大象传媒

Eleanor Bron reads Fiona McCarthy鈥檚 biography of the Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius.

Gropius was a man of extraordinary charisma. For more than twenty years, from 1910 to 1930, he was at the very centre of European modern art and design. His buildings are still strikingly experimental, his influence on post-war architecture in America and internationally was enormous. As the founder and director of the Bauhaus, he invented a form of creative education that influenced art schools worldwide. But the Bauhaus was more than an art school - it was the birth of a whole new philosophy of art.

In episode 4, Gropius begins to create the Bauhaus out of the ruins of the aftermath of the First World War. The Bauhaus stood for delight, experiment and creative freedom. Gropius gathered talents, including Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, into an art school that became an alternative way of life.

Soon, the Bauhaus students had become a cohesive group, united by the feeling that they were fighting for the same ideals in opposition to the largely uncomprehending world around them. They staged spectacular parties, with elaborate costumes and wild dancing. But for many local citizens, these strangely dressed groups of students seemed alarming. At a time of escalating anti-Jewish prejudice, it was suspected that many of them were Jewish.

Local complaints focussed on the parties on the river where men and women could be viewed "without any bathing costumes whatsoever and in places accessible to everyone. This infringement of decency represents a danger to morals, especially for young people." And as the Nazi party became a serious force, attacks on the Bauhaus increased to such an extent that the teachers and students were forced to resign.

Reader: Eleanor Bron
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
Executive Producer: Joanne Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for 大象传媒 Radio 4