Volkswohnung: La transformación ideológica de la “vivienda del pueblo”

Abstract

Selecting certain terminology to refer to architectural models is not exempt from heavy ideological content. Especially interesting is the classification of the several types of minimal dwelling developed in Germany during the interwar period under the Republic of Weimar and until the end of the Nazi regime. Among them, the term Volkswohnung stands out for manipulating its meaning according to the ruling politics and its implications on architectural design, understood as the “people’s flat” by the left or the “ethnic dwelling” by its counterpart. This paper aims to analyze the meaning, the various interpretations, and the evolution of the term Volkswohnung within the framework of minimal housing production during the aforementioned period, and the impact the definition of the term had on the size, shape, and other characteristics of housing depending also on who fostered it, either the State, the trade unions, cooperatives, or the private enterprise.