The Politics of Architectural Memory: Lost Breslau and its Department Store

The Poli cs of Architectural Memory Lost Breslau and its Department Store

Figure 1 1930s Breslau, Wertheim Department Store and Kaiser Wilhelm Monument. Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Figure 2 Wrocław, Renoma Shopping Centre and Bolesław Chrobry Monument, author’s photograph, 08.11.19

1

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Christos Kakalis and Zeynep Kezer for their insights and support. The author acknowledges the limita ons of this inves ga on as most of the research has been conducted remotely using wri en sources, films and photographs. The author has been familiar with and has previously visited the city and building on numerous occasions, however, only one brief visit to the site and archives was possible in the dura on of the study. The content of this disserta on has been enriched by the author’s mee ng and correspondence with Dr Paweł Kirschke - an expert who has published numerous ar cles, which focus extensively on Wrocław’s commercial public architecture, including the former Warenhaus Wertheim. I would also like to acknowledge the Wra slaviae Amici organisa on, who run the portal h ps://polska-org.pl/. The portal has been a great source of informa on and has enabled me to trace the story of the building and the city through photographs.

2

Figure 3 1945, toppled Kaiser Wilhelm statue and the burned-out shell of the department store.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Introduc on: memory preserva on within 20th century turmoil Regimes and na ons come and go. Death and destruc on rage then recede into faint remembrances.

New iden es emerge as constructs of manipulated memories, and yet… the department store s ll stands and con nues to serve its original purpose. Desire defeats dread and retail triumphs over ideology enabling architecture to become a witness to history. This is the story of a building and the city in which it stands. Renoma, or Warenhaus Wertheim as it was originally known, had to adapt to changing mes; yet its rich modern expressionist facade betrays Breslau’s lost Jewish/ German iden ty (Fig. 1 & 2). It is perhaps the most obvious of the many architectural traces which hint at the city’s secret past, and as such it becomes the main protagonist of this inves ga on.

I am wri ng a biography of a building, and through tracing its unique story, I am mapping the socio-cultural changes happening in a city whose iden ty has been erased and constructed anew following the Second World War. Objects, including buildings and monuments, were instrumental in reinforcing the constructed narra ve (Fig. 3). I focus my research on the links between architecture, memory and geopoli cal engineering and study the intricate layers and nuances of 20th century memory manipula on and strategic forge ng. By doing this I ques on how determined propaganda and poli cally mo vated manipula on of built environment influence collec ve memory. I organise my research chronologically, and analyse the themes of context, ownership and erasure within each meframe. I make extensive use of images to highlight spa otemporal contrasts, reinforce the argument and to convey the atmosphere of violent change.

3

Situated in south-western Poland, Wrocław is the 4th largest city in the country and a historical capital of Silesia region. Today it thrives as a cultural, academic and economic centre. Vra slavia, Wro zla, Vretslav, Presslaw: the city adopted various names and changed na onal allegiances mul ple mes throughout history (Fig. 4). Having resided under German influence for over two centuries, Breslau was a German city un l 1945. Following a border shi , it underwent a forced popula on exchange and became the polonised Wrocław (Fig. 5). In the War’s direct a ermath, the Soviet-controlled Polish government created the myth of ‘recovered territories’ to combat territorial uncertainty and supress emo onal trauma of the historical rupture. The concept of myth is key to this inves ga on. The crea on of myth was an emo onal necessity, a new construct able to replace unwanted memory. It provided the illusion of certainty, moral rightness and a sense of vengeful jus ce needed to cope with the le over trauma of war and forced rese lement. The myth’s thorough imposi on was also essen al to maintaining poli cal control. Myth became a poli cal tool, whilst space and architecture acted as props needed to sustain its story. What remains curious, is the fact that space and architecture, although manipulated to become the pillars of constructed reality have paradoxically triggered this inquiry. Myth was necessary then, is it necessary s ll?

In this essay, I explore the role of architecture as a historical manifesta on of Wrocław’s transi on from a German to a Polish city. By unfolding the story of the department store, the essay reveals traces of the hidden local history, which has been overridden by na onalis c, and later, by economic aims. Breslau’s Warenhaus Wertheim, constructed in 1930 just before the Nazi rise to power, fi ed well into the rich context of abundant public retail architecture in Breslau. The building combined Mendelsohn-inspired func onalism with luxurious ornament and a rich material pale e, and as such stood out against the typical German department store. It was the architectural embodiment of its Jewish owners’ values and aspira ons. The building fabric represented the company’s ambi ons of interna onal reach and openness to diversity and change. The department store was overflowing with opulence inside and out, and yet, due to its self-service model of sales and permission to look and wander, it remained inclusive whilst inci ng dreams of ascension within the social order. Despite its ini al success it fell vic m first, to the Nazi Aryaniza on policies, and then to war bombs and fire.

Nevertheless, the resilient shell of the structure survived the war, and part of the building reopened at the me of the Recovered Territories Exhibi on, under the new ownership of the Polish government.

From the point of view of architectural conserva on, the period following 1945 is considered of less value, and most ar cles wri en about the building focus on the original structure, or on the more scholarly and careful restora ons following post-1989 priva za on. However, wri ng a non-selec ve history of the building, as well as mapping its rela onship to the city and its inhabitants over the years is important from the social history aspect. The fact remains, our building has been a socialist PDT much longer than it enjoyed its original glory as the Wertheim department store, or its revival as Renoma shopping centre.

4

Figure 4 Wrocław meline

Figure 5 Polish borders before and a er WW2. Source: Wikipedia Commons

5

Chapter 1: Wertheim 1930-33

Figure 6 Wertheim Breslau main entrance.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

Figure 7 Renoma main entrance, author’s photograph, 08.11.19 6

To understand the social significance of our department store it is perhaps important to look at the emergence of the typology and the revolu onary impact this had on retail and society. Nowadays retail architecture is o en regarded as ‘tainted by commercialism and (…) a tendency to populist design’.1 Oversatura on of commercial projects has indeed resulted in many banal schemes, yet a stereotypical view applied to a category should not let us overlook the typology’s historical impact. The department store origins can be traced to 1830s Northern Britain. Industrialisa on and urbanisa on led to the forma on of ‘proto-department stores’ from drapery businesses. Despite the structure of these stores se ng a template for department store’s opera ons, the typology could not develop un l it a ained the ‘qualita ve dimension’. This was composed of atmosphere, novelty and display which set the department store apart from other forms of retailing. The qualita ve aspects were developed through the innova ons of the Parisian Bon Marché in the 1860s-70s. The typology fully matured in Chicago’s Marshall Field’s in 1900, where models of impersonal customer service (allowing wandering and browsing and removing the pressure of buying) together with en cing exhibi ons, completed the model. The American developments were imported back to Britain by Gordon Selfridge in 1909, the department store an ‘interna onal phenomenon’ by now. In its golden age, the department store placed emphasis on events and experience, combining art and commerce and transforming itself into a ‘community centre’ rather than a mere point of sale. Above all, the department store exemplified a form of ‘democra c luxury’, inspiring aspira ons of social mobility and helping to redefine class and gender roles. In architectural terms, those stores which were able to occupy purpose-built premises were characterised by common features such as gallery floors, sweeping staircases, drama c glass roofs and were o en sites of technological innova on.2 Unlike Poland, where the department store typology has been almost en rely replaced by shopping centres, the typology con nues its presence today in other places, such as Britain, with chains like John Lewis, Fenwick and House of Fraser. Except for Harrods and Selfridges, which to this day are as much a tourist, as well as shopping des na on; these stores have lost their aura of luxury and are o en incorporated as parts of larger shopping complexes. The era of department stores might be in decline though, with Debenhams, opera ng since 1778, recently announcing mul ple store closures.3 When first unveiled, our protagonist building not only fulfilled both the qualita ve and architectural criteria characterising the department store model but went beyond them to appear unique against the background of the German Warenhäuser.

1

‘From the Market Hall to the Shopping Mall – a Typology of Shop Architecture - DETAIL Inspira on’, accessed 20 December 2019, h ps://inspira on.detail.de/from-the-market-hall-to-the-shopping-mall-atypology-of-shop-architecture-114074.html?lang=en.

2 All phrases in the paragraph are quotes from: William Lancaster, The Department Store: A Social History (London ; New York: Leicester University Press, 1995); The informa on in the paragraph is a synthesis from Lancaster as well as: Geoffrey Crossick and Serge Jauman, eds., Cathedrals of Consump on : The European Department Store, 1850-1939, Historical Urban Studies (Aldershot, Hants, England ; Ashgate, 1998).

Crossick and Jauman also refer to the department store as a ‘phenomenon’.

3 ‘Debenhams Closures: The Full List of Stores to Shut’, The Guardian, 3 January 2020, sec. Business, h ps:// www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/03/debenhams-closures-the-full-list-of-stores-to-shut; ‘History’, Debenhams, accessed 14 January 2020, h ps://ir.debenhams.com/history.

7

The specificity of German department stores requires more a en on due to the original loca on of our building. The Breslau store came into existence thanks to the Jewish-German Wertheim family.

The Wertheim Group venture was founded in 1870’s by Abraham Wertheim and later headed by Georg Wertheim. It was one of the largest chains in Germany, consis ng of six stores (Warenhäuser) in Berlin, Stralsund, Rostock and Breslau.4 Lerner a ests: ‘nowhere outside of Germany did Jews own such a sizable percentage of department store firms, and nowhere else was the associa on between department stores and Jews as strong.’5 The Jewish connec on was not the only dis nguishing feature. The German enterprises placed more emphasis on food sales, o en originated outside of large metropolises and grew into large decentralised chains much earlier than their counterparts in England, France and the USA. Despite being very successful, they also seemed to cause more anxiety and controversy than in other countries.6 James illustrates how architecture responded to the moral anxiety the department store opulence provoked in Germany though examining two examples. The pre-WW1 Messel-designed Berlin Wertheim protects the rich essence of the department store and the seduc ve spa al drama within through sheltering it inside a restrained patrio c regionalist shell which exults na onal and cultural con nuity on the outside. Contras ngly, the interwar Mendelsohndesigned Schocken store tamed excess through func onalism. It’s transparent exterior, however, made no effort to hide the abundance within and the whole façade func oned as an adver sement.

The design was a reac on to na onalism, which by that me was being increasingly associated with the far-right and manifested the designer’s and store owner’s interna onal allegiances. Against the backdrop of these two exemplars, which James suggests to be illustra ve of the German trend, our store appears unique. Like the Schocken store, its form embraces the horizontal lines whilst its details clearly communicate interna onal aspira ons. It does not, however shy away from rich ornament eschewed by Mendelsohn. Like it’s younger sibling, the Breslau Wertheim embraces interior splendour, yet it does not contain it within a restraining enclosure but allows the spectacular richness to spill to the exterior.7

4

Simone Ladwig-Winters, ‘The A ack on Berlin Department Stores (Warenhaeuser) A er 1933’, in Probing the Depths of German An semi sm : German Society and the Persecu on of the Jews, 1933-1941, ed. David Bankier (New York :, Jerusalem: Berghahn Books, Yad Vashem:, Leo Baeck Ins tute, 2000).

5 Paul. Lerner, The Consuming Temple: Jews, Department Stores, and the Consumer Revolu on in Germany, 1880–1940, 2015, 13.

6 Tim Coles, ‘Department Stores as Retail Innova on in Germany: A Historical-Geographical Perspec ve on the Period 1870 to 1914’, in Cathedrals of Consump on: The European Department Store, 1850-1939, ed.

Geoffrey Crossick and Serge Jauman, Historical Urban Studies (Aldershot, Hants, England ; Ashgate, 1998).

7 Kathleen James, ‘From Messel to Mendelsohn: German Department Store Architecture in Defence of Urban and Economic Change’, in Cathedrals of Consump on: The European Department Store, 1850-1939, ed.

Geoffrey Crossick and Serge Jauman, Historical Urban Studies (Aldershot, Hants, England ; Ashgate, 1998).

8

Next, it is important to look at the context of Breslau and its commercial public architecture (Fig. 9).

