Scala (Berlin)

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Entrance to the Scala, 1936
Program booklet, 1934
Memorial plaque , Martin-Luther-Strasse 16, Berlin-Schöneberg

The Scala in Berlin was one of the famous variety theaters in Germany from 1920 to 1944 . International artists such as the juggler Enrico Rastelli and the clown Grock performed here . The Scala Girls, an in-house dance troupe, which from 1934 even appeared in sparse costumes all over Germany, were also legendary.

history

The Scala was opened in 1920 in the building previously known as the Ice Palace by nine mostly Jewish business people - including the owner of the Lichtbild-Bühne publishing house , Karl Wolffsohn and the aircraft industrialist Fokker  . The leading hand of the entertainment facility operated as part of a GmbH was the trained banker Jules Marx , who was involved in numerous amusement businesses in Germany until the end of the 1920s. Scala was very successful in the Roaring Twenties and became an internationally known variety theater.

However, the company , which had expanded into a group up to then (financing several variety shows in Germany, building the Volksvarietés Plaza at the old Ostbahnhof Berlin ), ran into financial difficulties during the global economic crisis .

After Hitler's " seizure of power ", the main lender, Dresdner Bank , terminated the collaboration, and Scala was taken over by "non-Jews". The vaudeville was also very successful during the Nazi era and in 1941 it was considered Germany's largest vaudeville and revue theater.

On August 10, 1944, Joseph Goebbels banned all events with non-war performances, which was also the end for La Scala. The building at Lutherstrasse 22-24 (circulation counting, since 1963: Martin-Luther-Straße  14-18, exchange counting) was largely destroyed in the night of November 22nd to 23rd, 1943. From 1960 parts were temporarily used as a provisional venue for the cabaret Die Wühlmäuse . Efforts to restore the destroyed building and land to the original owners were unsuccessful in court. The building was later demolished. In the house next to it, Lutherstrasse 21, corner of Augsburger Strasse (today: Martin-Luther-Strasse 12, corner of Fuggerstrasse) was the Horcher restaurant from 1904–1944 .

In the 1970s, the street front was closed with a functional, functional building. The area of ​​the former auditorium and stage is now a non-public parking lot.

Since July 24, 2018, a memorial plaque at Martin-Luther-Straße 14 has been providing information about the history of the Scala Variety Theater and the expropriation of its Jewish owners.

  • Advertising slogan: ... and in the evening in the SCALA (also the title of a music film made in 1957 )

See also

literature

  • Rolf Benz (Ed.): Encyclopedia of National Socialism . Munich 2007, ISBN 3-423-34408-3 .
  • Peter Jelavich: Berlin Cabaret (Studies in Cultural History) . Cambridge 1993, ISBN 978-0674067622 .
  • Heinrich Martens: Memories of Scala . In: Ernst Günther, Heinz P. Hofmann, Walter Rösler (eds.): Cassette. Rock, pop, hit songs, revue, circus, cabaret, magic - an almanac (=  cassette ). No. 7 . Henschelverlag Art and Society, Berlin 1984, p. 73-81 .
  • Karl H. Pütz (Ed.): ... and in the evening to the Scala . Photographs by Josef Donderer, edited by Wolfgang Jansen. Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-87584-384-3 .
  • Jens Schnauber: The Aryanization of Scala and Plaza. Varieté and Dresdner Bank during the Nazi era . Weidler-Buchverlag, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-89693-199-7 .

Web links

Commons : Scala  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fabian Riedel: And in the evening at Scala !: Karl Wolffsohn and the variety company SCALA and PLAZA 1919 to 1961. Rise, "Aryanization", "reparation" . In: be.bra Wissenschaft (Ed.): Dissertation . Edition: 1 (January 14, 2019). be.bra Wissenschaft, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-95410-232-7 , p. 370 .
  2. ^ Ernst Heinrich, Klaus Konrad: Berlin and its buildings: buildings for trade and commerce. Hospitality . Ed .: Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin (=  Berlin and its buildings . Volume 8 , part 2). 1980, ISBN 3-433-00825-6 , pp. 77, 112 .
  3. ↑ a b Berlin is reminiscent of Jewish life in the “Scala” . In: Der Tagesspiegel , July 24, 2018

Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 53.3 "  N , 13 ° 20 ′ 42.5"  E