Danuta Schmidt in conversation with journalist Florentine Anders about her autobiographical book *Die Allee*, her grandfather Hermann Henselmann, and the extended family of the GDR’s most famous architect and head of the Berlin Academy of Architecture.
From the early years of the GDR’s reconstruction through the 1970s, Henselmann designed, among other things, residential buildings, cultural centers in cities and rural areas, housing developments, and modern high-rises such as the high-rise on Weberwiese, the “Uni-Riesen” in Leipzig, and the well-known Jentower in Jena. In Sassnitz, he built an elementary school that is now a designated historic landmark. His architectural style is most closely associated with Stalinallee (now Karl-Marx-Allee). The spherical shape of the television tower—Germany’s tallest structure—is also one of his designs. Socialist Classicism, “pastry chef” style, Postmodernism, East German Modernism? The discussion focuses less on categorizations or interpretations and more on the valuable cultural heritage that Henselmann and his colleagues left behind in Germany.
Advance tickets are available at the Prerow Tourist Information Office or online at www.reservix.de