Our protagonist building is situated just outside of the city moat, park and promenade marking the line of old for fica ons which surrounded the medieval town (Fig. 8). It is linked to the Market Square by Świdnicka street (Schweidnitzer Straße); and therefore, touches the heart of the city. The commercial artery, which hosts other significant buildings including the City Opera and Monopol Hotel, is one of Breslau’s four tradi onal high streets. Two trade routes passed through the city, which led to the forma on of two retail strips: West-East (Ruska and Oławska streets) and SouthNorth (Świdnicka and Kuźnicza). The commercial development of the streets was limited because of the spa al constraints imposed by the for fica ons and the legal constraints of the Magdeburg Law, restric ng trade to the main Market Square. The shopping streets would only evolve following 1807 trade regula on reforms and dismantling of defences a er Napoleonic siege defeat. Schweidnitzer Straße morphed into its final shape in 1823, extending beyond the constraints of the historic city and towards the railway tracks.8 Wroclaw experienced an architectural golden age towards the end of the 19th and the beginning of 20th century, par cularly with regards to commercial and public architecture. The Centennial Hall (Jahrhunderthalle, temporarily renamed Hala Ludowa or People’s Hall in the socialist period) designed by Max Berg and erected in 1913 currently figures on UNESCO World Heritage list as an exemplar of pioneering reinforced concrete structure (Fig. 11).9 The 1904 Art Noveau Barasch Store (Fig. 13 & 14), located within the Market Square, ‘set a trend of combining large-scale retailing and adventurous architecture.’10 Sadly, the façade design quickly fell out of favour and was simplified in 1929, as it was considered out of fashion and domineering within its context at the me. The store now operates under the Polish name Feniks, meaning Phoenix.11 Breslau had close links with Bauhaus with notable figures like Hans Poelzig teaching and designing in the city. Poelzig’s pioneering 1912 Junkerstraße design (Fig. 12), was first in Germany to emphasise horizontal lines within eleva ons. It has inspired the use of framed structure and horizontal banding on future projects within the city, with the architectural formula applied to retail as well as office func ons.12 Poelzig also created a design for the Tietz store (unbuilt) which, had it been erected, would have been a direct neighbour and compe tor for Wertheim due to its proposed site on Schweidnitzer Straße (Fig.10).

8

Krystyna and Paweł Kirschke trace the development of shopping streets in Breslau: Krystyna Kirschke and Paweł Kirschke, ‘Rozwój głównych ulic handlowych w staromiejskim centrum Wrocławia (XIX i XX w.)’, in Architektura Wrocławia. T. 2: Urbanistyka, ed. Jerzy Rozpędowski (Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, 1995), 399–429; Also see: Paweł Kirschke, ‘Wrocławskie zabytkowe obiekty komercyjne, których funkcja przestała się sprawdzać’, in Wartość funkcji w obiektach zabytkowych, ed.

Bogusław Szmygin (Warszawa: Polski Komitet Narodowy ICOMOS Muzeum Pałac w Wilanowie Politechnika Lubelska, 2014), 137–54; Norman Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City (London: Pimlico, 2003), chap. 5.

9 UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ‘Centennial Hall in Wrocław’, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, accessed 27 August 2019, h ps://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1165/.

10 Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, 283.

11 Detailed informa on about the building inside the book tled ‘100 years of “Feniks”’: Krystyna Kirschke and Paweł Kirschke, Sto lat Domu Handlowego ‘Feniks’ (Warenhaus Gebrüder Barasch) (Wrocław: Feniks, 2004).

12 Krystyna Kirschke, Paweł Kirschke, and Hermann Schlimme, ‘Wrocławskie domy handlowe i towarowe z lat dwudziestych’, in Wieżowce Wrocławia 1919-1932, ed. Jerzy Ilkosz and Beate Störtkuhl (Wrocław: Archiwum Budowlane Miasta Wrocławia, 1997), 113–35.

9

Figure 8, 1562 Barthel Weihner map of the medieval city. Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/ I have highlighted the shopping streets in yellow and circled the future Wertheim site.

Figure 9, Commercial buildings in Breslau between 1890-1930.

Retail func ons are highlighted in red (Wertheim circled). Other func ons: banks (yellow), exchanges/credit unions (orange), postal (pink), civic (purple), and hotels (brown).

Source: ‘Fasady Wrocławskich Obiektów Komercyjnych z Lat 1890-1930’

by Krystyna Kirschke.

10

Figure 10 Unrealised Tietz department store project on a site directly opposite Wertheim Architect: Hans Poelzig Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

With the excep on of the years 1918-1924, the period between 1890 and 1930 was a me of economic prosperity in Germany which was reflected in Breslau’s commercial architecture. As an administra ve, economic, cultural and academic capital of eastern Germany, the city had ambi ons to move away from its provincial image and compete with Berlin as a financial hub. The economic boom was especially visible in development of large commercial premises, predominantly banks and retail architecture. The commercial development reached its climax in the 1930s, and seventy large mul ple-floor stores (Warenhäuser, Gescha häuser, Kau äuser) were ac ve at the height of prosperity.13 The Market Square itself housed sixteen Gescha häuser, five Kau äuser and one Warenhaus (Barasch). Świdnicka street contained seven Gescha häuser, six Kau äuser and one Warenhaus (Wertheim). Apart from the aforemen oned Barasch, and the Wertheim, the Petersdorf store (later Kameleon) deserves special a en on (Fig. 15 & 16). Designed by Erich Mendelsohn and erected in 1928, its streamlined curved façade, like that of Wertheim stands out within its environs and serves as reminder of Breslau’s German past. Damaged during the war, it was repaired and remained in use a erwards. The traver ne façade was recently restored, but the building seemed empty and a ‘to let’ adver sement was displayed in the window during my last visit to Wrocław in November 2019. 14

13

Whilst conduc ng my research it was important for me to understand the defini ons of the various types of large retail buildings, including their naming in Polish and German. A trade store (Polish: dom handlowy) has at least two departments and a retail area between 600m2 and 2000m2. A department store (Polish: dom towarowy), with retail area of more than 2000m2, contains many departments. In German, a department store would be described as Warenhaus, whilst Kau äuser are large stores specialising in one area. Gescha häuser are most akin to trade stores in terms of size, however they o en incorporate a mixed-use func on by suble ng office space. For more informa on see: ‘Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Metainformacje / Słownik Pojęć / Pojęcia Stosowane w Statystyce Publicznej’, accessed 14 January 2020, h ps://stat.gov.pl/metainformacje/slownik-pojec/pojecia-stosowane-w-statystyce-publicznej/1733,pojecie. html; Krystyna Kirschke and Paweł Kirschke, ‘Wrocławskie Domy Towarowe’, in Architektura Wrocławia, t. 4, Gmach, ed. Jerzy Rozpędowski (Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, 1998), 355—386.

14 K. Kirschke, Fasady Wrocławskich Obiektów Komercyjnych z Lat 1890-1930 (Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, 2005); Kirschke and Kirschke, ‘Wrocławskie Domy Towarowe’; Kirschke, ‘Wrocławskie zabytkowe obiekty komercyjne, których funkcja przestała się sprawdzać’; Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, chap. 7; Eduard Mühle, Historia Wroclawia, trans. Joanna Janicka (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2016), chap. 7.

11

Top le : Figure 11 Centennial Hall, architect Max Berg, author’s photograph Top right: Figure 12 Junkerstraße Gescha haus, now a bank, architect Hans Poelzig Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/ Centre: Figures 13 & 14 Warenhaus Gebrüder Barasch (Feniks), architect Georg Schneider Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/ contrasted with author’s photograph from November 2019.

Bo om: Figures 15 & 16 Kau aus Rudolf Petersdorff (Kameleon), architect Erich Mendelsohn Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/ contrasted with author’s photograph from November 2019.

‘To let’ adver sement circled in red.

12

The Wertheim store itself was designed by Hermann Dernburg and erected in 1930. Dernburg won the architectural compe on and his project, which included plans for future expansion, was chosen ahead of an entry by Erich Mendelsohn himself. At the me, Mendelsohn has already made an architectural contribu on to the city with the Petersdorf store. Several structures, had to be razed to the ground in order to make space for the largest department store east of Berlin, these included hotel Residenz and some tenements. The Wertheim store embodied technological innova on, luxury and cra smanship. Its dynamic, curved façade (now carefully restored) is divided horizontally into strips of glazed les of brick-like propor on; and into horizontal bands of windows separated by rus cated pilasters made up of large dark clinker les and thin recessed gold-plated ribbons. The top two floors are gradually recessed and crowned with 24 metal flagpoles. Colour variance adds depth to the ceramic-clad façade. The mul -tonal effect was achieved by a process of hand glazing the les and firing them at 1200 °C. Every 20th le was addi onally gold plated, and the façade appears to shimmer when hit by sunlight. The base is made up almost en rely of shop windows in frames of goldplated brass, so that the substance of the upper floors seems to hover above a sea of glazed display.

Curved glass panels were imported from Belgium, whilst local factories (Wałbrzych Carlshü te and Richard Blumenfeld Velten AG brickyards, both in Lower Silesia region) produced the bespoke steel frame and glazed façade elements. Berlin’s Puhl & Wagner supplied the gold glass vee profiles and mosaic decora ng the main entrance (Fig. 6 & 7). Georg Wertheim’s global aspira ons were, above all, communicated through a series of 156 façade sculptures by Ulrich Nitschke and Hans Klakow; 100 of these sculptures were representa ons of ethnic figures inspired by photographs in travel magazine Atlan s (Fig. 19 & 20). Two glazed atriums defined the internal organiza on of the building, with impressive staircases located on the edges of the four-storey voids (Fig. 17 & 18). Cosmopolitan splendour was instantly felt in the rich Art Deco interior (Fig. 21). Par cular a en on should be drawn to the impressive cascading chandeliers, over 10 metres in height, and the rich variety of luxury mbers used throughout. African rosewood (Bubingaholtz) was used to clad the walls of the atriums, whilst oak floorboards were used throughout, except for the grocery department, where checker-pa erned mosaic was used for hygiene reasons. Interior wood panelling was also used to dis nguish spaces with specialised func ons: cherry wood in the hair salon and perfumery, ebony in the restaurant, and Caucasian walnut in the carpet department (Fig. 22). The building was also ahead of its me in terms of accessibility, with elevators and level access provided. 15

15

K. Kirschke and P. Kirschke, ‘Restora on Strategies for a Commercial Facility: Facade of CentrumRenoma Department Store in Wrocław’, Architecture Civil Engineering Environment Vol. 1, no. 3 (2008): 11–20; Krystyna Kirschke and Paweł Kirschke, ‘Warenhaus Wertheim. Monotyp Luksusowej Architektury Modernistycznej Wrocławia’, in Oblicza Modernizmu w Architekturze. Cz. 1. Paradygmat Luksusu w Architekturze Modernizmu XX Wieku., ed. Ryszard Nakonieczny and Justyna Wojas-Stoszowska (Katowice: Śląsk Sp. z o.o. Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 2006), 64—72; Kirschke, Fasady Wrocławskich Obiektów Komercyjnych z Lat 1890-1930; Magdalena Kozioł, ‘Renoma. Historia zapisana na półkach’, Wrocław Nasze Miasto, 24 May 2007, h ps://wroclaw.naszemiasto.pl/renoma-historia-zapisana-na-polkach/ar/c3-210059; Radio Wrocław, #Wertheim Ocalona Legenda. Największy Dom Towarowy, Dziś #Renoma #PDT #Pedet, 2019, h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGSirNwuxIQ; Arup, Renoma: Reflec ons of Wroclaw, 2012, h ps:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUJuRIYeK30.

13

Figure 17 Wertheim ground oor plan. Architect: Hermann Dernburg.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Figure 18 Wertheim sec on. Architect: Hermann Dernburg.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

14

Figure 19 Wertheim facade detail.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

Figure 20 Wertheim facade detail.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

15

Figure 21 Wertheim interior.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

Figure 22 Wertheim interior.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

16

Chapter 2: AWAG (1933-1945) ‘The streetscapes of today’s Berlin and other German ci es are filled with conspicuous and wrenching memorials to the Nazi past. (…) Nevertheless, in this culture of memory, the department store’s Jewish origins seem largely forgo en.

Berlin’s Jewish Museum and occasional magazine ar cles remind visitors (of this) but the stores themselves (…) show no trace of their origins’.

Lerner, The Consuming Temple: Jews, Department Stores, and the Consumer Revolu on in Germany, 1880–1940, 213.

Figure 23 Wertheim viewed from Tauentzienplatz. Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Figure 24 AWAG, post-1938 postcard, orginal image retouched. Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

17

Inves ga ng the story of Nazi Breslau is important for three reasons. Firstly, it provides the necessary background needed to explain how our store ceased to be a Wertheim. It also illustrates where the chain of wilful oblivion, which precipitated the oblitera on of the store’s Jewish, and later German origins, took root. Finally, it makes the contrast between the character of the building’s se ng pre1945 and now all the more striking. Swas ka-filled images of the Schweidnitzer Straße (currently Świdnicka street), part of which is s ll occupied by our store, are a shocking revela on when one thinks of the atmosphere and iden ty of the street and the city now (Fig. 25 & 26). Place name placards are another physical manifesta on of the turbulent past, now replaced in the cityscape.

