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theses

My thesis examines media representations of architecture in the immediate decade after World War II, with a particular focus on 1947–49. In this time of a construction crisis, architecture was "relocated" to different media like radio plays, architectural magazines or city image fi lms. A climate evidencing a „Baukultur der Bewusstlosigkeit“ was diagnosed for this decade in the discourse of the 1960s. Against this backdrop, I examine three works -- "The Fifth Dream" („Der fünfte Traum“) of Günter Eich’s radio play Träume (Dreams, 1951), the short-lived architectural magazine BAU. Zeitschrift für wohnen, arbeiten, sich erholen (Magazine for Living, Working, Relaxing, 1947) and the short city image film Stein auf Stein. Ein Land baut auf (Stone on Stone. Building a Country, 1949) -- to see how these worked through the various discourses of the time in regards to construction and building a new future. Looking at new material that has not yet been examined, I seek out works that are in some way experiments at the margins -- textual miniatures and short forms. Although the three works I have chosen are ephemeral works, they are the most conclusive on many topics that occur in the immediate postwar decade: they shed light on new media constellations, changing gender norms, the discourse of "coming to terms" with the past as well as the biographical, historical/political and cultural continuities with National Socialism. They also give us insight into democratization and occupation politics. One sees the effort to think through what new technology means in the early post-war decade. I also elaborate on moments of excess and transgression in these works, which emerge from a time of licensing policy changes, paper shortages and so on.

ETD_10864

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-9z7m-3z37

ETD doctoral

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