Alfred Breslauer


Alfred Breslauer was a German architect of Jewish origin.

Life

Breslauer was born in Berlin and studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg. During his studies he became a member of the Akademischer Verein Motiv. After his studies, he initially worked as a trainee architect and assessor in the Prussian civil service, including in the Prussian Ministry of Public Works in Berlin. In 1897 he left the civil service and became an employee of the well-known architect Alfred Messel.
From 1901 to 1934 he worked independently with the architect Paul Salinger - his brother-in-law.
In 1921 Breslauer was appointed as a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts. On 9 December 1933 he was expelled from the Academy by the Nazis because of his Jewish ancestry. In 1939, he emigrated to Switzerland.
Breslauer was married to Dorothea Lessing, a daughter of the art historian Julius Lessing. Their joint daughter was the photographer and art dealer Marianne Breslauer.
His eldest daughter was Agathe Saulmann who was died in Zurich.
The exclusion was reversed in November 1945 following the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Work

Buildings

Buildings designed by Breslauer can still be found in large numbers in Berlin, some of which are listed as historic monuments.
Built in 1903 and 1904 by Breslauer and Salinger, the R. M. Maaßen department store on Oranienplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg was, according to the company's self-description, Germany's "largest specialty store for women's clothing." It was altered in 1938, badly damaged during the war and completely rebuilt in the 1950s. From 2002 to 2004, the house was renovated, approximating its original appearance.
In 1905, the architects Breslauer and Salinger built a five-story private clinic in Berlin-Tiergarten for the physician Ernst Unger. Today, the building bears the name Haus Unger.
The villa for the banker Carl Joerger on Lake Pohlesee in Berlin-Wannsee, also built by Breslauer and Salinger from 1906 to 1907, is also a listed building and is used as a youth education center WannseeForum.
More buildings

Publications

  • Ausgeführte Bauten 1897–1927. Julius Bard, Berlin 1927

Literature