Photographs by Cecil F. S. Newman. MÄRKISCHES MUSEUM Stadtmuseum Berlin. Am Köllnischen Park Berlin Infoline

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1 PRESS KIT Berlin 1945/46 Photographs by Cecil F. S. Newman MÄRKISCHES MUSEUM Stadtmuseum Berlin Address Am Köllnischen Park Berlin Infoline Tel. (030) info@stadtmuseum.de Opening hours Tue-Sun 10am-6pm Day of German Unity 03/10/ am-6pm Admission 5.00 / reduced 3.00 euros free on the first Wednesday of every month; free for registered school groups and children/teenagers up to 18 years old Special ticket 8.00 / reduced 5.00 euros authorised visits to Ephraim-Palais and Märkisches Museum, 30/06/2015 through 31/01/2016 Accompanying programme

2 Press Release Press Office Tel. (030) /-215 Fax (030) Mail 16 July 2015 Berlin 1945/46 Photographs by Cecil F. S. Newman Exhibition at the Märkisches Museum: 17/07 through 25/10/2015 The exhibition Berlin 1945/46 at the Märkisches Museum presents previously unknown images of Berlin taken by Northern Irish photographer Cecil F. S. Newman ( ). On display are around 150 reprints made from the negatives shot with his Leica. The selection follows the three Berlin albums that Newman compiled in 1945/46, which are on loan from his family and on public display for the first time. They are complemented by vintage prints, personal documents and mementos. Newman s photographic subjects are the city and its inhabitants. His ambitious amateur photographs show the terrible toll of Germany s war, which is scarcely noticeable seventy years later. His work ranges from documentary photographs to symbolic imagery and vivid portrayals of work and daily life, all of which he assembled in his albums into groups of images resembling reportages. His perspective as an engineer confronting a daunting challenge in the devastated wasteland of Berlin is apparent in many of his photographs. Above all, his stylistically haunting portraits bear witness to the self-reliance of a generation that laid the foundation for the rebuilding of this city. He came as a soldier and left as a friend In July 1945, the thirty-year-old Newman, Captain of the Royal Engineers arrived with British occupying forces in the ruined city of Berlin. His home city of Belfast had been devastated by German air raids in Nevertheless, he volunteered to help his former enemy rebuild. For a year, Newman worked as a representative of the military government with municipal and building authorities on the most pressing tasks for the restoration of the city s infrastructure. He also worked for the International Committee for Construction and Housing under Hans Scharoun, the Councillor for Building and Construction, on the first plan for the new Berlin. He brought a high degree of personal commitment to his work and treated the residents of Berlin with great openness, sympathy and friendship. After returning to Belfast, he was accepted into the Royal Photographic Society in He went on to receive numerous honours for his work in urban and landscape planning in Northern Ireland. I wanted to bring them home Newman left behind over 1,400 images from his time in Berlin. In 2011, his daughter Pat Newman gifted this part of his extensive photographic estate to Stadtmuseum Berlin, saying on the occasion I wanted to bring them home. With this exhibition, Stadtmuseum Berlin commemorates the end of the Second World War in Berlin 70 years ago.

3 MÄRKISCHES MUSEUM Stadtmuseum Berlin Address Am Köllnischen Park Berlin Infoline Tel. (030) info@stadtmuseum.de Press preview Thursday 16/07/ :00 am Opening Thursday 16/07/2015 7:00 pm Duration 17/07 through 25/10/2015 Opening hours Tue-Sun 10am-6pm Day of German Unity 03/10/ am-6pm Admission 5.00 / reduced 3.00 euros free on the first Wednesday of every month; free for registered school groups and children/teenagers up to 18 years old Special ticket 8.00 / reduced 5.00 euros authorised visits to Ephraim-Palais and Märkisches Museum, 30/06/2015 through 31/01/2016 Accompanying programme Guided tour 12/08 and 14/10/2015 4:00 pm Guided tour of the exhibition with Ines Hahn Admission: 3.00 / reduced 2.00 euros, includes museum visit Book launch 26/08/2015 6:00pm Als die Brücken im Wasser knieten ( When the Bridges Knelt Down into the Water ) on the destruction and reconstruction of Berlin s bridges, admission 3.00 / reduced 2.00 euros Discussion 17/09/2015 6:00pm Are eyewitnesses still relevant? war and the end of the war, 70 years later, admission 3.00 / reduced 2.00 euros Publication Berlin 1945/46 The Photographs of Cecil F. S. Newman Ed.: Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin Nicolai Verlag Berlin [ISBN ] euros (128 pages, 100 images, some coloured, foldout)

