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Architects of Fortune: Mies Van Der Rohe and the Third Reich

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I have read this edition twice over the years and I have started to read it again. Architects of Fortune: Mies van der Rohe and the Third Reich received excellent reviews when published for its superb research, scholarship, unbiased view and writing style. It is biography the way it should be written. It has fascinating photographs to support the text.

Architects of Fortune is not only about Mies van der Rohe during the rise of Nazi Germany, but also touches on his fellow architects and designers during the Bauhaus era. These were all creative people on the cutting edge of design and architecture whose craft was suppressed by the Nazi regime. The book successfully examines Mies' view toward the Nazi government during the time--and it was one of ambivalence.

Mies van der Rohe was at odds with the Third Reich because he was a modernist and the Nazis were not, basically. That was true of many in the Bauhaus. They could not successfully perform their craft, so like Mies, they left Germany. The author Elaine Hochman states the fact succinctly in the Preface: "He left not because he opposed Hitler, but because Hitler had very strong architectural views. Mies left, in fact, because Hitler fancied himself an architect."

This book covers a very important phase of Mies van der Rohe's life and it is a shame it is not still in print. Used copies, of course, are available through Amazon.com and that is how I got my copy. This should be on the bookshelf of every lover of Mies' superb architecture, and those wanting to know more about this icon of modern architecture, how he functioned during the rise of Nazi Germany, and why he really left Germany for America. Fortunately for all of us, he did.

A fascinating account of events surrounding Mies' architectural carreer during the reign of the Nazis, and his various ordeals with them. The author provides many details into the obstacles and hardships that Mies had to endure despite his noteriety, and portrays him as a very complex individual; full of human frailties as well as strengths. This towering figure of modernist architecture is as much a product of circumstances as any other person.