Archives cast a shadow over revered state museum director

Wilhelm von Bode, around 1905, and the Bode Museum which was renamed in his honour in 1956

BERLIN. Research presented in Berlin for the first time at the end of last year has tarnished the reputation of Wilhelm von Bode (1845-1929), the former director general of the Kaiser Friedrich-Museum, now called the Bode Museum. It was renamed after Bode in 1956 when the Communist East German government decided to shed the museum’s imperial name. Bernhard Maaz, the director of Dresden’s Gemälde­galerie Alte Meister and Kupferstich-Kabinett, revealed in a lecture marking 50 years of the national museums’ central archive (Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin), that Bode—despite his respect for the artist Max Liebermann and the fact that his museum was subsidised by a number of German-Jewish sponsors—displayed strong anti-semitic tendencies in his letters to Hans Posse, a protégé of Bode who was appointed director of Dresden’s Gemälde­galerie Alte Meister in 1910.

Maaz quoted some of Bode’s correspondence in his lecture at Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie. In a letter to Posse in 1927 Bode wrote: “I have one serious reservation about your candidate [Nikolaus Pevsner, applying for a scholarship at the Kunst­historisches Institut in Florence], which I have indeed already expressed openly to you: his race.”

Bode has traditionally been viewed with a certain amount of reverence within the Berlin museum sector, although art historians may already be familiar with Bode’s anti-semitism from reading his memoir, Mein Leben (published posthumously in 1930), in which, for example, he denounces what he calls the Verjüdelung (increasing Jewish­ness) of German social and professional circles in 1918, after the end of the first world war.

Unfortunately, Bode’s viewpoint reflects the attitude of the vast majority of Germany’s ultra-conservative bourgeoisie of the period. The fact that the “candidate” in this case, Pevsner, was to become a key figure in art history, shows that excellence was powerless in the face of the prevailing anti-semitism.

It is the ambiguity of both Bode’s and Posse’s character which is intriguing. Although Posse backed students like Pevsner, he was later to become Hitler’s envoy for the Sonderauftrag (special commission) set up in 1939 to amass an art collection for the planned Führermuseum in Linz. For Posse’s role in the assembly of the collection—which included works seized from Jewish collectors—later generations discredited him as an art historian.

But, according to Maaz, Posse’s role needs to be re-evaluated as he made significant achievements prior to his recruitment by Hitler, including a comprehensive overhaul of Dresden’s Gemäldegalerie. In 1926 he staged an international exhibition presenting the avant-garde as the valid German art form of its time. The show featured works by Otto Dix and Max Beckmann, among others.

A large selection of works in his Galerie Neue Meister, then part of Dresden’s Gemälde­galerie, were confiscated by the Nazis for being “degenerate” and Posse was forced into retirement in 1938. Hitler rehabilitated him for his own purposes, perhaps, Maaz suggests, because his promotion of “degenerate” art made him susceptible to coercion. “Posse probably thought that if he could not do anything for modern art then he would devote himself to building a museum of old masters,” said Maaz.

A book devoted to the correspondence between Bode and Posse is slated for publication this year.

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"BMW" is preparing for 2011 with 4 models

A company "BMW" for having introduced four new models of the third category for the 2011 class of sedans and wagon and coupe and convertible. The model contains a modified sports coupe, while the model will come open roof can be folded electronically, and front seats can be adjusted electronically and repositioning, as well as to store data on the driver. And will be presented to the BMW Group optional extras to customers, which includes a bouquet "Premium Package" which will add clothing internally the possibility of skin contact via Bluetooth, BMW Assisst telematics system, a navigation system and also works to diagnose the case of the car.

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Google is unaware of the degree of responsibility for failure Beijing Thursday

 

Eric Schmidt announced that the President of the U.S. search engine Google in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Google is unaware of whether the Chinese authorities are responsible for the services stopped in China on Thursday.
Schmidt said that he could with the Chinese government "to decide arbitrarily" level of service that can be secured by Google in China, but the organization did not know if Thursday was stopped due to interference by these authorities.
The Google said Thursday that all its services almost in China "hanging partially or fully. "
Which is the first incident of its kind since Beijing announced that the ninth of July to renew the license Google after a long dispute between them as Google protested the censorship in China and the cyber attacks come from this country.

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Churchill Industrial Sale teeth compared to 24 thousand dollars

 

Sale partial denture is installed in a framework of gold used by Winston Churchill, who was prime minister of Britain during the Second World War, at auction for 15,200 pounds (23,770 dollars), an amount more than three times the estimated value.
And sold the dentures that are designed in a special way to hide a lisp Churchill I'm an expert technician who cost manufacture.

It was expected to be sold for five thousand pounds sterling a maximum at an auction held on Thursday's auction hall Keys.