In reac on to a wave of street renaming in the 1920s, when the ruling socialists replaced names, which could be seen as imperial symbols, the Nazis subs tuted these with a nomenclature more in accord with their own ideology. Addi onally, in 1936 Polish-sounding names of towns and villages in the city’s vicinity were germanised. This would not be the only me place names would be used to for fy a constructed narra ve. Street names in and around the city underwent change mul ple mes according to current ideology prevailing at a given me. The place names were polonised a er the War, however as many of them honoured persons and events which were associated with the communist system, the streets were rechristened again post 1989.

Understanding the intensity of support for the Nazi Party in Breslau needs to start at a regional level.

The poli cal situa on of the Silesia region was complex in the interwar period. Unlike the German middle and upper classes inhabi ng Breslau, the rural working class spoke a German-influenced Polish dialect which can s ll be heard spoken in Upper Silesia today. Many Silesians could have been described as na onally ambiguous where their allegiance was to their locality rather than the na on.

Nevertheless, following three armed uprisings and a plebiscite, eastern Upper Silesia was granted to Poland in 1921. This was extremely damaging for Breslau, as the effects of the 1929 worldwide economic crisis were compounded by the loss of territory containing most of Silesia’s coal fields and industry. The economic hardship has contributed to the rise of support for the Nazi Party as many Breslauers believed the new regime would combat their adversity. It is also worth remembering that, unlike parts of the region, the city was predominantly ethnically and culturally German. Resentment was brewing against ethnic minori es perceived as threats to German prosperity, primarily the enterprising Jews and neighbouring Poles. Following Hitler’s first visit in 1932 the support for the Third Reich in Breslau was amongst the highest in Germany. During the Spor est visit in 1938, Breslau was even graced with the tle of ‘Adolf Hitler’s Most Faithful City’. Here, the idea of the Auschwitz concentra on camp complex originated, and the city partook in many appalling policies of Nazi racism including the abduc on of Polish children for planned breeding.16 The city did experience economic recovery, although it only reached the levels of the pan-Germanic boom a er the outbreak of war, merely to be destroyed during the twilight of the conflict. Breslau was designated as a Festung (Fortress), defended itself longer than any other German city (6 days following Hitler’s suicide) and, together with Hamburg sustained the most damage. The descrip ons of the dying fortress paint a terrifying picture, the suffering made worse by delays to the evacua on of civilians. The destruc on following the siege further magnified by Soviet plunder and torching. 70% of the urban fabric was destroyed, with destruc on levels reaching up to 90% in the southern and western parts. The Old Town sustained rela vely li le damage with only 50% in ruins. This damage of historic centre compares favourably to ci es like Warsaw and Gdańsk.17 16

Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, chap. 7; Mühle, Historia Wroclawia, chap. 8; Hugo Service, Germans to Poles : Communism, Na onalism and Ethnic Cleansing a er the Second World War, 1st ed., New Studies in European History, 2015, chap. 6.

17 Richard Hargreaves, Hitler’s Final Fortress : Breslau 1945, Stackpole Military History Series, 2015; Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, chap. 7; Service, Germans to Poles : Communism, Na onalism and Ethnic Cleansing a er the Second World War; Mühle, Historia Wroclawia, chap. 8; ‘List of Polish Ci es Damaged in World War II’, in Wikipedia, 5 October 2019, h ps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php? tle=List_of_Polish_ci es_damaged_in_World_War_II&oldid=919742290.

18

Figure 25 Schweidnitzer StraĂ&#x;e during 1938 Sportsfest.

Source: h ps://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl Opera building circled. Department store situated opposite is obscured from view.

Figure 26 Schweidnitzer StraĂ&#x;e looking in the opposite direc on towards the Market Square.

Source: www.histomania.org

19

Figure 27 1945 Breslau, the department store visible in the background in the top right corner.

Image source: h ps://polska-org.pl

Figure 28 AWAG in 1945 Image source: h ps://polska-org.pl

20

The ini al success of Breslau Wertheim was very short lived and despite showing great promise it soon had to ba le economic crisis. The chain’s road to success was irrevocably cut short by Nazi policies. Georg Wertheim, despite conver ng to Chris anity in 1906, was ‘officially redefined as a Jew’ by the regime.18 Mul -department Warenhäuser; unlike Kau äuser, which tended to specialise in one type of merchandise, usually clothing; fell vic m to formally endorsed prejudice due to their Jewish associa ons. The department stores, were therefore subjected to physical and poli cal an Semi c a acks, including damaging propaganda and addi onal taxa on. The family was forced to sell its shares at unfair prices and gradually lost control of the enterprise. Aryaniza on process unleashed a er poli cal changes of 1933 was finalised through official decree following the 1938 pogrom.

Jewish owners, managers and employees were eliminated from the company, which was renamed AWAG (Allgemeine Warenhandelsgesellscha A.G. - General Retailing Corpora on). Ironically the acronym was o en mistaken for A.Wertheim A.G. The Wertheim res tu on case was only concluded at the beginning of 21st century.19 The na onalised AWAG replaced its restaurant with a soldier’s canteen and con nued to operate during the war, albeit a shadow of its former self.20

Figure 29 AWAG adver sement Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

18

Ladwig-Winters, ‘The A ack on Berlin Department Stores (Warenhaeuser) A er 1933’, 258.

Ladwig-Winters, ‘The A ack on Berlin Department Stores (Warenhaeuser) A er 1933’; K. Kirschke, P. Kirschke, and Z. Maćków, ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma. Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim. Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’, Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Poznańskiej. Architektura i Urbanistyka Z. 15 (2008): 245–60; ‘Jewish Family Wins “Nazi Seizure” Claim | World News | The Guardian’, accessed 20 August 2019, h ps://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/05/secondworldwar.germany.

20 Kozioł, ‘Renoma. Historia zapisana na półkach’.

19

21

Whilst our department store (in its current reincarna on) reminds us of the golden era of the German past, there are other traces within the city which are silent reminders of its more uncomfortable aspects. Hitler stayed in direct proximity to AWAG at Monopol Hotel. Curiously, the hotel has not only survived the war but has uniquely held onto its pre-war name and func on. Even the original form of the balcony railing has been preserved and can be matched to old photographs today (Fig. 30 & 31). The Voivodeship Office Building should get an honourable men on here too (Fig.32 - 34).

This monumental administra ve structure was a prelude to grand Nazi plans to radically rebuild the city. The plans were never fully realised as priority was given to the rebuilding of Berlin, Nuremberg and Munich. What is curious though, is that despite significant bomb damage, the structure was rebuilt by the socialist government following the war and has since con nued to serve a public administra ve func on.21 I have personally picked up my Polish passport there a few years ago! The imposing scale and neoclassical order were therefore thought a suitable architectural language to officially represent all three governments and ideologies: Nazi, Communist and Neoliberal.

Top le : Figure 30 Hitler on the balcony of Monopol Hotel, Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/ Below le : Figure 31 The same balcony, author’s photograph from November 2019.

Top and middle right: Figures 32 & 33 Regierungsbezirk Breslau, Nazi administra ve building 1939-1945 Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/ Bo om right: Figure 34 Urząd Wojewódzki, home to Polish Lower Silesia adminnistra on, author’s photograph from November 2019.

21

Mühle, Historia Wroclawia, chap. 8; Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, chap. 7.

22

Chapter 3: Wilful Oblivion (1945-1948) ‘The most prominent long-term vic m was to be its German character. German Breslau, like Jewish Breslau, would cease to exist.’

Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, 405.

Figure 35 Tauentzienplatz and General Tauentzien’s Monument Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

Figure 36 Kościuszko square and Polish Independence Stone (barely visible), author’s photograph from November 2019.

23

Figure 37 The departement store witnesses German popula on leaving Wrocław Image source: h ps://polska-org.pl

Our protagonist city was affected by Poland’s westward shi following the Second World War. Poland lost territories in the East which now belong to Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine, including the ci es of Lviv and Vilnius. It was compensated with ex-German territories in the West including the ci es of Gdańsk, Szczecin and Wrocław. Thus, Breslau became Wrocław, a part of the Recovered Territories. The term formed part of official propaganda which ‘sought to reinforce the image of an aboriginal Polish city’22 which belonged to Poland in the middle ages and was now returned to its motherland. Now the area is usually referred to as Western Territories, a more ideologically neutral term. The 1945 border shi was accompanied by forced migra ons of over 6 million human beings including the expulsion of Germans from Poland’s new territories and repopula ng the areas with Poles from the East. This was nothing new and might even be considered a mild inconvenience from the perspec ve of what happened a few years before. In 1939 Germany annexed western parts of Poland and began a campaign of ethnic cleansing, which included mass killings and forced popula on exchanges. German-occupied central Poland was renamed General Government and its iden ty and intelligentsia progressively eliminated. Deporta ons were also happening in eastern areas annexed by the Soviets.23 Davies recounts the terrors accompanying these mass movements and compares the amount of me the expellees had to spend inside the ca le wagons, star ng with a few days travel from the recovered territories to Germany, few weeks’ travel to the Western Territories from the East, and few months for Siberian deportees travelling in the opposite direc on.24

22

Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, 11.

Service, Germans to Poles : Communism, Na onalism and Ethnic Cleansing a er the Second World War; Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, chap. 8.

24 Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, 426–27.

23

24

‘A er the war all of Wrocław’s German na onal memorials were torn down, bronze statues melted, and stone pedestals reused as building material or some mes as the pedestals for new monuments. (…) The removal of these monuments was generally carried out without much ado, usually in the first few months a er the war ended. Only the monumental Kaiser Wilhelm statue on Schweidnizer Strasse, saturated as it was with a full measure of German na onal pathos, was destroyed as part of a public ceremony’ 25 Breslau transi oned from a German city into a Polish one during a ‘na onalist campaign of ethno-na onal homogeniza on’.26 A systema c and deliberate process of erasure of memory has commenced, with objects being instrumental in fulfilling ambi ons to abruptly and completely change the city’s character. All physical traces of Germanness including signs, no ces and posters, wri ng on buildings, books, streets, squares, place names and gravestones were either eliminated or polonised. Many inanimate physical components, as well as people, have been moved from Lviv (formerly Lwów) to Wrocław. These included the Aleksander Fredro munument, the patrio c Panorama Racławicka pain ng and the Ossolineum ins tute. An abundance of symbols was removed from the Kaiserbrucke, rebranded as Grunwaldzki Bridge commemora ng a Polish ba le victory.

Monuments and memorials play a part in shaping collec ve memory and na onal iden ty. This fact has not escaped those in charge a er 1945. German monuments were most o en replaced with ‘a plethora of new Polish monuments (which) carried on the tradi on of the sites.’27 The neighbouring square of which Renoma cons tutes one corner, previously Tauentzienplatz, has not escaped na onalist rebranding and is now named Plac Kościuszki in celebra on of a Polish na onal hero.

Prussian General Tauentzien’s funerary monument has been removed and a stone commemora ng those who died defending Poland’s independence now marks the place in the middle of the square where the memorial once stood (Fig. 35, 36). On the other side of the department store, Kaiser Wilhelm’s grand statue was ceremonially destroyed (Fig. 3, 38, 39). The harrowing void le in the space, has only recently been replaced with another, albeit smaller equestrian statue. The new figure proudly si ng atop his horse since 2007 is that of Boleslaw Chrobry, a Polish king who expanded the Polish borders in the middle ages (Fig. 40, 41). This recent addi on demonstrates that the cycle of oblivion con nues, and one version of glorifying na onal past con nues to be subs tuted for another.

By describing the uncanny in macy of objects, Thum points out the propagandis c limita ons, demonstra ng myth’s failure to reach the private realm: ‘In the end, suppressing this foreignness was a hopeless enterprise. However much the German past was avoided in public and concealed under the propagandis c myth of eternal Polishness, it remained present in the private sphere. Apartments in the city were filled with everyday objects from the German era (…) The purge of a material legacy was in this sense incomplete: it was limited to the public sphere. (…) The material hardships of the postwar years compelled the Polish se lers to drink their tea from the cups of their German predecessors, to sleep in sheets embroidered with their ini als, to read books bearing German bookplates. Uninten onally but inevitably a kind of in macy developed between the newcomers and the city’s former inhabitants.’ 28 Yet, within the public domain, the purge was also incomplete. Despite the authori es’ concentrated efforts to reconstruct medieval artefacts, replace monuments and place names; complete transforma on of the urban realm would have been too much of an undertaking. Whilst Breslau's urban fabric suffered severe damages, many buildings survived to tell the suppressed story.

25

Gregor Thum, Uprooted : How Breslau Became Wroclaw during the Century of Expulsions, 2011, 277.

Service, Germans to Poles : Communism, Na onalism and Ethnic Cleansing a er the Second World War, 10.

