The Arno Breker State Atelier

The Kunsthaus Dahlem is based in the former state studio of the sculptor Arno Breker. Alongside Josef Thorak, Breker (1900–1991) was the best-known sculptor during the “Third Reich” to visualise National Socialist ideology in his works. In 1937, he began providing sculptures for Albert Speers monumental structures and the planned Reich capital of Germania, which Berlin was to be developed into.

The studio building was constructed between 1939 and 1942 according to designs of the architect Hans Freese. The building site was a property at the edge of the Grunewald, which the City of Berlin had made available “at the request of the Führer”. Planned were facilities for working with plaster and stone, a large working space and showroom, in which several employees worked, and a private studio for Breker. The structure was equipped with modern technical facilities including a crane, a hydraulic lift and a freight elevator connected to the basement.

The state studio was primarily used for representative purposes. Breker received illustrious guests here, and reports about the sculptor and his work were filmed for the Wochenschau. Breker himself only used the studio for a brief time. By 1943, bombing damage had made usage of the spaces difficult if not impossible. Breker was in any case able to work in his studio in the Jäckelsbruch manor in Oderbruch, which Adolf Hitler had given him as a gift for his 40th birthday. The Arno Breker Sculpture Workshops, which were equipped with large halls, a rail connection and a canal harbour, were located in neighbouring Wriezen.