4 Cecil F. S. Newman * 1914 Lisburn 1984 Belfast grew up as the son of a policeman in Belfast member of the 10th Belfast Scout Group, 1931 Scout of the Year graduate of the Royal Academical Institution employed by the city administration of Belfast: city surveying and urban planning attends evening classes in engineering and officer training at the Queen s University Belfast 1935 begins activities as a photographer, participates in the International Scout Jamboree: 1935 in Sweden, 1936 and 1938 in Tirol 1939 convocation of the Royal Engineers 1941 assigned to bombed-out Belfast: ammunition and reconstruction 1942 marries Molly Baird 1943 stationed in Gibraltar: tunnel construction/airport expansion 1945 training in emergency water supply followed by stationing at Moyland Castle/Lower Rhine: road and housing construction July 1945 transfer to Berlin: employed by the Department of Public Works and Utilities of the British military government, member of the International Committee for Construction and Housing August 1946 returns to Belfast to work for the city planning department, promoted to major 1947 accepted into the Royal Photographic Society births of his children Pat, John and Michael 1953 becomes full member of the Royal Town Planning Institute following completion of an external study programme 1956 becomes senior planner for the Northern Irish Development Ministry Collaborates on the Matthew Plan, the regional plan for Belfast Authors the plan for the Mourne Mountains and the Newry area using his own photographs Honours: 1972 Order of the British Empire 1984 Merit Award from the Royal Town Planning Institute Northern Ireland; 1987 Memorial Stone Cecil Newman Friend of Mourne from the Ulster Society for the Protection of the Countryside Exhibitions: 1944 Architecture, Landscape and Portrait Photography, Gibraltar 1984 Reflections of C.F.S. Newman a planner and his camera, Belfast 2013 Two men of Mourne. Photographs by Pat Hudson and Cecil Newman, Down County Museum

5 Berlin plant ( Berlin makes plans ) Newman was a member of the International Committee for Civil Engineering and Housing, specialists supported by the Big Four Allies to help the Magistrate s planning body with work on the first plan for the new Berlin.On the German side, involvement came from Hans Scharoun, Karl Böttcher, Wils Ebert and Martin Mächler. The group was engaged in developing prefabricated ready-to-build houses made of plastic. They estimated that there would be a global requirement for 100 million residences and they hoped that these export goods would provide momentum for the German economy. The planning body drew upon avant-garde concepts from the period before The goal was to create a less densely populated, green city that was organically structured according to function and traversed by transport lines. The results were presented in the exhibition Berlin plant ( Berlin makes plans"), which started on 22 August 1946 in the White Hall of the City Palace ruins. Letter of thanks from the Planning Commissioner for Construction and Housing Hans Scharoun to Newman City Council of Berlin Building and Housing Dept. Now that you are going back to your Homeland, I would like to thank you with all my heart for the great understanding which you brought to our work. It was always a great joy for me and my fellow workers to know that in our difficult situation we had human understanding. I hope you will permit me to give you this reproduction of the seal of our City to take on your way as a remembrance of your time in Berlin. We all truly regret that you are leaving and wish you success in your work and hope that you will not sever your lies with us. Your humble Hans Scharoun [on loan from the family]