27 Thum, Uprooted : How Breslau Became Wroclaw during the Century of Expulsions, 300.

28 Thum, 383.

26

25

Figure 38 Wertheim aerial photograph, Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (le ), General Tauentzien’s Monument (right).

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Figure 39 PDT aerial photograph, monuments removed, KDM building erected.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

26

Figure 40 Wertheim and Kaiser Wilhelm Monument.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Figure 41 Renoma and Bolesław Chrobry Monument, author’s photograph, 08.11.19

27

Figure 42 The burned-out shell of the department store in 1945.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

The War and ‘Recovery’ The department store became a burned-out shell in 1945 (Fig.42). Due to its’ resilient structure and fireproofing the building survived but its interior has vanished. The eleva ons were not completely damaged and were mostly preserved with moderate repairs.29 During my visit to Wrocław Construc on Archive, I have discovered 1947 survey of the building with large areas coloured in red and the words ‘wypalony’ which means burned out wri en on the plans (Fig. 43). As part of the Stalinist ‘Struggle for Trade’ economy became centralised and the building became part of the government-controlled chain PDT.30 Ironically, the reopening of the store was planned to coincide with the Recovered Territories Exhibi on of 1948 – a ‘propagandis c event’ which suppressed all memory of Breslau’s Jewish and German past.31 Figure 44 shows a postcard with the exhibi on stamp (Wystawa Ziem Odzyskanych translates as Recovered Territories Exhibi on). Thus, as the city and the building were recovering in the a ermath of the War, constructed na onal iden ty was made to override all local place iden ty, as part of the Myth of the Recovered Rerritories, and our department store was made a part of the reassuring propaganda.

29

Kirschke, Kirschke, and Maćków, ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma. Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim.

Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’.

30 ‘Bitwa o handel - Muzeum Historii Polski’, accessed 14 August 2019, h p://muzhp.pl/pl/e/1730/bitwa-ohandel.

31 Service, Germans to Poles : Communism, Na onalism and Ethnic Cleansing a er the Second World War, 226–28.

28

Figure 43 Department store Polish survey drawing. ‘Wypalony’ means burned out.

Source: Wrocław Construc on Archive

Figure 44 1948 postcard. ‘Wystawa Ziem Odzyskanych’ means Recovered Territories Exhibi on.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

29

In a collec on of case study essays, Tino Mager explores the poli cal dimension of reconstruc on.32 Arnold Bartetzky’s essay is of par cular relevance as it deals with reconstruc on in East Central Europe mo vated by efforts to build na onal iden ty, including the reconstruc on waves following destruc on and poli cal changes a er 1945 and 1989.33 The reconstruc on of post-war Wrocław has not escaped this trend and became a tool of na onally mo vated poli cal manipula on. The territorial insecurity and the threat of the possibility that the region might not remain in Poland, has increased the need for the propaganda. Thum demonstrates this by describing the efforts to reconstruct the medieval version of Wroclaw. Amongst other things, this involved reconstruc on of sacred buildings in their original state, ignoring their evolu on over me, such as Baroque addi ons which were not created during the me that the city belonged to Poland. He writes: ‘The situa on was decidedly bizarre: a communist government was ba ling the influence of the church in the country while at the same me inves ng significant sums in the reconstruc on of sacred buildings. (…) The state-financed rebuilding of Gothic churches in the western territories thus became part of the Polish na onal cult, a component of the strategy to legi mate the new na onal borders by referring back to the Piast tradi on.’ 34 One argument is that architecture has no innate meaning, but its message is affected by cultural and poli cal context,35 but it has also been demonstrated that both space and memory can be contested and manipulated to serve poli cal agendas, project power and shape na onal iden ty.36 Therefore, architecture, meaning and context, have a dialec c rela onship where one can be used to influence the other. Understanding this is important as it helps to demonstrate how and why the socialist government manipulated space in order to manipulate memory, as well as the limita ons of such ac ons. The idea of ‘invented tradi ons’ is par cularly relevant here, especially the myth’s influence over na onal iden ty though its ability to legi mise authority, instruct belief and establish social cohesion. The crea on of the Myth of the Recovered Territories, and its reinforcement through selec ve restora on of elements da ng to the medieval Polish Piast period is a clear illustra on of such an ‘a empt to establish con nuity with a suitable historic past’.37 What might seem like an act of remembrance can paradoxically become an act of forge ng. Forty argues that objects aren’t necessarily ‘agents of collec ve memory’ and can contribute to social forge ng. Once the memorial responsibility is thrust onto a physical edifice, there might be less of a perceived need for ac ve remembering.38 Similarly to memorialisa on, reconstruc on can become an agent of forge ng as it erases memories of destruc on and therefore acts as an instrument of selec ve memory.39 32

Tino Mager, ed., Architecture Reperformed the Poli cs of Reconstruc on, Online Access with DDA: Askews (Architecture) (Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2015).

33 Arnold Bartetzky, ‘Architecture Makes History: Reconstruc on and Na on-Building in East Central Europe’, in Architecture Reperformed the Poli cs of Reconstruc on, ed. Tino Mager, Online Access with DDA: Askews (Architecture) (Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2015).

34 Thum, Uprooted : How Breslau Became Wroclaw during the Century of Expulsions, 333–35.

35 Dana Arnold and Andrew Ballantyne, eds., Architecture as Experience : Radical Change in Spa al Prac ce (London: Routledge, 2004).

36 Daniel J Walkowitz and Lisa Maya Knauer, eds., Memory and the Impact of Poli cal Transforma on in Public Space, Radical Perspec ves (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2004); Daniel J Walkowitz and Lisa Maya Knauer, eds., Contested Histories in Public Space : Memory, Race, and Na on, Radical Perspec ves (Durham [N.C.]: Duke University Press, 2009); Lawrence J. Vale, Architecture, Power, and Na onal Iden ty, 2nd ed.. (London ; New York: Routledge, 2008).

37 Eric Hobsbawm and Ranger, Terence, eds., The Inven on of Tradi on, Reissue edi on (Cambridge Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 1. For more informa on on poli cal myth, also see: Chiara Bo ci, A Philosophy of Poli cal Myth (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007).

38 Adrian Forty, ‘Introduc on’, in The Art of Forge ng, ed. Adrian Forty and Susanne Küchler, Materializing Culture (Oxford, England ; New York: Berg, 1999).

39 Elizabeth Marlowe, ‘The Mutability of All Things’ The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Meta Sudans Fountain in Rome’, in Architecture as Experience : Radical Change in Spa al Prac ce, ed. Dana Arnold and Andrew Ballantyne (London: Routledge, 2004).

30

Chapter 4: PDT/Centrum Renoma (1948-1989) A man wearing a white shirt walks in the direc on of the department store whilst a tram passes in the other direc on. Cheerful orchestral music displaces the sound of the street and the narrator’s voice enters the soundscape as the scene shi s. The roo op terrace of the department store is filled to the brim with restless spectators eagerly awai ng the display. Finally, the stage appears with models gracefully presen ng the summer’s sartorial offerings. The short film ends with an applause. 40

Figure 45 1950s postcard, Powszechny Dom Towarowy (PDT). Cafe signage visible.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Figure 46 1970s Poland, Powszechny Dom Towarowy (PDT). Centralna restaurant signage visible.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

40

This is the author’s descrip on of a 1950 short film: ‘Rewia mody w PDT | Repozytorium Cyfrowe Filmoteki Narodowej’, accessed 27 November 2019, h p://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/6360.

31

Figure 47 1930s Wertheim Breslau main entrance.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

Figure 48 1950s PDT Wroclaw main entrance.

Photographed by Stefan Arczyński

32

Figure 49 1960s PDT display windows.

Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

The long years in which the department store func oned as part of the PDT chain41 under the centralised socialist economy are a period of myth becoming embedded in daily life. The popula on was worn out from the troubles of the War, and the original building’s interna onal ambi ons and messages of inclusivity were mostly obscured through u litarian a tudes as life simply had to go on at a me of austerity, poli cal persecu on and limited horizons. Over the years, more floors within the structure were reopened, however the décor was mundane and the repairs basic and with li le considera on of the original.42 I have discovered blueprints rela ng to a 1965 Delicatessen project within the PDT in Wrocław Construc on Archive (Figures 50, 51). I was unable to find photographs of the interior from that me, but according to a childhood memory, the Delicatessen had a dazzling modernist décor maintained in dark tones and were filled with sweets and colourful fruit. The space was most likely altered in the 1980s and only traces of the 1965 décor survive today.43It seems that as part of the state’s flagship chain, the store was surprisingly well stocked in an era well known for its material and liberty deficits. Such displays of abundance at our store might be seen as a smokescreen, covering up the less dazzling tedium of daily life and offering a temporary escape from reality. Fashion shows graced the roof of the building, which, like the ming of the opening of the store coinciding with the Recovered Territories Exhibi on seem to be a part of prosperity propaganda providing an illusion of certainty. Another significant development in the 1950’s was the construc on of the huge Socialist Realist KDM project (Kościuszkowska Dzielnica Mieszkaniowa, Kościuszko Residen al Complex).

The department store sits adjacent to Kościuszko Square (formerly Tauentzienplatz), an important congrega onal space and a threshold to the historic centre. The KDM completed the square, replacing buildings destroyed by the War. The Świdnicka street and KDM ensemble was later used as a ritual se ng in May Day worker’s parades organised by the socialist government.44 Li le detailed wri en informa on can be found about the store in this period so I was mainly able to trace its story through films and images.

41

PDT chain was renamed Domy Towarowe Centrum (DTC) and the department store func oned under the name Centrum Renoma since 1976: Kirschke, Kirschke, and Maćków, ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma.

Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim. Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’.

42 Kirschke, Kirschke, and Maćków, ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma. Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim.

Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’.

43 E-mail conversa on with Dr P. Kirschke dated 18.11.2019 44 Thum, Uprooted : How Breslau Became Wroclaw during the Century of Expulsions, chap. 4; Mühle, Historia Wroclawia, chap. 9.

33

Figure 50 PDT 1965 Delikatessen loca on plan.

Source: Wroclaw Construc on Archive

Figure 51 PDT 1965 Delikatessen plan.

Source: Wroclaw Construc on Archive

34

Figure 52 Film frames from Złote Koło Source: h p://fototeka.fn.org.pl

“Take them to the PeDeT and wait outside the Café” - instructs the mili a captain conduc ng the murder inves ga on as he puts down the phone. Shortly a er, the scene changes and we see a fat adver sing column in the foreground; a sickle and hammer symbol visible where the layers of glue and paper are thickest making the column taper out. A curved corner of the department store is visible in the background, the window display adver sing the arrival of autumn to the passing crowds.

A cream unmarked Fiat 125p pulls up next to the adver sing column and a team of inves gators emerge. They split up, with part of the group intending to filter in through the Delicatessen. A female lieutenant looks back over her shoulder as she passes through the main entrance, the golden square mo f making the space instantly recognizable despite the limits of the camera frame. She is then shown fiddling with a sa n shirt, her eyes unfocused whilst her a en on is turned to the group of suspects. The shop interior around her appears bland but bustling with ac vity and is surprisingly full. The camera shi s to a group of boisterous youths hanging out by the stairs. They meander through the shop floor occasionally harassing passing customers but are apprehended by the mili a before they enter the café. We get a final fragmentary glance of the store exterior as the cream Fiat turns into Świdnicka street. The building a silent witness to all that has trespassed. 45 45

This fic onal scene was filmed as part of a 1971 crime film Złote Koło: Stanisław Wohl, Złote Koło (Zespół Filmowy Nike, 1971); Filmoteka Narodowa – Instytut Audiowizualny, ‘Fototeka’, accessed 27 November 2019, h p://fototeka.fn.org.pl/pl/filmy/info/10627/zlote-kolo.html.

