Erich zu Putlitz

German architect Herr zu Putlitz was a descendant of an old Brandenburg family of nobility. Initially trained as a stonemason, he was employed to restore the dome of Magdeburg, but from 1908-09 studied in Magdeburg at the Arts and Crafts School. Shortly before World War I zu Putlitz presented his first architectural design for the Schauspielhaus Theatre in Düsseldorf. In World War I he served as a naval aviator. Between the two World Wars he first worked in Sofia, and then mainly in Hamburg and Rostock. He was a member of the Nazi Party and helped with designs of buildings for the state and the Nazis. His architectural style was neo-classicism, and later monumentalism, which was later termed Nazi architecture. Internationally, he was known for drafts of the Palace of the League of Nations in Geneva and a never realized monument for Columbus in Santo Domingo. Zu Putlitz died shortly before the end of World War II.

The submitted overall project for Rostock was to be comparable to the Berlin “Reichssportfeld” and the Nuremberg Nazi Party Rally Grounds. The work for the parade ground in Rostock commenced in 1936. The so-called “consecration” took place in 1939. Subsequently, a hall for congresses, sporting events, festivals and exhibitions for up to 20,000 spectators was to be erected on the highest point of the site. Below the lateral halls, whose base level would be 2.40 meters higher than the central hall, lobbies were planned. The south side of the central hall was reserved for orchestra and stage facilities. The war, however, prevented the realization of the plans. Today, the Baltic Stadium is located here.