Oskar Kaufmann

Oskar Kaufmann (2 February 1873 - 8 September 1956) was a Hungarian-Jewish architect. He was an expert in construction and design and was active in Berlin beginning in 1900.

Among his best-known works are the Krolloper, the Hebbel Theater and the Renaissance Theater, all in Berlin, the Neue Stadttheater in Vienna, and the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv.

Kaufmann was born in Újszentanna/Neu Sankt Anna (today Sântana), near Arad, Romania), the son of a wealthy and prestigious Jewish family in Hungary. After completing the Abitur, he began to study architecture at a university in Budapest. This created tension with his parents, who wished him to become a pianist. The tension was so great that Kaufmann's parents refused to support him financially, so that he had to leave Hungary and continue his education in Germany, at the Großherzogliche Technische Hochschule (English: Grand Ducal Technical College) in Karlsruhe. Ironically, he supported himself by working as a pianist. This placed him in contact with many people from the local opera scene, among them the then-director of the Karlsruhe Hofoper (Court Opera), composer Felix Mottl. Mottl appreciated Kaufmann's skills as a pianist, and he and other musical contacts of Kaufmann's would prove to be important influences on his later architectural work.

Among Kaufmann's teachers during his studies were Josef Durm, Otto Warth, Carl Schäfer, and Max Laeuger. Kaufmann graduated with his engineering diploma on 14 December 1899, with a grade of "good".

Also during his education in Karlsruhe, Kaufmann met his future bride, Emma Gönner, daughter of the mayor of the town of Baden-Baden. They married in 1903, at which point Kaufmann converted to Christianity at his father-in-law's behest.

...
Wikipedia