35

Figure 53 Film frame from Ostatni Prom Source: h p://fototeka.fn.org.pl

An irritable crowd crushes against the metal bars which form a triangular mesh of the security screen separa ng them from the prize of fresh merchandise delivery inside. The noise levels rise, and speech becomes unintelligible as a security guard unlocks the gate and quickly hurries away before the frenzied crowd is able to pull up the metal curtain. As soon as the gap is wide enough, people fall to the floor and squeeze through the opening, running as soon as they can stand upright on the other side. The scene feels like that of a sinking ship, not a department store. The camera follows the crowd as they run past empty shelves, through the store’s atrium and up the staircases. Most will leave emptyhanded despite their desperate efforts. The hero of the film miraculously manages to obtain a travel bag, yet he must pay dearly to trade for a ra on voucher (talon). At a me of deficit only select few were rewarded with the ability to a ain luxury goods such as bags, cars and toilet paper. The hero then proceeds to the grocery department; completely empty except for two bored-looking female cashiers who greet the hero saying: “there’s only vinegar le ”. Failing to obtain the desired block of bu er, the disillusioned hero leaves the store’s disappointments behind. 46 The contrast in the film portrayals of the store’s abundance in 1971 and the emp ness and despera on directly before the declara on of mar al law in 1981 is striking. Despite huge deficits Wroclaw strived to be a fashionable city in the mes of PRL (Polish People’s Republic). PDT was one of the limited outposts where sought-a er goods could be obtained. Individuality expressed through fashion could even be seen as a form of resistance against the grey uniformity imposed by the system. In 1973 a concession store of Viennese firm Egosta opened within the PDT. The demand for the colourful designs was so high, security had to control the number of people entering the store at any one me.47 46

This fic onal scene was filmed as part of a 1989 film Ostatni Prom: Waldemar Krzystek, ‘Ostatni Prom’ (Zespół Filmowy Zodiak, 1989); Filmoteka Narodowa – Instytut Audiowizualny, ‘Fototeka’, accessed 16 January 2020, h p://fototeka.fn.org.pl/pl/filmy/info/2743/ostatni-prom.html 47 Jarek Ratajczak, ‘Moda we Wrocławiu w czasach PRL-u’, www.wroclaw.pl, accessed 27 November 2019, h ps://www.wroclaw.pl/moda-we-wroclawiu-w-czasach-prlu..

36

Figure 54 PDT in the 1980s Source: h ps://polska-org.pl

Figure 55 Long queues and empty shelves, PDT in the 1980s Source: h ps://polska-org.pl

37

Top le : Figure 56 The billboard reads: ‘66th anniversary of the Great Socialist October Revolu on’.

Top right: Figure 57 The department store a witness to a Socialist 1st May Labour Day Parade Bo om: Figure 58 Ideological contrast, the department store a witness to a Solidarity march Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

Although Solidarity emerged in Gdańsk, it also had a presence in Wrocław. In the 1980s Wrocław played a prominent part in the resistance poli cs when the movement had to move underground following the introduc on of mar al law in Poland. Figh ng Solidarity, together with Orange Alterna ve which resisted the system through sa re, were Wrocław's trademark organisa ons in the fight against communism.48 On 31.08.1982 the city’s streets became witness to violence when a peaceful demonstra on was brutally disrupted by ZOMO, Poland’s paramilitary mili a.49 The department store’s direct surroundings were a forum where many important historical events took place (Fig. 56-58). The store was also the stage where the circumstances of daily life imposed under the system played out. The centrally controlled economy faced mul ple crises and shortages.

Periods of ra oning occurred in 1940s, 50s, 70s and 80s. Long queues were a familiar sight since the mid-1970s, and by early 1980s, 80% of consumer goods were in short supply. Queuing stole a large por on of peoples’ lives, with many trying cunning subversive methods to avoid or gain from the necessity. The queueing phenomenon and the absurdi es and contrivances associated with it has even inspired an educa onal board game created by Poland’s Ins tute of Na onal Remembrance.50 Un l the end of the 80, two department stores and a handful of smaller trade stores func oned in Wrocław..51 48

Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, 464–81.

The events have inspired a song and music video which includes historical footage: Centrum Historii Zajezdnia, Big Cyc ‘ZOMO Na Legnickiej’ TELEDYSK, 2012, h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGyM2smeqtE. 50 Davies, Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City, chap. 8; Andrzej Zawistowski, ‘The Socialist Approach to the Store: A Story of Queuing in the People’s Republic of Poland’, in Queue Instruc on, ed. Karol Madaj (Warsaw: Ins tute of Na onal Remembrance, 2012), 26–39.

51 Kirschke and Kirschke, ‘Rozwój głównych ulic handlowych w staromiejskim centrum Wrocławia (XIX i XX w.)’.

49

38

Chapter 5: Consumerism Reborn (1989-

Figure 59 Renoma facade before restora on.

Source: Paweł Kirschke

Figure 60 Renoma facade a er restora on. author’s photograph, 08.11.19

39

Following poli cal system changes of 1989, Poland had to adjust to Capitalism. Nothing illustrates the system transforma on be er than the opening of the city’s first McDonald’s in Renoma (Fig.63).

Priva sa on affected many enterprises and the private ownership of our building has undergone mul ple changes over the years. The process of priva sa on first involved the commercialisa on of the State-owned enterprise, through its intermediate transforma on into a State Treasury Company.

In the case of DTC (Domy Towarowe Centrum, previously PDT), which cons tuted 31 department stores in 24 polish ci es, the company hovered in this state of transitory suspension since 1993 while its assets dwindled. Finally, five years later, Handlowy Investments Centrum purchased 80% of its ac ons and began the process of restructuring the company (In 2003 Handlowy Investments Centrum (HIC) func oned under the name Empik Centrum Investments (ECI) and belonged to Dutch investment concern Eastbridge. It owned 97 % of DTC SA.) Part of this process involved the crea on of new brands including Galeria Centrum. The priva sa on of the chain was a scandal, due to both loss of money by the state during the sale and subsequent loss of jobs. In 2001 DTCs stopped func oning as chain and essen ally became property to let. In 2003, thirteen branches of Galeria Centrum (GC) operated in Poland, as part of DTC S.A. holding company, comprising mul ple subsidiary companies (organisa ons conduc ng independent opera ons and following individual company poli cs) including Galeria Centrum and DTC Real Estate. DTC Real Estate was one of the companies held by DTC S.A responsible for management (which included ren ng out and renova ons) of proper es owned by the holding company. The retail en es operated by GC were mostly but not exclusively situated within proper es belonging to DTC S.A.52 DTC Real Estate S.A. moderately renovated Renoma between 1997-2001 and commenced major restora on and extension works in 2006.53 Figure 65 shows the state of the main entrance in 1993, the first conserva on and altera on project of the entrance was done in 1994.54 DTC REAL ESTATE was renamed Centrum Development & Investments in 2008.55 In 2012, under new ownership, the store intended to introduce more popular brands as it was then seen as too exclusive.56 The current owner of Renoma is Globalworth Poland Real Estate N.V. (GPRE). GPRE entered the Polish market in 2017 (In 2017, Globalworth aquired Griffin Premium Real Estate (renamed Globalworth Poland).57 As the above paragraph illustrates, the ownership structure becomes extremely complicated following the priva sa on with holdings, separate companies owning and managing property and acquisi ons making the ownership quite hard to trace. A conclusion can be drawn, however, that a significant change of ownership or rebranding of company precipitates physical changes in the building.

52

‘Domy Towarowe Centrum’, wroclaw.wyborcza.pl, 23 January 2003, h ps://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/ wroclaw/1,35771,1286829.html; Mariola Balicka, ‘Szklane domy’, Polityka, 14 June 2003.

53 Kirschke, Kirschke, and Maćków, ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma. Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim.

Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’.

54 E-mail conversa on with Dr P. Kirschke dated 15.11.2019 55 ‘DTC REAL ESTATE Zmienia Wizerunek’, accessed 2 December 2019, h ps://www.muratorplus.pl/biznes/ wiesci-z-rynku/dtc-real-estate-zmienia-wizerunek-aa-ysMv-p5zk-Aek3.html.

56 Tomek Matejuk, ‘DH Renoma zmienia właściciela. W galerii pojawią się marki ze „średniej półki”’, 19 December 2012, h ps://www.tuwroclaw.com/wiadomosci,dh-renoma-zmienia-wlasciciela-w-galeriipojawia-sie-marki-ze-8222-sredniej-polki-8221,wia5-3273-14308.html.

57 ‘RENOMA’, accessed 2 December 2019, h p://renoma-wroclaw.pl/en/owner/; ‘Company Overview | Globalworth’, accessed 2 December 2019, h ps://www.globalworth.com/about-us/company-overview; Rachel Fixsen, ‘Globalworth Steps into Polish Market with Griffin Premium RE Buy’, IPE RA, accessed 2 December 2019, realassets.ipe.com/news/markets-and-sectors/globalworth-steps-into-polish-market-withgriffin-premium-re-buy/10020959.fullar cle.

40

Top: Figure 61 1989, the sign ironically reads: ‘Street trade forbidden outside the departmet store’.

Bo om le : Figure 62 DT Centrum in 1991 Bo om right: Figure 63 Wroclaw’s first McDonald, DT Renoma in 1994 Source: h ps://polska-org.pl/

41

Figure 64 1998, Renoma interior.

Photographed by Jรณzef Borski

Figure 65 1993 Main entrance detail.

Source: Paweล Kirschke

42

The regenera on of our building should be looked at in the context of the trend of adap ve re-use of commercial public buildings in Wrocław in the recent years. Following Poland’s entry into the European Union, Wrocław underwent a ‘development boom’, as one of the top three Polish ci es with best commercial investment poten al. This resulted in four hundred commercial projects, one hundred of which were adap vely reusing historic buildings. Most of these were reusing structures built in the historic centre during the ‘two periods of splendor’ which fell in the mes of the German Empire (par cularly 1890-1914) and in the modernist years of the Weimar Republic (1925-1933).

In prac cal terms, the commercial public structures from these periods can be adapted to modern needs ‘rela vely easily and without large losses in a historic substance’ with former department stores being ‘most suitable for adap ve reuse to modern commercial func ons.’58 It almost seems like the boom at the turn of the 19th and 20th century is repea ng within a much-condensed mescale. Interes ngly, Kirschke points out that these buildings’ original func ons, which were not suited to the centralised economy of the Polish People’s Republic are now in demand, however programma c changes are necessary.59 Dębek analyses ul.Swidnicka, Wroclaw’s core, most recognizable high street, where our department store also happens to be located. He is troubled by the image and economic problems of the street in the 21st century saying that the it has never regained its pre-War glory. He is interested in the public percep on of the street and conducts qualita ve and quan ta ve studies of the street through structured interviews, ques onnaires and cogni ve maps (Fig.66). The study concludes that despite the historical importance of trade in defining the street, retail is no longer the main theme associated with the space in the public mind, with culture and recrea on taking precedence over commerce. During the study Renoma emerged as one of the most recognizable and a rac ve landmarks within the street. Dębek also emphasised the street’s ‘high symbolic value’ for Wroclaw.60 Due to Renoma’s recognizability within the context of a street which plays a significant role in defining the city’s iden ty, it stands to reason that the department store building itself has a strong influence over the image of the city.

Figure 66 Swidnicka Cogni ve Map Source: Michał Dębek, 2017

58

Krystyna Kirschke, Elżbieta Komarzyńska-Świeściak, and Paweł Kirschke, ‘Adap ve Reuse of Commercial and Public Buildings in Wrocław Old Town in Poland. The Occupant’s Safety and Comfort versus Preserva on of Authen city of Monumental Buildings’, 2019; Kirschke, Fasady Wrocławskich Obiektów Komercyjnych z Lat 1890-1930.

59 Kirschke, ‘Wrocławskie zabytkowe obiekty komercyjne, których funkcja przestała się sprawdzać’.

60 Michał Dębek, ‘Architectural and mental background of the high street. The case of Świdnicka Street in Wrocław’, Architectus, no. 2(50) (2017): 41–61, h ps://doi.org/10.5277/arc170204.

43

Today, Wroclaw stands out from other Polish ci es both, because of its architectural legacy but also as the city with most shopping centres, 19 in total. There is over 900 m2 of retail space per 1000 inhabitants, which is higher than all European capitals.61 One wonders if this a symbol of economic success or simply a symptom of modern society’s obsession with consump on and material objects.

One remains doub ul of whether the architecture of these new galleries (interes ngly a shopping centre is o en referred to as galeria handlowa in Polish) will stand the test of me as well as the modernist gems. What I find striking is that one could almost conduct a tour of the en re town centre by playing a game of connect the dots with the numerous shopping galleries which have sprung up around it in the recent years. In fact, this is how the city was introduced to me by a local on my first visit in 2009. One might almost find it surprising that the visitor is not yet pushed to chase and collect these in the same way one is encouraged to seek out the hundreds of li le gnomes’ statues do ed around Wroclaw (interes ngly gnomes are said to have played a part in the overthrowing of communism through their links with the Orange Alterna ve, an an -Soviet resistance movement).