6 Friendship, parcels, letters and professional exchanges Together with his mother, Newman sent more than 50 parcels containing food, shoes, clothing and candles from Belfast to Berlin via the Swedish Red Cross. The replies that he received are an expression of the closeness that grew out of intensive cooperative work. They also provide a striking picture of the living conditions in post-war Berlin. In those times, people shared the bare essentials, and gave what they received to those whose needs were greater. Letters from Erna Mischonat, owner of the Photo-Spezialhaus on Rüdesheimer Platz, and whose darkroom he used, bear testimony to the fact that Newman developed his own film. Their exchange of literature was part of the professional dialogue that Newman continued with his colleagues after returning to Belfast. For instance, Newman regularly had the journal Der Bauhelfer ( The Construction Helper ) sent to him, which discussed practical issues of the reconstruction as well as theoretical questions regarding urban development. He also sent stamps so that his colleagues could send him the Neue Berliner Illustrierte. He was presumably interested in the photo-journalistic image sequences, two or three of which were included in each issue on double-page spreads. He also stayed informed about Berlin plant ("Berlin makes plans"), an exhibition which Newman supported and which was opened in the Berlin City Palace shortly before his return to Belfast. Almost a year after his return, he received a handmade catalogue book with photographs and the dedication with gratitude, I commemorate your spiritual and material help from your devoted friend Hans Scharoun, list of the parcels sent by Newman and his mother from letter from Erna Mischonat to Newman Belfast to Berlin and their contents, page 1 of 3

7 Chronicle Berlin 1945/46 April th 21th 28th Beginning of the Red Army s Berlin offensive The last of a total of 310 British-American air raids on Berlin Colonel General Nikolai E. Bersarin elected city commandant May nd 8th 13th 19th 21st 23rd 27th 30th 31st Surrender of the German troops in Berlin: 56,000 civilian casualties since the beginning of the war. The city has no drinkable water, electricity or gas. Nearly half of all living quarters and major bridges have been destroyed and the transportation network paralysed. 55 to 75 million m³ of debris fill the streets. Unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, end of the Second World War in Europe Introduction of 5 categories of ration cards Rebirth of the music world: concert by the Berlin Chamber Orchestra in Rathaus Schöneberg First Berliner Rundfunk (Berlin Radio) broadcast after the war Inauguration of a new magistrate and mayor of Greater Berlin, Dr Arthur Werner, by the Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) Founding and first edition of the Berliner Zeitung Health administration called upon to remove all human and animal corpses Rebirth of the theatre world: first performance in the Renaissance Theatre Resumption of electricity in eleven of the twenty-one municipalities Dissolution of all previous civil service positions by order of the SMAD June st 5th 8th 10th 30th Formation of the German People s Police: 170 districts established in Berlin Berlin Declaration : Allies assume governmental powers in Germany, the country is divided into four occupied zones SMAD orders the magistrate to denazify the school system and establish a comprehensive school SMAD permits the formation of antifascist-democratic parties and free trade unions Beginning of the dismissal of all Nazi Party members from public service

8 July st Berlin s zoo reopened with 46 surviving animals 4th American and British occupational forces arrive in their zones (French troops arrive five weeks later) Newly founded parties KPD, SPD, CDU and LDP hold first mass rally in front of Rathaus Tiergarten. The Cultural League for the Democratic Renewal of Germany holds its first mass rally in the Haus des Rundfunks 11th First meeting of the Inter-Allied Command for Berlin: endorsement of all previous orders given by Soviet commanders 17th Beginning of the Potsdam Conference; common goals of the USA, Soviet Union and Great Britain for Germany: denazification, democratisation, demilitarisation, decentralisation and dismantling August th Beginning of local and limited long-distance correspondence 7th Results of population and workplace census: 2.8 million inhabitants (4.3 million in 1939), 42.4 % of workplaces remaining as in th Establishment of the Allied Control Council, supreme governing body of the four-power administration of Germany 21st Communication from Allied Command: no coal provided to the populace, forestland assigned for logging September st Police commander calls for the populace to help in the fight against theft 4th Allied command of supervisory measures for monitoring typhoid and dysentery Magistrate sets up first exchange market on Brunnenstraße 7th Victory parade by the four occupying powers on Charlottenburger Chaussee 234,224 pupils and 5,331 teachers recorded at Berlin schools 15th Fascist and military literature begins to be removed from libraries 20th More than a million passengers once again served by the BVG 25th Ban on British soldiers associating with German families is lifted 28th Magistrate passes ordinance against price gouging 29th The mayor calls upon the people to collect clothing and fabric for returning soldiers and victims of fascism October th Allied Command orders the rationing of gas 11th Reintroduction of labour book, absenteeism punished by revocation of ration cards 24th Beginning of the relief campaign Rettet die Kinder ( Save the Children ), Peace Christmas 1945 declared by the mayor 26th Aktion Storch ( Operation Stork ): evacuation of 5,000 malnourished children to the British Zone

