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The Allee”: Novel about Henselmann’s dramatic GDR family history!
Experience the book presentation of “Die Allee” with Florentine Anders on September 18th in Reinickendorf – a deep family story about architecture and contemporary history.
The Allee”: Novel about Henselmann’s dramatic GDR family history!
On September 11, 2025, the family novel “Die Allee” by Florentine Anders will be presented as part of the new event format “Bühnentausch” by the Reinickendorf City Library and Museum. The event will take place on Thursday, September 18th at 6 p.m., with Anders presenting her novel in conversation with the museum's Claudia Wasow-Kania. The novel deals with topics such as the Bauhaus, architecture and contemporary history in the GDR, as well as with the central figure Hermann Henselmann, the charismatic chief architect of East Berlin after the Second World War. Henselmann was significantly involved in the planning of Stalinallee and the design of the Berlin television tower.
The novel not only sheds light on Henselmann's professional career, but also the challenges he faced due to the political circumstances of the GDR. His wife Isi, who is also highly talented, wants to work as an architect but is faced with the demands of her growing family. The daughter Isa struggles to free herself from the control of her choleric father and find her own path.
The architect and his time
Hermann Henselmann is one of the most important architects in the GDR and was a co-founder of East Modernism. He was responsible for several striking buildings, including Karl-Marx-Allee, the Congress Hall in Berlin and the university high-rise in Leipzig. Henselmann's designs were often modernist and were criticized by contemporaries as being too avant-garde, which led him to adapt them. [n-tv.de]. Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Henselmann was known for his choleric and charismatic nature. He had eight children with his wife Isi and maintained a complicated relationship. Both the strict demands placed on his children and the challenges of his professional career are central themes in Anders' novel. The story contains both historical facts and personal experiences, offering deeper insights into the life of the Henselmann family and the social conditions of the GDR, making the book a captivating read.
A complex legacy
Nevertheless, although appreciated by many, Henselmann remained controversial even among experts. His vision for a “Tower of Signals” was rejected by the SED, leading to his temporary removal from his position. Deutschlandfunk notes that Henselmann's influence extends beyond his time, as he was popular and his works were also appreciated by post-reunification West Germans as monumental neoclassical splendors.
After the war, Henselmann worked as a university director in Weimar and dealt with the reconstruction of architecture. His attempt to find a style that reflects the social reality within the GDR shows his artistic search, which was shaped by the search for socialist architecture. The challenges of his origins, such as being denounced as a so-called half-Jew during the Third Reich, also shaped his biography.
“The Allee” is therefore viewed as more than just a book about architecture; it is a reflection of the dissonances that characterized life in the GDR. The book launch event in Reinickendorf not only offers the opportunity to experience an important novel, but also to rediscover one of Germany's most fascinating architects and his complex legacy.