One could start with the Sky Tower, a building described by one cri c as Sauron’s tower, which tried and failed to become the tallest structure in Poland and o en feels empty.62 The tour would then con nue by way of Wroclavia and Arkady malls towards the city moat and Renoma. One would then con nue towards the heart of the historic city, turn right and swing by two more stores before finally reaching the Centennial Hall; a landmark of reinforced concrete architecture, and another German legacy. I have therefore decided to use a ‘walking distance’ method, as well as the areas pf the city included in the tourist guides to classify which shopping centres can be viewed as being located within the city centre. Six of those, including Renoma are within the area. These are within a 30 min walk from the historic heart of the city (Market Square), and one can make a journey, on foot, connec ng all the shopping centres in roughly an hour (Fig. 75). The walk from Renoma to its nearest compe tor Arkady is only 6 minutes! Arkady is a retail-office-leisure complex including a 7-storey car park, ten-screen cinema and a 13-storey office tower. The centre was opened with some extravagant features, including a Salvador Dali sculpture and a 120 000-litre shark aquarium housed within the atrium. The aquarium has recently been liquidated as the shark has outgrown its home a er 12 years inside the shopping complex.63 I have compiled a compara ve list of the centres’ gross leasable areas (GLA, retail area only) and their photographs, to further illustrate Renoma’s current commercial context (Fig.67-71). The retail mammoths were all constructed, or in case of Renoma extended, between the years 2001 – 2012.64 Many of the shopping centres men oned form part of mixed-use developments o en incorpora ng hotels, apartments, offices and even a bus sta on making the overall building masses significantly greater. A men on should be made of the 1993 postmodern Solpol department store designed by Wojciech Jarząbek.65 Like Renoma, the controversial design also occupies a plot on Swidnicka street; however, the infamous building stands empty now (Fig.73).

61

‘Wrocław Europejską Stolicą Galerii Handlowych? Aktywiści i Lewica Przeciw Wroclavii’, accessed 25 January 2020, h ps://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,22533849,wroclaw-stolica-europy-galeriihandlowych-aktywisci-i-lewica.html; ‘Wrocław europejską stolicą handlu?’, Bankier UE Wroc (blog), 21 April 2018, h p://www.bankier.ue.wroc.pl/index.php/2018/04/21/wroclaw-europejska-stolica-handlu/.

62 Filip Springer, Ksiega zachwytow, 1 edi on (Agora, 2016).

63 ‘Arkady Wrocławskie’, RetailMAP, accessed 3 January 2020, h ps://www.retailmap.pl/pl/centrahandlowe/wroclaw/arkady-wroclawskie-8; ‘Arkady Wrocławskie, Realizacje, Architekt AP Szczepania - Arkady Wrocławskie’, accessed 9 January 2020, h ps://architektura.info/architektura/polska_i_swiat/ arkady_wroclawskie; ‘Arkady Wrocławskie | BIENIASZ NICHOLSON ARCHITEKT’, accessed 9 January 2020, h p://bieniasz.com/en/projekty/arkady-wroclawskie/; ‘Po 12 latach z Arkad Wrocławskich znika akwarium z rekinami’, accessed 9 January 2020, h ps://www.tuwroclaw.com/wiadomosci,po-12-latach-z-arkadwroclawskich-znika-akwarium-z-rekinami,wia5-3273-46567.html.

64 ‘Wrocław - centra handlowe’, RetailMAP, accessed 3 January 2020, h ps://www.retailmap.pl/pl/centrahandlowe/?division%5B%5D=44.

65 Kirschke and Kirschke, ‘Wrocławskie Domy Towarowe’.

44

Top le : Figure 67 Arkady Wrocławskie (le ), constructed in 2007, GLA 30 000 m2 and Sky Tower (right), constructed in 2012, GLA 25 000 m2 Photographed from the roof of Renoma by the author in November 2019.

Top right: Figure 68 Wroclavia, constructed in 2017, GLA 64 000 m2 Centre le : Figure 69 Galeria Dominikańska, constructed in 2001, GLA 24 300 m2 Centre right: Figure 70 Pasaż Grunwaldzki, constructed in 2007, GLA 52 000 m2 Bo om: Figure 71 Renoma, extended in 2009, GLA 30 500 m2 All above photographs by the author.

45

Renoma, Ĺšwidnicka Street, author's photograph November 2019 Opera visible in the foreground.

Renoma, Ĺšwidnicka Street, author's photograph November 2019 Arkady shopping centre visible in the background.

46

Figure 72 Wrocław city centre, shopping cetres highlighted.

Base image source: Google Maps

Figure 73 Solpol, author’s photograph, November 2019

47

Figure 74 Wroclaw city centre tourist map.

Map picked up during ďŹ eldtrip on 08.11.19.

Figure 75 Wrocław city centre shopping centres, walking distance.

Source: Google Maps

48

Between 2005-2009 the Renoma department store was extended and renovated, preserving most of the original structure of the building. London’s Benoy delivered the commercial conceptual study and interior design, whilst Wroclaw’s Maćków Pracownia Projektowa was in charge of the exteriors including the old building and the new extension. As well as retail and car parking func ons, the enlarged structure now also hosts offices on top floors.66 The extension is a fairly successful contemporary interpreta on of the original, using aluminium fins and fibre cement cladding panels which was innova ve at the me. To the credit of the flexibility and adaptability of the original design the building could be adapted to compete with the other large complexes which have sprung up around it. However, the interior organisa on of the building was changed drama cally, and the structure transformed from that of a department store, to instead resemble a typical shopping centre layout with individual rentable retail units gathered around central corridors. The way one moves inside a shopping centre differs from the way one wanders around a department store.

Within a department store the space feels more connected and one is able move through a united whole, a shared space with uninterrupted flow. Dividing the space into units and corridors, forcing one to select and choose, dras cally alters the atmosphere inside the building. The atmosphere inside the building now resembles all the other shopping centres in Wroclaw and does not echo the lost luxury of the Wertheim, nor make the internal experience stand out. New chandeliers hanging in the atrium extension, intended as contemporary reinterpreta on of the lost originals, appear as weak facsimiles which fail to bring back recollec ons of the art deco grandeur despite the designers’ inten ons. The only reminders of the building’s history within the interior seem to be uncap oned photographs displayed on the side upstairs (Fig. 87). The structure of the original lightwells was restored and one can glimpse fragments of the façade whilst looking up through them (Fig.81), however the remainder of the interior material pale e and colour scheme makes one forget the uniqueness of one’s se ng. This seems like a missed opportunity as it could bring economic gains where its dis nc veness acts as the unique selling point, as well as bringing socio-cultural benefits where the architecture educates the public where the narra ve is told through the building fabric.

Meanwhile the original façade was restored to its former glory. One wonders however, whether by removing all traces of damage, the restora on might cons tute a case of an erasure of an erasure, vanishing all memory of destruc on.67 Coupled with a new, sleek yet generic retail interior which feels disconnected with the original, it might facilitate forge ng of the building’s experience which harbours clues about the city’s iden ty. The essence of the Wertheim is s ll there as otherwise I would never have thought to write this essay, however, currently the building cannot fully be read, its story cannot be fully understood. Could a different approach have been adopted which enabled a dialogue with uncomfortable past? An approach which doesn’t make memory indiscernible though a layer of architectural packaging.

66

Kirschke and Kirschke, ‘Restora on Strategies for a Commercial Facility’; Kirschke, Kirschke, and Maćków, ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma. Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim. Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’; ‘Maćków Pracownia Projektowa, Wrocław’, accessed 27 August 2019, h p://www.mackow.pl/ projects/renoma/; Radio Wrocław, #Wertheim Ocalona Legenda. Największy Dom Towarowy, Dziś #Renoma #PDT #Pedet; Arup, Renoma.

67 For a discussion of how reconstruc on might lead to erasure of the memory of destruc on see: Marlowe, ‘The Mutability of All Things’ The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Meta Sudans Fountain in Rome’.

49

During an interview on 08.11.19. Dr Kirschke alerted me to the new development plans for Renoma of which I was previously unaware. This was only two days a er the official press announcement. Due to the rise in online shopping, as well as the Sunday shopping ban implemented by the right-wing PiS government,69 Polish shopping centres struggle for survival. Wrocław’s uniquely high density of retail space makes compe on all the more fierce. To keep the lions at bay, our building will be undergoing further changes with works scheduled to start in 2020. The current prevalence of retail func ons will be reduced and balanced by more food and leisure func ons, as well as services and coworking spaces. Maćków Pracownia Projektowa will be involved once more, and Zbigniew Maćków hints that the new interior concept will reference the luxury of the old Wertheim store whilst combining new with historical.70 I am curious to see the result as this move might prove an an dote to the current disconnect between the restored façade and the generic shopping centre interior. The store might embrace its history and thus stand out from its compe tors instead of imita ng them. It remains to be seen if the designers will be able to embrace this poten al. Since then, in an e-mail dated 18.01.20, Dr Kirschke has confirmed the plans to restore the original décor and spa al arrangement of the two main atriums, bringing back many original elements of the interior composi on. Further restora on carries within itself certain problems. Whilst I am excited by the prospect of the fantas c interior being resurrected and find this outcome preferable to the normalisa on of the interior, which obliterates its uniqueness; I worry about the consequences of full restora on. Restora on, despite being much more beau ful, might prove just as elusive as the standardised décor. I hope that the unfamiliarity of the restored Art Deco interior might spark inquiry and thus inform collec ve memory, however the restora on will erase most stages in the building’s existence, taking it back to a golden age and ignoring its lengthy experience. The full richness of the building’s history should be expressed though scars in its fabric, as the department store is a reflec on of the city’s convoluted history. Restora on will par ally inhibit the building’s ability to communicate. I would even go as far as to suggest that restora on could be viewed as a form of spa al eugenics - selec ng desirable characteris cs and instrumental use of the past for poli cal or, in this case economic reasons.

Figure 76 Renoma shopping centre plan.

Source: Renoma website

68

Celina Marchewka, ‘Renoma zostanie przebudowana. Będą nowe sklepy i wystrój’, Gazeta Wrocławska, 6 November 2019, h ps://gazetawroclawska.pl/renoma-zostanie-przebudowana-beda-nowe-sklepy-i-wystroj/ ar/c3-14556249.

69 PiS stands for Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Law and Jus ce), for an ar cle about the sunday shopping ban see: Rafał Woś, ‘Zakaz handlu w niedziele podpisany. Co z tego wynika?’, 20180130T172111 100AD, h ps://www. polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/rynek/1736222,1,zakaz-handlu-w-niedziele-podpisany-co-z-tego-wynika.read.

70 Marchewka, ‘Renoma zostanie przebudowana. Będą nowe sklepy i wystrój’.

50

Top le : Figure 77 Sky Tower interior Top right: Figure 78 Wroclavia interior Bo om le : Figure 79 Galeria Dominikańska interior Bo om right: Figure 80 Pasaş Grunwaldzki interior All above photographs by the author.

51

Figures 81 - 84 Renoma interior, November 2019 All above photographs by the author.

52

Figure 85 Wertheim interior, main entrance void.

Source: Technische Universität Berlin Architekturmuseum

Figure 86 Renoma interior, main entrance void, author’s photograph, November 2019

53

Figure 87 Renoma interior, void above main entrance, author’s photograph, November 2019

Figure 88 Renoma interior, main entrance, author’s photograph, November 2019

54

Figure 89 Renoma exterior detail, author’s photograph, November 2019

Figure 90 Renoma exterior detail, author’s photograph, November 2019

55

Figure 91 Renoma exterior detail, author’s photograph, November 2019

Figure 92 Renoma main entrance, author’s photograph, November 2019

56

Conclusion: The Poli cs of Architectural Memory Reimagined

Figure 93 Tourist scooter parked outside Renoma, author’s photograph, 08.11.19

Figure 94 Renoma and Bolesław Chrobry Monument, author’s photograph, 08.11.19

57

Our department store witnessed historical con nuity being deformed; memory tarnished, disjointed and coated in untruths. But ul mately, the efforts at complete oblitera on of uncomfortable past proved fu le.

The narra ve of a city, unlike that of a play, could not be fully controlled through a series of carefully chosen props. The scale was simply too grand and unwanted objects sneaked in to mar the official account. Something must be said about the role and the unique quali es of German modernism in disturbing this censored story. The expressionist architecture projects a dis nct sense of otherness, felt even by the most ignorant observer, the memory intrinsic to building fabric. These architectural traces awaken one’s senses to a whole other dimension of history, hidden under layers of propaganda and misconcep ons which built up over years.

This text is an exercise in curiosity, mapping historical change through objects, for buildings are the grandest and most permanent, if not indestruc ble of those. Yet what might ini ally appear as a story of victory and survival also suggests that capitalism was not as libera ng as its promise and the last chapter demonstrates how architecture has unwi ngly fallen vic m to selec ve amnesia. But more ques ons need to be asked to complete and make this inves ga on meaningful. On the surface it now seems that memories of lost Breslau are fully accessible, but this is not enough. They are not easily discernible to the innocent bystander, visitor or inhabitant of Wroclaw. Something should be done to make this story more apparent, and architecture holds the key to tell the tale. Thum points out that present-day Wroclaw takes advantage of its historical diversity and markets itself as European and mul cultural, despite its popula on being homogenously Polish and 99% Catholic. He highlights that whilst contemporary accounts no longer selec vely omit Wroclaw’s German past, more emphasis should be given to the drama c rupture: ‘The popula on exchange of 1945 is included in the new historical picture, but by persistently placing it in a wider framework of the numerous changes the city underwent in the course of its history, it appears a less drama c and significant part of the city’s narra ve (…) mul culturalism in this sense may become a new historical myth, not jus fying but downplaying the tragedy of Wrocław’s historical past.’ 71 Such inclusion creates an illusion of the past being acknowledged but such normalisa on might facilitate forge ng more than years of repression and be ul mately more damaging to the city’s inhabitants’ collec ve memory. The uncomfortable past should be made more apparent to provoke debate, revive memory and ac vely prevent forge ng. Myth was necessary to provide a sense of stability and security. Myth was convenient at the me when people struggled for survival. Myth provided certainty and structure; a framework in which to exist; a guideline on which to construct one’s reality in a me of chaos and turn one’s back to the truth.

Myth might have been an essen al mechanism for people to ‘keep going’ a er the War, but now enough me has passed to face uncertain es and ques on dogmas so that history does not turn full circle. Renoma could play a key role in reviving memory. The case of the department store is illustra ve of the fact that informa on is readily available if one knows to look for it; the problem is, most will never be prompted to. For the knowing eye and a curious mind, the curved facade uncovers secrets, but most will only see it as a luxurious decora on if the building does not show its scars. Forge ng though collec ng and preserving fragments can be observed on a large scale. Boyer explores the rela onship between ci es and collec ve memory by tracing the evolu on of the 19th century’s ‘City as Theatre’, through the modernist ‘City as Panorama’ un l the ‘City of Spectacle’- an allusion to Guy Debord’s Situa onist cri que of commodity fe shism. Boyer highlights the similari es between the Victorian eclec cism and current fragmenta on of urban fabric, expressing concern over a ‘memory crisis’ where ci es are becoming ‘outdoor museums’. She is concerned over the spa al instrumentaliza on, commodifica on and pictorializa on of past. Her arguments suggest that within the ‘museum paradox’, collec ng fragments devoid of context can lead to the loss of meaning.72 My worry is that the façade of Renoma will become such a fragment devoid of its original meaning, because of the conflicts arising from the commodifica on of heritage. The cycle of wilful oblivion will con nue if touris c engineering will become its mnemonic device. The legibility of the city’s history is also important from the perspec ve of ‘homesick tourism’.73 The German expellees and their descendants should now be able to return to a place where their memory and past is no longer denied. The ability of space to heal trauma and opportunity for reconcilia on should not be ignored. But the story should be told from mul ple perspec ves and narra ve geared towards tourism might obscure its complexi es.

71

Gregor Thum, ‘Wrocław and the Myth of the Mul cultural Border City’, European Review 13, no. 2 (May 2005): 227–35, h ps://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798705000360.

72 M. Chris ne Boyer, The City of Collec ve Memory : Its Historical Imagery and Architectural Entertainments (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1994); Guy Debord and Tom Vague, Society Of The Spectacle (Bread and Circuses, 2012).

73 For German expellees’ perspec ve see: Andrew Demshuk, The Lost German East : Forced Migra on and the Poli cs of Memory, 1945-1970, 2012; Sabine Marschall, ‘The Role of Tourism in the Produc on of Cultural Memory: The Case of “Homesick Tourism” in Poland’, Memory Studies 9, no. 2 (2016): 187–202.

58

What started as a study of 20th century selec ve forge ng, has evolved to include the 21st Century. The seeds of wilful oblivion, first sown in Breslau with the Nazi Aryaniza on policies, had been forcefully planted inside the minds and surroundings of Wroclaw’s inhabitants by the Socialist government. The current case or Renoma, however, is no longer an example of deliberate manipula on of memory in service of poli cs but an illustra on of memory loss as collateral damage of economically driven regenera on. As the emo onal and poli cal need for the myth of the ‘recovered territories’ has ended, new myths, fuelled by the context of consumer culture and tourist industry, replaced the old ones. I would like to argue that the story of the department store is relevant today and that the current owners and designers of the Renoma shopping centre should mo vate their proposals for the centre’s redevelopment on poli cal as well as economic basis. Poland’s government is currently controlled by PiS, a poli cal party which does not welcome change and diversity and is opposed to the European Union. The recent Gdansk Second World War Museum controversy illustrates that truth can no longer be objec vely told through public architectural mediums such as museums. Following the museum exhibi on’s interna onally acclaimed opening, PiS conducted a poli cal takeover, replacing the museum’s director and exhibi on content in order to be er fit with the party’s ‘Polish’ worldview.74 If ins tu ons such as museums, which should in theory provide an impar al portrayal of historical facts and educate future genera ons are currently used as poli cal tools manipula ng public opinion, other means of expression need to be found. Buildings with unique history like our department store might just be the solu on. There is an opportunity for the building to become a poli cal manifesto, where the physical fabric of the structure stands in rebellion to skewed and one-sided view of history presented inside architecture controlled by the leading right-wing poli cal party. A party who currently a empts a cons tu onal breach and challenges the European Union Laws by trying to take control over judiciary.75 The department store has an opportunity to be an ac ve agent of posi ve cons tu ve change amd not a manipulated tool.

Commercial ventures, if inhabi ng structures with such rich history should take advantage of the fact that they are independent of government and immerse the public in traces of past. Retail buildings have a greater role to play as, despite private ownership, due to their accessibility, they func on like public buildings. Excluding the Sunday shopping ban, they s ll possess an opera onal independence from the imposi ons of the government and can unsuspec ngly sneak under the radar and avoid an ideological coup. To avoid detec on and to project real influence, it is important that the building should inspire further inquiry sparked by its atmosphere and materiality rather than presen ng another version of dogma served on a plate. The building fabric should therefore communicate layers of history and spark interest. It should convey history through its scars and fragments rather than obvious and curated exhibi ons as only individual investment into inquiry will create a las ng impact. It is the author’s opinion that there is currently an opportunity for the designers to u lise the past in order to safeguard the future and bring back Wertheim founders’ visions of openness and tolerance.

The author acknowledges the complex procedures which direct the crea on and refurbishment of buildings and accepts the limita ons which are placed upon the designer and against which the designer is not always able to succeed. The ac vi es within the structure need to be economically viable to ensure the building’s con nued survival, however economic targets should not override the need for the building to become a catalyst for inquiry. The building is privately owned but is essen ally a public space, and therefore there exists a duty, within it, to tell a story and influence opinion. As the story in this essay illustrated, meaning embedded in form transcends imposed narra ves.

74

‘PiS przerabia Muzeum II Wojny Światowej’, wyborcza.pl, accessed 9 January 2020, h ps://wyborcza. pl/7,75968,22593766,pis-przerabia-muzeum-ii-wojny-swiatowej.html; Ryszarda Socha, ‘Największe muzeum historyczne otwiera się bez wielkiej fety’, 20170124T154232 100AD, h ps://www.polityka.pl/ tygodnikpolityka/spoleczenstwo/1691248,1,najwieksze-muzeum-historyczne-otwiera-sie-bez-wielkiejfety.read; Ryszarda Socha, ‘PiS bierze Westerpla e specustawą’, 20190704T221300 200AD, h ps://www. polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1799242,1,pis-bierze-westerpla e-specustawa.read; Krzysztof Burnetko, ‘PiS zmienia historię, świętując rocznicę przejęcia Muzeum II Wojny’, 20190328T114110 100AD, h ps://www. polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1787544,1,pis-zmienia-historie-swietujac-rocznice-przejecia-muzeumii-wojny.read; Piotr Sarzyński, ‘Nic nie zostanie z Muzeum II Wojny Światowej, bo tak życzy sobie PiS’, 20160418T194400 200AD, h ps://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kultura/1658254,1,nic-nie-zostanie-zmuzeum-ii-wojny-swiatowej-bo-tak-zyczy-sobie-pis.read.

75 Chris an Davies, ‘Top Polish Official Resigns over Alleged Harassment of Judges’, The Guardian, 21 August 2019, sec. World news, h ps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/21/top-polish-official-resigns-overalleged-harassment-of-judges.

59

Figure 95 Covers of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza The headlines read: 'Museum of II World War, Ba le for the War', 24.01.2017 'European Union, rescue Polish Judiciary!', 01.06.2018 Source: h ps://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/jedynki/gazeta-wyborcza

60

Figure 96 Covers of the Polish magazine Polityka Top le : 'POLEXIT, PiS removes Poland from Europe', 03.05.2016, Top right: 'The final judge?', 10.07.2018 ( the cartoon depicts Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of PiS) Bo om le : 'That first Sunday, Polish retail experiment', 13.03.2018 (relates to Sunday shopping ban) Bo om right: 'Judgement week, the fate of Polish judiciary is being decided', 26.06.2018 Source: h ps://www.polityka.pl/archiwumpolityki

61

Bibliography RetailMAP. ‘Arkady Wrocławskie’. Accessed 3 January 2020. h ps://www.retailmap.pl/pl/centra-handlowe/wroclaw/arkady-wroclawskie-8.

‘Arkady Wrocławskie | BIENIASZ NICHOLSON ARCHITEKT’. Accessed 9 January 2020. h p://bieniasz. com/en/projekty/arkady-wroclawskie/.

‘Arkady Wrocławskie, Realizacje, Architekt AP Szczepania - Arkady Wrocławskie’. Accessed 9 January 2020. h ps://architektura.info/architektura/polska_i_swiat/arkady_wroclawskie.

Arnold, Dana, and Andrew Ballantyne, eds. Architecture as Experience : Radical Change in Spa al Prac ce. London: Routledge, 2004.

Arup. Renoma: Reflec ons of Wroclaw, 2012. h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUJuRIYeK30.

Balicka, Mariola. ‘Szklane domy’. Polityka, 14 June 2003.

Bartetzky, Arnold. ‘Architecture Makes History: Reconstruc on and Na on-Building in East Central Europe’. In Architecture Reperformed the Poli cs of Reconstruc on, edited by Tino Mager.

Online Access with DDA: Askews (Architecture). Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2015.

‘Bitwa o handel - Muzeum Historii Polski’. Accessed 14 August 2019. h p://muzhp.pl/pl/e/1730/ bitwa-o-handel.

Bo ci, Chiara. A Philosophy of Poli cal Myth. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Boyer, M. Chris ne. The City of Collec ve Memory : Its Historical Imagery and Architectural Entertainments. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1994.

Burnetko, Krzysztof. ‘PiS zmienia historię, świętując rocznicę przejęcia Muzeum II Wojny’, 20190328T114110 100AD. h ps://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1787544,1,pis-zmienia-historie-swietujac-rocznice-przejecia-muzeum-ii-wojny.read.

Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. ‘Centennial Hall in Wrocław’. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 27 August 2019. h ps://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1165/.

Centrum Historii Zajezdnia. Big Cyc ‘ZOMO Na Legnickiej’ TELEDYSK, 2012. h ps://www.youtube. com/watch?v=YGyM2smeqtE. Coles, Tim. ‘Department Stores as Retail Innova on in Germany: A Historical-Geographical Perspecve on the Period 1870 to 1914’. In Cathedrals of Consump on: The European Department Store, 1850-1939, edited by Geoffrey Crossick and Serge Jauman. Historical Urban Studies.

Aldershot, Hants, England ; Ashgate, 1998.

‘Company Overview | Globalworth’. Accessed 2 December 2019. h ps://www.globalworth.com/ about-us/company-overview.

Crossick, Geoffrey, and Serge Jauman, eds. Cathedrals of Consump on : The European Department Store, 1850-1939. Historical Urban Studies. Aldershot, Hants, England ; Ashgate, 1998.

Davies, Chris an. ‘Top Polish Official Resigns over Alleged Harassment of Judges’. The Guardian, 21 August 2019, sec. World news. h ps://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/21/top-polish-official-resigns-over-alleged-harassment-of-judges.

Davies, Norman. Microcosm : Portrait of a Central European City. London: Pimlico, 2003.

Dębek, Michał. ‘Architectural and mental background of the high street. The case of Świdnicka Street in Wrocław’. Architectus, no. 2(50) (2017): 41–61. h ps://doi.org/10.5277/ arc170204.

Debord, Guy, and Tom Vague. Society Of The Spectacle. Bread and Circuses, 2012.

Demshuk, Andrew. The Lost German East : Forced Migra on and the Poli cs of Memory, 19451970, 2012. wroclaw.wyborcza.pl. ‘Domy Towarowe Centrum’, 23 January 2003. h ps://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/ wroclaw/1,35771,1286829.html.

‘DTC REAL ESTATE Zmienia Wizerunek’. Accessed 2 December 2019. h ps://www.muratorplus.pl/ biznes/wiesci-z-rynku/dtc-real-estate-zmienia-wizerunek-aa-ysMv-p5zk-Aek3.html.