9 November st Allied command orders the establishment of 19 Volksgaststätten ( people s restaurants ), where those in need could receive warm meals at reduced prices 7th Dedication of Soviet War Memorial in Tiergarten 12th Teaching resumes at Berlin University (Humboldt University from 1949) 19th Report from the magistrate on construction after 6 months: 35 bridges repaired, 400 km of streets, 19,000 flats, 26 million bricks salvaged, 11,000 tons of section iron and 4,000 tons of scrap iron salvaged from rubble December th Formation of the Block of Antifascist and Democratic Parties for Greater Berlin 9th Opening of the first Christmas market after the Second World War in the Lustgarten January th Adoption of allied guidelines on electricity rationing 30th The International Red Cross begins providing aid February th Publication of official telephone book for 15,000 connections (2% of 1940 number) 15th The mayor calls for every patch of soil to be used for vegetable growing 26th Allied Command issues directives for denazification March th The term Iron Curtain is used for the first time by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill 25th Trial of participants in mass killings by the Nazis at the District Court in Berlin 28th Allied Control Council industrial plan: upper limits for production volume set to 65 % of 1936 production levels April th Reopening of the Technical University of Berlin 21st Unity Congress at Admiralspalast: KPD and SPD merge into SED May th The British military government approves the agricultural use of Tiergarten Allied commanders order the formation of a municipal fleet of 26 barges, four motorboats and five tugboats June rd The Allies mandate elections for city and borough councils set for the 20th of October July th The Allied Control Council passes a law for the employment of women in removing rubble (60,000 Trümmerfrauen, rubble women, in Berlin) August th Allied Command approves a draft for the Constitution of Greater Berlin 14th First aid packages issued by the Cooperative of American Remittances to Europe (CARE)

10 Accompanying Programme 12/08 and 14/10 16:00 Guided tour with curator Ines Hahn Entry: 3.00 / reduced 2.00 euros plus museum entry fee 26/08 18:00 Book Launch When the Bridges Knelt down in the Water Destruction and Reconstruction of Berlin s Bridges The destruction of the war was particularly ruinous to the city's infrastructure. The survival of Berlin and its residents required the provisional restoration of the bridges and waterways to be carried out as quickly as possible. Experts Eckhard Thiemann and Dieter Desczyk will present a slideshow that illuminates how the restoration process took place in the postwar period and later in the divided city. Entry 3.00 / reduced 2.00 euros 17/09 18:00 Discussion Are contemporary witnesses still relevant? War and the Aftermath of War after 70 Years How can history be understood through memories? Judith Steinkühler from the Anne Frank Center will discuss how the piece Goldland for the Theater an der Parkaue came about through encounters with the children and youth of wartime. FRANEK presents an artistic expression of her view of childhood during wartime in the book Als die Soldaten Schäfer waren ( When the Soldiers Were Shepherds"). Ines Hahn will discuss how souvenirs from Belfast became the catalyst for an exhibition about Berlin 1945/46. Moderated by Nele Güntheroth Entry: 3.00 / reduced 2.00 euros MÄRKISCHES MUSEUM Stadtmuseum Berlin Address Am Köllnischen Park Berlin Infoline Tel. (030) info@stadtmuseum.de Opening hours Tue-Sun 10am-6pm Day of German Unity 03/10/ am-6pm Admission 5.00 / reduced 3.00 euros free on the first Wednesday of every month; free for registered school groups and children/teenagers up to 18 years old Special ticket 8.00 / reduced 5.00 euros authorised visits to Ephraim-Palais and Märkisches Museum, 30/06/2015 through 31/01/2016 Accompanying programme