based on specially made designs from the Olympia series by Otl Aicher, the head of the Olympic Committee Department for Visual Design, was subsequently valued by the Bundeswehr administration of about 56 million DM for most of the Olympic accommodations in Munich and Kiel , which could be made available on loan and for such a short time. Properties and accommodation had to be prepared and produced. Among other things, the Olympic men's village, the Olympic press city, the Olympic committee building, the Olympic center, the youth and student camp, communal accommodation in schools, facilities of the German Federal Post Office and the local barracks of the Bundeswehr and the Bavarian riot police were equipped on loan . Around 22,000 soldiers and civil servants of the Bundeswehr had to be accommodated in the Munich area alone. In addition, there were accommodation options for 8,000 external short-term supporters (4,500 riot police, 2,000 other law enforcement officers, technicians from the German Olympic radio and television center, interpreters, etc.). By bringing together the Munich regular troops and temporarily interrupting the course rhythm at the Bundeswehr academies and schools in Munich, a total of 32,000 beds were made available for accommodation.

The new Bundeswehr furniture was used in all apartments of the athletes, journalists and short-term staff, and wherever temporary use did not allow other procurement options. Corresponding guidelines were issued on January 18, 1972. In 1972, the total cost of renovating or building new accommodation was estimated at around 11.5 million DM. The entire so-called real estate material - the furniture is meant here - remained the property of the Bundeswehr administration, was used after the competitions to replace the Bundeswehr's initial equipment in the barracks and "does not cause any additional costs".

On the occasion of the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Bundeswehr provided furniture, linen and other equipment to accommodate and care for 55,000 people. The removal of the furniture borrowed from the Bundeswehr and the total renovation of the somewhat looted Olympic village could only begin after the last athletes moved out on September 18, 1972 after their right of residence had ended .

Peter Brügge commented on the procurement measure for the furniture in the cover story of the magazine Der Spiegel in July 1972 with the words: "The Bundeswehr took the opportunity to liberate self-portrayal and first ordered new furniture for 56 million marks in order to lend Daumes games with it."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ residential infrastructure. In: Markus Grübel : Statement by the Federal Ministry of Defense on the 2014 annual report of the Federal Commissioner for Defense of the German Bundestag (56th report - Bundestag printed paper 18/3750). Berlin June 22, 2015, p. 26. ( available online )
  2. ↑ Miguel Sanches: Moldy barracks, defective jets - the troops rotten. DerWeste , January 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ Ulrike Demmer : The wellness troupe. Focus Magazin No. 23 (2014), June 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Olympic Furniture". - Provision, storage and recycling. Vol. 2. Federal Archives (archive signature: BArch, BW 25/736)
  5. ↑ a b Dietmar Buse; Vivien-Marie Bettex: Spint [sic!], Table, buck. In: Bundeswehr aktuell , Volume 51, No. 35, December 7, 2015, p. 6 ff. ( Pdf ).
  6. ↑ Norbert Kohnen: When a film is deleted. Neue Ruhr Zeitung , April 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ a b Major order for the Bundeswehr administration. In: Defense. Organ of the Society for Military Studies. Vol. 26, Verlag Europäische Wehrkunde, 1972, p. 403.
  8. ↑ a b The Games: The Official Report, Volume 1. Organizing Committee for the Games of the 20th Olympiad, Munich 1972, p. 354.
  9. ↑ Jochen Paul: While in London around 10,500 athletes from 205 nations will fight for gold, silver and bronze in 31 disciplines until August 12, Munich remembers its “own” Olympic Games from 1972. muenchenarchitektur.com, July 27 2012.
  10. ↑ Alexander Sulanke: The Bundeswehr depot is emptied. Hamburger Abendblatt , January 21, 2006.
  11. ^ Sven Windmann: Farewell to the barracks charm of the 60s. Schleswig-Holsteinische Landeszeitung , November 3, 2009; about the renovation of the Kai-Uwe-von-Hassel barracks in Kropp .
  12. ↑ a b Bundeswehr / Olympia-Hilfe: Cheerful and lively. Der Spiegel 8/1971, February 15, 1971, pp. 30-31.
  13. ↑ see Olympiapark (Munich) #Olympisches Dorf
  14. ^ Fritz Gotthelf (Equipment Working Group): Furniture for 30,000 residential units. In: Carl Mertz : Olympic Buildings, Munich 1972. Construction completed in summer 1972. K. Krämer, 1972, p. 66.
  15. ↑ Guidelines on the free provision of real estate, movable property and services (assistance) by the Bundeswehr for preparation. Realization and handling of the 1972 Olympic Games. January 18, 1972.
  16. ↑ Negotiations of the German Bundestag. Stenographic reports. Vol. 185, Bonn 1974, p. 136.
  17. ↑ Karl Stankiewitz: 40 years later: Lustpark and air castles. That stayed from Olympia. Evening newspaper , April 13, 2012.
  18. ↑ Peter Bruges: "We slipped into it like that". Der Spiegel 31/1972, p. 28 ff. ( Pdf )