German-speaking refugee women architects before the Second World War

Poppelreuter, T

Abstract

In Germany and Austria women began to enter the architectural profession in the late 19th century and by the late 1930s some women architects had found working opportunities. After Hitler seized power in Germany in 1933, discrimination and anti-Semitism led to an unprecedented refugee crisis that forced many into exile. Among those that fled to the USA were Marie Frommer (1890-1976), Liane Zimbler (1892-1987), Elsa Gidoni (1901-1978), Karola Bloch (1905-1994) Hilde Reiss (1909-2002) and Elisabeth Scheu Close (1912-2011).
Recent research has investigated the complex relationships and networks within which German-speaking exiles operated and that fostered transcultural exchanges in times of crisis. Other studies identified women architects who graduated during the Weimar Republic and discussed and contextualised the cultural and political situation that supported and/or hindered women architects at that time.
On the basis of such research this paper merges and contextualises the biographies of these six refugee women architects in an effort to outline the complex networks within which they operated before and after becoming exiles.

Citation

Poppelreuter, T. (2018, June). German-speaking refugee women architects before the Second World War. Presented at Women's Creativity since the Modern Movement (1918-2018), Turin, Italy

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: Women's Creativity since the Modern Movement (1918-2018)
• Conference Location: Turin, Italy
• Start Date: Jun 13, 2018
• End Date: Jun 16, 2018
• Acceptance Date: Jun 13, 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2018
• Related Public URLs: http://www.momowo.eu/symposium/
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference