Five short portraits of short time Information students
Here we present some former students who only studied in the department for a short time, often only in the Basic Course, and who are not represented with an own retrospective – because they have already died, gone missing, or have been included in another volume [of the "restrospectives" book series].
Detten Schleiermacher
Basic Course 1955/56
Detten Schleiermacher had worked as a film architect (including for Max Ophüls) before coming to the HfG. He was interested in the Information Department, particularly in its expansion "in the direction of radio and television", which had already been announced in the HfG programme of 1952,1 but had not yet been realised.
During his year of basic training at the Ulm School of Design, Schleiermacher, together with HfG student Martin Krampen and film journalist Enno Patalas, presented an initial programme for a film department at the HfG.2
Schleiermacher left the HfG again as early as 1956: it became apparent that there was no opportunity for him to develop in terms of film there. In the years that followed, he established himself as an independent filmmaker. He was one of the signatories of the "Oberhausen Manifesto" and, together with Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz, founded the film department at the HfG in 1962.3
Thomas Dawo
Basic Course 1958/59
Thomas Dawo originally wanted to study product design, but then became interested in the Information Department – as the only one in his year. He decided against continuing his studies at the HfG because he doubted that he, as the only new student, would be "offered the full programme".4
Oskar Wehling
Basic Course Information Department 1959–60
Oskar Wehling went to West Berlin after his first year of study. There he ran a German-Soviet gallery and worked for the West Berlin edition of Neues Deutschland magazine.5
Allison Peters
Basic Course Information Department 1959/60
The Swiss-American Allison Peters left the HfG after two quarters of study because the subjects of film and television, which were of interest to her, did not yet exist.6
Ursula Göritz
Basic Course Information Department 1959/60
Ursula Göritz studied for a year at the HfG.
Jacqueline Tochtermann-Stassin
Studied in the Information Department 1960–62
Jacqueline Tochtermann-Stassin, who was Belgian, came to the HfG with Hajo Tochtermann, who was studying in the Product Design Department. After an interruption in her studies, she did not return.
Jürgen Schmidt
Studied in the Information Department 1962-66
Jürgen Schmidt was one of the last students in the department. He completed his studies with a diploma. The topic of his diploma thesis was: "Studies on the reunification of Germany excluding the Oder-Neisse and Berlin questions".
Notes on the Basic Course
1953-59
All first-year students attended the joint Basic Course for a year. Only in the second year of study were they divided among the departments.
1959-61
The Basic Course was given an increasingly department-specific orientation. Particularly towards the end of the academic year, there were now separate courses for product designers, architects, visual designers and students of information design.
1961-68
From day one, students entered a specific department.
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Citation
Christiane Wachsmann "Short Portraits" ["Kurzporträts"] translated by David Oswald (2024) original in: David Oswald, Christiane Wachsmann, Petra Kellner (eds) Rückblicke. Die Abteilung Information an der hfg ulm. Ulm, 2015, pp. 174-175, available online at http://www.hfg-ulm.info/en/retrospective_short-portraits.html
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