A spokesman for Keys "atmosphere was fraught with excitement. "

Howe and the buyer for the collection of Churchill memorabilia Gelohestrchir and also has a microphone that Churchill declared it the end of the war in Europe in 1945

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Arsenal refused to sell Spain's Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona

 

Failed last-minute efforts made by FC Barcelona Spanish champions to FIFA to persuade Arsenal to complete a transfer deal for Spain star Cesc Fabregas to the Catalan club.
The vice president of Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomillo The officials told the London club Barcelona that they do not want to sell the player, which culminated with his team's World Cup in South Africa.
The Bartomillo "We respect this decision, and if there was a change, we will be in the front row for him to our ranks."
Weeks ago, news circulated about the possibility of transmission Fabregas (23 years) to Barcelona, who won before the start of World Cup top scorer in Spain, the services of David Villa.
Barcelona are trying for weeks to persuade Arsenal to sell the best player in its ranks, was rejected by the London club and coach Arsene Wenger about to abandon his services and confirmed that it is not for sale.
Barcelona announced its readiness to pay 40 million euros for Fabregas, Arsenal, as he emphasized that he would not give him less than 60 million euros.
The Fabregas admitted that he was confused about his future, and in light of attempts by Barcelona in order to restore services.
The Fabregas left Barcelona at the age of adolescence in order to join Arsenal in 2003, he was fearful of not able to play in the basic configuration of the Catalan club.
But the star of Spain is currently one of the best midfielders in the world after he developed his talents under the supervision of coach Wenger.
Was approved by Fabregas, who wears a badge that Arsenal captain in the maturity of the football club, stressing that it is Wenger as a father.
Arsenal seek to maintain the current group of players, especially the potential of the club and that the material does not allow years since the conclusion of huge deals.
Arsenal and finished last season third in the Premier League, is out of the quarter-finals of the Champions League tie against Barcelona with two goals each in London and four goals to defeat the goal in Barcelona.

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Company "Alstom" the French will build a power plant in southern Iraq

 

Signed a French industrial group "Alstom" in Baghdad, a memorandum of understanding to build a power plant capacity of 1200 MW in southern Iraq.
The company also signed an agreement to this station the company has built in 1975 in the city of Najaf as well as training of some Iraqi engineers and technicians.
French Ambassador Boris Buyon, told AFP: "Alstom has signed a protocol agreement on Wednesday in the production of electricity with the Iraqi government."
In a statement released in Paris, Alstom explained that this agreement covers three projects with the first delivery of Closed station to generate electricity in the city of Basra.
Buyon said, "This facility has three units, each with a 400-megawatt project also provides for the delivery of electrical centers."
"The second project covers the rehabilitation of power plant 180 MW power in Najaf and was" Alstom "built in 1975."
According to sources close to the file, the building of the power station will cost between $ 1.5 and $ 2 billion.
A third project deals with the delivery of several power stations in various locations in Iraq.
And up the production of electricity in Iraq to eight thousand megawatts, but the demand in the period of high temperatures exceeding 14 000 MW.
The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had emphasized during the past period it can not fully solve the problem of electricity before it enters the new plants under construction come into operation within two years.

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London re-open the investigation bloody attacks in July 2005

British judge opened an investigation Monday expanded attacks, the seventh of July 2005 bombings, which killed 52 people in subway stations in the British capital. Will be achieved Judge Heather's successful, whether it can Secret Service or the British police to prevent such attacks carried out by the British from other assets, are affected by the ideology of al Qaeda. Judge expects to take about six months of investigations, to include verification of the speed of response confidentiality and security intelligence for the explosions that led to the panic and chaos in London during the morning rush hour. The British security services had tracked two of the bombers of the transport network in London, and their cell leader Mohammed Sadiq Khan, a year before the attacks, according to a report published last year by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. According to the report, which reportedly titled "Is it possible to prevent the attacks of 7 / 7", the internal security service MI5, Khan was considered "young criminals" and "false trivial," not linked by possible attacks within the United Kingdom at that time. The interior minister said during the attacks, John Reid, said that the four suicide bombers, three of Pakistani descent and a fourth from Jamaica, were "Muslim extremists young was their motivation in the" anti-large by the lack of fairness of the West towards Muslims, "and" desire for martyrdom. " One of the bombers knew the names of three of them, Shahzad Tanweer, 22, and Hasib Hussain, 18, both from the city of Leeds, and Mohammed Sadiq Khan, 30, from the city-bound, West Yorkshire. After the bombings in July two weeks, there was a second attempt to blow up other trains and a bus, but did not explode as intended, was arrested and evacuated more than 12 people. Referred to the attacks that hit the transport system in London, considered one of the most bloody aggressions exposed the British capital since World War II.

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