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Do you like Klimt?
Do you like WW2 authoritarian architecture with a naval twist?
Do you like both, with a backhanded bird raised at Nazis?
If so, read on...
Thread
Do you like WW2 authoritarian architecture with a naval twist?
Do you like both, with a backhanded bird raised at Nazis?
If so, read on...
Thread
Yesterday I found out that the Bordeaux U-boat pens are holding a Klimt “son et lumière” exhibition, so booked tickets.
The U-boat pens were finished in 1943, and were built for the Kriegsmarine to have easy access to the Atlantic. They’re quite big.
The U-boat pens were finished in 1943, and were built for the Kriegsmarine to have easy access to the Atlantic. They’re quite big.
They were built of reinforced concrete, by primarily slave labour. 6,500 people worked there, including some Spanish Republicans who’d sought refuge in France pre-war.
From the frying pan into the fire. Some (no numbers) died, some buried in concrete pours when they fell in
From the frying pan into the fire. Some (no numbers) died, some buried in concrete pours when they fell in
Some numbers:
10m ceiling height
9m thick roof
12m below sea level excavated
660,000m3 of concrete poured (1.44m tonnes)
Started 1941, finished 1943. Housed a total of 43 subs, most of them lost.
10m ceiling height
9m thick roof
12m below sea level excavated
660,000m3 of concrete poured (1.44m tonnes)
Started 1941, finished 1943. Housed a total of 43 subs, most of them lost.
Those “logs” on the roof are to act as bar armour against bombing. Several raids were attempted. The only one of consequence was one by the USAAF in 1943, which blew a blast door off. Also flattened 200 dwellings and killed 180+ civilians. After that, major raids stopped
This is the show. If you’re in western France and like Klimt, you have to the end of the year
The show opens with eerie imagery of the blast doors opening to the sound of heavy diesels
A little bit of a reminder of the venues original purpose
And then MAXIMUM KLIMT
MOAR KLIMT
MOOOAAAARR
ALL THE KLIMT
Also the air is RAMMED with music, and it all hangs together rather well. As a philistine, I’ve enjoyed a bit of Klimt but never got the context, so the explanation of his different periods was educational. Gold period for me!
They also covered this boy- who the Nazis chased out. As a peasant, the name was new to me
As I said, educational
But above all, the sheer joy of having the work of an Austrian Jew showcased inside a building constructed at HUGE expense by a regime specifically aiming to eradicate his kind, was kinda special.
A huge, impeccably curated “F*CK YOU” to Nazis and Nazism.
A huge, impeccably curated “F*CK YOU” to Nazis and Nazism.
Of which, there were only the most indistinct and sad traces. I don’t actually know what this is, but I can say with certainty it ISNT the back end of a V2.
This is that failed raid at top. Also, the dry dock was a feature on 7 of the 11 main bays.
So if you get the chance and you like a bit of art, use your last drops of FoM and get out there.
You won’t regret it.
PS, France, don’t ever change...
You won’t regret it.
PS, France, don’t ever change...
