An exhibition in Essen looks at the many facets of family history, which also reflects piece of German history.
An industrial dynasty between ideal and demon. No, we're not talking about the Denver Clan or the Ewings here. There was also family on German soil that did not make it to the point where it was ready for television series, but whose work you can still get into good fight with: the Krupps.
200 years ago this oldest German industrial group was founded. And 200 years ago, Alfred Krupp was born, who joined the company at the age of 14 and successfully steered its expansion course. Reason enough to take look at the many facets of family history with an opulent exhibition with 1,500 exhibits, which also always reflects piece of German history. One can hardly imagine more appropriate presentation location than the Ruhr Museum in the former coal washing plant of the Zeche Zollverein in Essen.
Behind the title of the show, “A Myth is Visited”, both appreciation and critical inventory are concealed. "Anyone who deals with Krupp will easily find counter-evidence for any cliché," explains Heinrich Theodor Grütter, director of the Ruhr Museum and curator of the exhibition. The Krupp myth is Janus-faced. The visitor to the exhibition will find out about this in the entrance area. Postcards of the city of Essen, which proudly show bombs and cannons, company bosses and factory facilities, are juxtaposed with satirical comments denouncing the arms business.
In this mood, it goes through 18 departments in which thematically the special position of company and family is focused. Original objects, photos, documents and film material are intended to make the vast Krupp cosmos tangible. Between the modest half-timbered house and the monumental Villa Hügel, between innovative business fields and armories, between Kaiser, Hitler and von Weizsäcker, between social commitment, patronage and public relations in our own right, "a company history that is unique in Germany" took place. said Director Grütter. Steel production was the starting point for economic success. Paintings that were commissioned underline the mythical potential of the material.
An exhibition in Essen looks at the many facets of family history, which also reflects piece of German history.
An industrial dynasty between ideal and demon. No, we're not talking about the Denver Clan or the Ewings here. There was also family on German soil that did not make it to the point where it was ready for television series, but whose work you can still get into good fight with: the Krupps.
200 years ago this oldest German industrial group was founded. And 200 years ago, Alfred Krupp was born, who joined the company at the age of 14 and successfully steered its expansion course. Reason enough to take look at the many facets of family history with an opulent exhibition with 1,500 exhibits, which also always reflects piece of German history. One can hardly imagine more appropriate presentation location than the Ruhr Museum in the former coal washing plant of the Zeche Zollverein in Essen.
Behind the title of the show, “A Myth is Visited”, both appreciation and critical inventory are concealed. "Anyone who deals with Krupp will easily find counter-evidence for any cliché," explains Heinrich Theodor Grütter, director of the Ruhr Museum and curator of the exhibition. The Krupp myth is Janus-faced. The visitor to the exhibition will find out about this in the entrance area. Postcards of the city of Essen, which proudly show bombs and cannons, company bosses and factory facilities, are juxtaposed with satirical comments denouncing the arms business.
In this mood, it goes through 18 departments in which thematically the special position of company and family is focused. Original objects, photos, documents and film material are intended to make the vast Krupp cosmos tangible. Between the modest half-timbered house and the monumental Villa Hügel, between innovative business fields and armories, between Kaiser, Hitler and von Weizsäcker, between social commitment, patronage and public relations in our own right, "a company history that is unique in Germany" took place. said Director Grütter. Steel production was the starting point for economic success. Paintings that were commissioned underline the mythical potential of the material.The exhibition documents the wide range of products - from cutlery to field cannons, from medical devices to the famous seamless railway tire. And it also shows how skillfully the Krupps knew how to put themselves in the right light, for example at world exhibitions.
A romper with the famous three company rings, the “consumer institution”, where you could buy wine from Krupp's own vineyards, workers' settlements, hospitals and company social security - Krupp took care of almost everything and was there often ahead of the state. You were “Kruppians from cradle to grave”, but that only applied to privileged class. Krupp wanted to retain qualified personnel in the long term, but expected political abstinence in return.
Alfred Krupp, who was honored with monument at the end of the 19th century that represented him larger than life, had already recognized the possibilities of offensive public relations work. The "Cinematographic Department" later produced films for the company's own purposes. The closeness to the powerful and celebrities that the Krupps have always been able to establish also benefited their reputation and thus their business.
Ulrich Traub
The exhibition "200 Years of Krupp" can be seen until November 4th in the Ruhr Museum on Zollverein, Gelsenkirchener Straße 181, Essen. Information at www.ruhrmuseum.de
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