Allach (porcelain)
Encyclopedia
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
was produced in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
between 1935 and 1945.
History
Master of ceramics (potter) Franz Nagy had owned the land since 1925 that the Munich-Allach facility was built on. With his business partner, the porcelain artist Prof. Karl DiebitschKarl Diebitsch
Professor Karl Diebitsch was an artist and soldier responsible for much of the Third Reich SS regalia, including the Chained SS Officer's dagger scabbard. Diebitsch worked with graphic designer Walter Heck to design the all-black SS uniform...
, he began the production of porcelain art. The porcelain factory Porzellan Manufaktur Allach was established as a private concern in 1935 in the small town of Allach, near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 1936 the factory was acquired by the SS. Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, the leader of the SS who was known for his obsession with Aryan mysticism, saw the acquisition of a fine porcelain factory as a way to establish an industrial base for the production of works of art that would be representative, in Himmler's eyes, of truly Germanic culture. Allach porcelain was one of Himmler’s favorite projects and produced various figurines (soldiers, animals, etc.) to compete in the small but profitable German porcelain market.
High-ranking artists were locked into contract. The program of the factory included over 240 porcelain and ceramic models. As output at the Allach factory increased, the Nazis moved production to a new facility near the Dachau concentration camp. The fact that the factory might have been taking advantage of a pool of slave labor provided by the Dachau camp was strongly denied by the factory managers at the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
. Initially intended as a temporary facility, Dachau remained the main location for fine porcelain manufacture even after the original factory in Allach was modernized and reopened in 1940. The factory in Allach was instead retrofitted for the production of ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
products such as household pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
.
Prof. Karl Diebitsch
Karl Diebitsch
Professor Karl Diebitsch was an artist and soldier responsible for much of the Third Reich SS regalia, including the Chained SS Officer's dagger scabbard. Diebitsch worked with graphic designer Walter Heck to design the all-black SS uniform...
, was an Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS, and Himmler’s personal referent on art. Prof. Theodor Kärner was (besides Diebitsch) one of Germany’s most prestigious artists in porcelain arts. Kärner also worked with the Meissen
Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china is the first European hard-paste porcelain that was developed from 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market...
, Rosenthal
Rosenthal
Rosenthal is a name of German origin, meaning rose valley, and may refer to:* Rosenthal, Hesse, in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district* Rosenthal , a part of Berlin, Germany* Rosenthal, a part of Peine in Lower Saxony...
, and Hutschenreuther
Hutschenreuther
Hutschenreuther is the name of the family that established the production of porcelain in Northern Bavaria, in 1814. Hutschenreuther was a trend-setter and enabled Germany to gain an excellent reputation in the European porcelain industry...
companies.
Allach was a sub-camp of Dachau near Munich, located approximately 10 miles from the main camp at Dachau. According to Marcus J. Smith, who wrote "Dachau: The Harrowing of Hell," the Allach camp was divided into two enclosures, one for 3,000 Jewish inmates and the other for 6,000 non-Jewish prisoners. Smith was a doctor in the US military, assigned to take over the care of the prisoners after the liberation. He wrote that the typhus epidemic had not reached Allach until April 22, 1945, about a week before the camp was liberated.
Hitler unlike Himmler did not seem to care as much for Allach Porcelain. He is quoted as saying, “It’s like looking for ghosts in your attic. What culture can be found in a clay pot?” about Himmler’s efforts at finding evidence about the ancient origins of the Germanic people. What he said could also show his true feelings about Allach Porcelain.
The fall of the Third Reich brought an end to the Allach concern. The Allach factories were shut down in 1945 and are widely believed to have never been reopened.
Bronze work
Over the last couple years several bronze pieces attributed the estate of Franz Nagy have come to market. Nagy was managing director of Allach Porcelain and each of the pieces in question were all modeled in porcelain as well during the 3rd Reich. The three noted examples included two of Obermaier's models the Fencer and the Victor, and this rare Karner piece the SS Standard Bearer or SS Fahnentrager.Artistic themes
The majority of items produced at Allach as collectibleCollectible
A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...
s bolstered Nazi ideology by presenting idealized representations of peasants, historical figures and rural themes.
The Allach Julleuchter
Allach porcelain made a variety of candle holders ranging from elaborate gilded baroque candelabraCandelabra
"Candelabra" is the traditional term for a set of multiple decorative candlesticks, each of which often holds a candle on each of multiple arms or branches connected to a column or pedestal...
s, to the most basic plain white porcelain single candle holder. Production numbers for most candleholders were above average for other Allach items. The varying styles and low cost (due to slave labor production) of the candleholders produced at Allach allowed most Germans of every class to own them. The Allach Julleuchter
Julleuchter
A Julleuchter or Turmleuchter , is a "small earthenware candlestick, about 4" square at the bottom, about 8" tall, and it is shaped kind of like a mountain or a tower." Modern Julleuchters have the Hagall rune and a heart symbol visible on all four sides. Other examples have an Algiz rune or a...
was unique in that it was made as presentation piece for SS officers to celebrate the winter solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
. It was later given to all SS members on the same occasion. Made of unglazed stoneware, the Julleuchter
Julleuchter
A Julleuchter or Turmleuchter , is a "small earthenware candlestick, about 4" square at the bottom, about 8" tall, and it is shaped kind of like a mountain or a tower." Modern Julleuchters have the Hagall rune and a heart symbol visible on all four sides. Other examples have an Algiz rune or a...
was decorated with early pagan Germanic symbols. Its common design is originally based on artifacts found at an archeological dig in/ around Haithabu (Hedeby), and is attributed to the Frisians who once settled there. Himmler said, “I would have every family of a married SS man to be in possession of a Julleuchter
Julleuchter
A Julleuchter or Turmleuchter , is a "small earthenware candlestick, about 4" square at the bottom, about 8" tall, and it is shaped kind of like a mountain or a tower." Modern Julleuchters have the Hagall rune and a heart symbol visible on all four sides. Other examples have an Algiz rune or a...
. Even the wife will, when she has left the myths of the church find something else which her heart and mind can embrace.” Production numbers for Julleuchter in 1939 alone were 52,635, probably the largest production for any single item produced at the Porzellan Manufaktur Allach.