Thomson, Christina (1999) Contextualising the continental : the work of German émigré architects in Britain, 1933-45. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Between 1933 and 1940 between sixty and ninety German architects arrived in
Britain as émigrés fleeing from Nazi oppression. The Germany which they left
had, until Hitler's intervention, been the centre of European architectural
modernism. Making their passage into Britain, they encountered a country
whose architectural climate was altogether more traditional. When the first
German architects arrived in 1933, architectural modernism was only just taking
root, but only a few years later Britain's architectural culture boasted a thriving
modernist scene. This coincidence has led historians to draw a direct
connection between the presence of German architects and the establishment
of modernism in Britain.
This thesis, however, advances the current historiography by showing that the
role of German émigrés was, rather than to initiate British architectural
modernism, to support a development which had taken root before their arrival.
Through examination of a number of sources - including personal papers,
drawings, photographs, archive material, buildings, and personal interviews - it
explores processes of acculturation as evidenced by the work of the émigré
architects. A number of in-depth case studies reveal that the new environment
in Britain provoked a variety of responses among the German architects, whose
work frequently digressed into the realms of British architectural traditions
(taking particular inspiration from the architecture of the Georgian period).
Looking beyond well-known figures such as Mendelsohn and Gropius, the thesis
concludes that the story of architectural migration from Germany to Britain
cannot be told in terms of modernism alone. It shows that responses to the
émigré situation were highly dependent on the individual architect's background,
his or her experience, age, standing and time of arrival, but reveals that,
disregarding these differences, all émigré architects to some degree adapted to
their new working environment, a tendency which has been described as New
Contextualism.
Although submitted in the field of History of Art, the scope of this thesis is
methodologically and epistemologically wider than might usually be associated
with this field. Despite being strongly visually based in its main analysis, the
work is inter-disciplinary in approach, incorporating elements of biography,
history, sociology, and exile studies, therefore expanding the boundaries of art
historical study.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain N Fine Arts > NA Architecture
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Modern movement (Architecture) -- Great Britain -- History, Architects -- Germany, Architects -- Great Britain, Germans -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century
Official Date:	August 1999
Dates:	Date Event August 1999 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of History of Art
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Campbell, Louise
Sponsors:	Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft ; British Academy ; University of Warwick
Extent:	2 v. (350; 31, [68] leaves)
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/34756

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