Lichtbringer [Bringer of Light], Bernhard Hoetger. Bronze and gold. Bremen, 1936. German Expressionism's uncanny relation to National Socialism is nowhere more visible in architecture than in Bremen's Böttcherstraße. The ensemble of brick expressionist buildings, which includes the House Atlantis and the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, was built between 1922 and 1931, following the initiative of Ludwig Roselius, a wealthy coffee merchant with shares in the Focke-Wulf Werke. Roselius' sympathy for National Socialism and his fascination with Völkisch-nordic culture influenced the design of the Böttcherstraße. The architect and artist Bernhard Hoetger, whom Roselius met at Worpswede, was an equally fervent National Socialist and was commisioned by Roselius to design most of the buildings. Installed in April 1936, the Lichtbringer was intended to glorify the "victory of our Führer over the powers of darkness" (details like people saluting the angel slaying the monster leave no doubt about that, either), but ultimately the NSDAP rejected Expressionism in favour of neoclassicist architecture, and dismissed the entire "Böttcherstraßenkunst" [Böttcherstraße art] altogether the same year. #bremen #modernism #expressionism #brickexpressionism #architecture #art #relief #bronze #gold #brick #ludwigroselius #bernhardhoetger #naziarchitecture #1936