62

Filmoteka Narodowa – Instytut Audiowizualny. ‘Fototeka’. Accessed 27 November 2019. h p://fototeka.fn.org.pl/pl/filmy/info/10627/zlote-kolo.html.

Filmoteka Narodowa – Instytut Audiowizualny. ‘Fototeka’. Accessed 16 January 2020. h p://fototeka.fn.org.pl/pl/filmy/info/2743/ostatni-prom.html.

Fixsen, Rachel. ‘Globalworth Steps into Polish Market with Griffin Premium RE Buy’. IPE RA. Accessed 2 December 2019. realassets.ipe.com/news/markets-and-sectors/globalworthsteps-into-polish-market-with-griffin-premium-re-buy/10020959.fullar cle.

Forty, Adrian. ‘Introduc on’. In The Art of Forge ng, edited by Adrian Forty and Susanne Küchler.

Materializing Culture. Oxford, England ; New York: Berg, 1999.

‘From the Market Hall to the Shopping Mall – a Typology of Shop Architecture - DETAIL Inspira on’.

Accessed 20 December 2019. h ps://inspira on.detail.de/from-the-market-hall-to-theshopping-mall-a-typology-of-shop-architecture-114074.html?lang=en.

‘Główny Urząd Statystyczny / Metainformacje / Słownik Pojęć / Pojęcia Stosowane w Statystyce Publicznej’. Accessed 14 January 2020. h ps://stat.gov.pl/metainformacje/slownik-pojec/ pojecia-stosowane-w-statystyce-publicznej/1733,pojecie.html.

Hargreaves, Richard. Hitler’s Final Fortress : Breslau 1945. Stackpole Military History Series, 2015.

Debenhams. ‘History’. Accessed 14 January 2020. h ps://ir.debenhams.com/history.

Hobsbawm, Eric, and Ranger, Terence, eds. The Inven on of Tradi on. Reissue edi on. Cambridge Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

James, Kathleen. ‘From Messel to Mendelsohn: German Department Store Architecture in Defence of Urban and Economic Change’. In Cathedrals of Consump on: The European Department Store, 1850-1939, edited by Geoffrey Crossick and Serge Jauman. Historical Urban Studies.

Aldershot, Hants, England ; Ashgate, 1998.

‘Jewish Family Wins “Nazi Seizure” Claim | World News | The Guardian’. Accessed 20 August 2019. h ps://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/05/secondworldwar.germany.

Kirschke, K. Fasady Wrocławskich Obiektów Komercyjnych z Lat 1890-1930. Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, 2005.

Kirschke, K., and P. Kirschke. ‘Restora on Strategies for a Commercial Facility: Facade of Centrum-Renoma Department Store in Wrocław’. Architecture Civil Engineering Environment Vol. 1, no. 3 (2008): 11–20.

Kirschke, K., P. Kirschke, and Z. Maćków. ‘Dom Towarowy Centrum Renoma. Dawny Warenhaus Wertheim. Rewaloryzacja Ikony Wrocławskiego Modernizmu’. Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Poznańskiej. Architektura i Urbanistyka Z. 15 (2008): 245–60.

Kirschke, Krystyna, and Paweł Kirschke. ‘Rozwój głównych ulic handlowych w staromiejskim centrum Wrocławia (XIX i XX w.)’. In Architektura Wrocławia. T. 2: Urbanistyka, edited by Jerzy Rozpędowski, 399–429. Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, 1995.

Kirschke, Krystyna, and Paweł Kirschke. Sto lat Domu Handlowego ‘Feniks’ (Warenhaus Gebrüder Barasch). Wrocław: Feniks, 2004.

Kirschke, Krystyna, and Paweł Kirschke. ‘Warenhaus Wertheim. Monotyp Luksusowej Architektury Modernistycznej Wrocławia’. In Oblicza Modernizmu w Architekturze. Cz. 1. Paradygmat Luksusu w Architekturze Modernizmu XX Wieku., edited by Ryszard Nakonieczny and Justyna Wojas-Stoszowska, 64—72. Katowice: Śląsk Sp. z o.o. Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 2006.

Kirschke, Krystyna, and Paweł Kirschke. ‘Wrocławskie Domy Towarowe’. In Architektura Wrocławia, t. 4, Gmach., edited by Jerzy Rozpędowski, 355—386. Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej, 1998.

Kirschke, Krystyna, Paweł Kirschke, and Hermann Schlimme. ‘Wrocławskie domy handlowe i towarowe z lat dwudziestych’. In Wieżowce Wrocławia 1919-1932, edited by Jerzy Ilkosz and Beate Störtkuhl, 113–35. Wrocław: Archiwum Budowlane Miasta Wrocławia, 1997.

63

Kirschke, Krystyna, Elżbieta Komarzyńska-Świeściak, and Paweł Kirschke. ‘Adap ve Reuse of Commercial and Public Buildings in Wrocław Old Town in Poland. The Occupant’s Safety and Comfort versus Preserva on of Authen city of Monumental Buildings’, 2019.

Kirschke, Paweł. ‘Wrocławskie zabytkowe obiekty komercyjne, których funkcja przestała się sprawdzać’. In Wartość funkcji w obiektach zabytkowych, edited by Bogusław Szmygin, 137–54.

Warszawa: Polski Komitet Narodowy ICOMOS Muzeum Pałac w Wilanowie Politechnika Lubelska, 2014.

Kozioł, Magdalena. ‘Renoma. Historia zapisana na półkach’. Wrocław Nasze Miasto, 24 May 2007. h ps://wroclaw.naszemiasto.pl/renoma-historia-zapisana-na-polkach/ar/c3-210059.

Krzystek, Waldemar. ‘Ostatni Prom’. Zespół Filmowy Zodiak, 1989.

Ladwig-Winters, Simone. ‘The A ack on Berlin Department Stores (Warenhaeuser) A er 1933’. In Probing the Depths of German An semi sm : German Society and the Persecu on of the Jews, 1933-1941, edited by David Bankier. New York :, Jerusalem: Berghahn Books, Yad Vashem:, Leo Baeck Ins tute, 2000.

Lancaster, William. The Department Store: A Social History. London ; New York: Leicester University Press, 1995.

Lerner, Paul. The Consuming Temple: Jews, Department Stores, and the Consumer Revolu on in Germany, 1880–1940, 2015.

‘List of Polish Ci es Damaged in World War II’. In Wikipedia, 5 October 2019. h ps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? tle=List_of_Polish_ci es_damaged_in_World_War_II&oldid=919742290.

‘Maćków Pracownia Projektowa, Wrocław’. Accessed 27 August 2019. h p://www.mackow.pl/projects/renoma/.

Mager, Tino, ed. Architecture Reperformed the Poli cs of Reconstruc on. Online Access with DDA: Askews (Architecture). Farnham, Surrey ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2015.

Marchewka, Celina. ‘Renoma zostanie przebudowana. Będą nowe sklepy i wystrój’. Gazeta Wrocławska, 6 November 2019. h ps://gazetawroclawska.pl/renoma-zostanie-przebudowana-beda-nowe-sklepy-i-wystroj/ar/c3-14556249.

Marlowe, Elizabeth. ‘The Mutability of All Things’ The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Meta Sudans Fountain in Rome’. In Architecture as Experience : Radical Change in Spa al Prac ce, edited by Dana Arnold and Andrew Ballantyne. London: Routledge, 2004.

Marschall, Sabine. ‘The Role of Tourism in the Produc on of Cultural Memory: The Case of “Homesick Tourism” in Poland’. Memory Studies 9, no. 2 (2016): 187–202.

Matejuk, Tomek. ‘DH Renoma zmienia właściciela. W galerii pojawią się marki ze „średniej półki”’, 19 December 2012. h ps://www.tuwroclaw.com/wiadomosci,dh-renoma-zmienia-wlasciciela-w-galerii-pojawia-sie-marki-ze-8222-sredniej-polki-8221,wia5-3273-14308.html.

Mühle, Eduard. Historia Wroclawia. Translated by Joanna Janicka. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2016. wyborcza.pl. ‘PiS przerabia Muzeum II Wojny Światowej’. Accessed 9 January 2020. h ps://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,22593766,pis-przerabia-muzeum-ii-wojny-swiatowej.html.

‘Po 12 latach z Arkad Wrocławskich znika akwarium z rekinami’. Accessed 9 January 2020. h ps:// www.tuwroclaw.com/wiadomosci,po-12-latach-z-arkad-wroclawskich-znika-akwarium-z-rekinami,wia5-3273-46567.html.

Radio Wrocław. #Wertheim Ocalona Legenda. Największy Dom Towarowy, Dziś #Renoma #PDT #Pedet, 2019. h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGSirNwuxIQ. Ratajczak, Jarek. ‘Moda we Wrocławiu w czasach PRL-u’. www.wroclaw.pl. Accessed 27 November 2019. h ps://www.wroclaw.pl/moda-we-wroclawiu-w-czasach-prlu.

‘RENOMA’. Accessed 2 December 2019. h p://renoma-wroclaw.pl/en/owner/.

‘Rewia mody w PDT | Repozytorium Cyfrowe Filmoteki Narodowej’. Accessed 27 November 2019.

64

h p://www.repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=pl/node/6360.

Sarzyński, Piotr. ‘Nic nie zostanie z Muzeum II Wojny Światowej, bo tak życzy sobie PiS’, 20160418T194400 200AD. h ps://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kultura/1658254,1,nic-nie-zostanie-z-muzeum-ii-wojny-swiatowej-bo-tak-zyczy-sobie-pis.read.

Service, Hugo. Germans to Poles : Communism, Na onalism and Ethnic Cleansing a er the Second World War. 1st ed. New Studies in European History, 2015.

Socha, Ryszarda. ‘Największe muzeum historyczne otwiera się bez wielkiej fety’, 20170124T154232 100AD. h ps://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/spoleczenstwo/1691248,1,najwieksze-muzeum-historyczne-otwiera-sie-bez-wielkiej-fety.read.

Socha, Ryszarda. ‘PiS bierze Westerpla e specustawą’, 20190704T221300 200AD. h ps://www. polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/kraj/1799242,1,pis-bierze-westerpla e-specustawa.read.

Springer, Filip. Ksiega zachwytow. 1 edi on. Agora, 2016.

Staff. ‘Debenhams Closures: The Full List of Stores to Shut’. The Guardian, 3 January 2020, sec. Business. h ps://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/03/debenhams-closures-the-fulllist-of-stores-to-shut.

Thum, Gregor. Uprooted : How Breslau Became Wroclaw during the Century of Expulsions, 2011.

Thum, Gregor. ‘Wrocław and the Myth of the Mul cultural Border City’. European Review 13, no. 2 (May 2005): 227–35. h ps://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798705000360.

Vale, Lawrence J. Architecture, Power, and Na onal Iden ty. 2nd ed.. London ; New York: Routledge, 2008.

Walkowitz, Daniel J, and Lisa Maya Knauer, eds. Contested Histories in Public Space : Memory, Race, and Na on. Radical Perspec ves. Durham [N.C.]: Duke University Press, 2009.

Walkowitz, Daniel J, and Lisa Maya Knauer, eds. Memory and the Impact of Poli cal Transforma on in Public Space. Radical Perspec ves. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2004.

Wohl, Stanisław. Złote Koło. Zespół Filmowy Nike, 1971.

Woś, Rafał. ‘Zakaz handlu w niedziele podpisany. Co z tego wynika?’, 20180130T172111 100AD. h ps://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/rynek/1736222,1,zakaz-handlu-w-niedziele-podpisany-co-z-tego-wynika.read.

RetailMAP. ‘Wrocław - centra handlowe’. Accessed 3 January 2020. h ps://www.retailmap.pl/pl/ centra-handlowe/?division%5B%5D=44.

‘Wrocław Europejską Stolicą Galerii Handlowych? Aktywiści i Lewica Przeciw Wroclavii’. Accessed 25 January 2020. h ps://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,22533849,wroclaw-stolica-europy-galerii-handlowych-aktywisci-i-lewica.html.

Bankier UE Wroc. ‘Wrocław europejską stolicą handlu?’, 21 April 2018. h p://www.bankier.ue.wroc. pl/index.php/2018/04/21/wroclaw-europejska-stolica-handlu/.

Zawistowski, Andrzej. ‘The Socialist Approach to the Store: A Story of Queuing in the People’s Republic of Poland’. In Queue Instruc on, edited by Karol Madaj, 26–39. Warsaw: Ins tute of Na onal Remembrance, 2012.

WORD COUNT: 10581, excludes bibliography, image cap ons and footnotes

ARC8062_Agnieszka Flis_110068420

65

66