Allach: Beauty in a Dark Regime
Porcelain pieces of the Third Reich
Adolf Hitler and the “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei” (NSDAP – Nazi Party) came to power using a number of political tactics which reshaped German economics, national pride, centuries-old racism and ethnic dominance, all the while heightening the people’s yearning for an idyllic way of life which had really never existed. This concept of a utopian agricultural “Aryan” society with proud peasant workers subject to a chosen elite was one of the basic teachings of the “Schutzstaffel”, Hitler’s “Black Knights”, headed by Reichsfuhrer, Heinrich Himmler.
In Himmler’s world of ultimate power, subordinate only to Hitler himself, he would often attempt to bring his fantasies of the perfect Germanic world to life. This was done by instructing SS men on the merits of farming and producing a large healthy Aryan family. A number of thoughtfully designed “talismans” were provided to strengthen the SS men’s desire for the tranquil, but Darwinist world of militaristic German superiority.
One example of these reminders of Teutonic greatness were the ornate pieces of art porcelain that were masterfully produced during the Third Reich. They took the forms of traditional dancing or working villagers, symbolic city, state or mythological heroes, pastural farm stock, wild animals, fawning pets, elaborate festive or ceremonial candlesticks, and many other — more than 240 — similarly inspired designs. Each piece was crafted to create a feeling of deep-seated nostalgia for the simplistic “good old days” of rural life, the beauty of nature, or the pride of being a member of the German community, both past and present. One of the most famous companies that became a prolific provider of these pieces of Nazi ideology was the Allach Porcelain Company.
“Porzellan Manufaktur Allach” was formed in 1935 by artists Franz Nagy and SS professor Karl Diebitsch. The factory was built in the small town of Allach, located about 15 miles northeast of Munich. Diebitsch, a well-known artist at the time, was an NSDAP member and SS “Obersturmbannfuhrer” (lieutenant colonel), who would help design many of the items used by the SS, including the chained officer’s dagger and black SS uniform. Himmler, a great admirer of traditional Germanic arts and always looking for a way for the SS to secure additional funds, purchased the Allach factory in 1936.
With the SS now in control, many of Germany’s top porcelain artists were contracted to make a wide variety of the highly decorative and lucrative pieces. Later, to meet growing public demands with the potential for more monies flowing into the SS coffers, Himmler moved the Allach works to a new larger facility about 7 miles from the Dachau concentration camp. This then made it a subcamp of the main prison, taking advantage of the round-the-clock free inmate labor to increase production and profitability. The new installation boasted two work areas with 9,000 workers (3,000 Jewish and 6,000 non-Jewish in
mates), producing thousands of porcelain pieces under the strict supervision of the German artists and guards. After the main porcelain factory was moved to the Dachau area, the original Allach town factory was retooled and used to produce everyday ceramic pieces, such as household pottery to be sold in the German domestic market.
To assist with the designs and operations of the company, professor Theodor Karner was hired as the artistic director. Karner was a well-known and respected sculptor and porcelain artist who had worked at the Meissen, Rosenthal and Hutschenreuther porcelain concerns leading up to his time at Allach. His artistic influence could be seen in many of the creative projects, such as the porcelain candelabra he designed for Himmler to be given to SS men on the birth of their fourth child. This beautiful milk-white piece featured a central cylinder surrounded by a child’s frieze with the words “In the clan of eternal chains I am only a link.”
Himmler’s love for his idea of a mystic German culture was characterized in his belief that plain white porcelain symbolized the purity of the Aryan race and should be cherished by every German in the “Volksgemeinschaft” (German world community).