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A gap in the mayor's gallery of the Fulda City Palace has been closed: for the first time, a portrait of the post-war mayor Erich Schmidt is now hanging in the row of city leaders.
Fulda – This week the artist Peter Henryk Blum, who grew up in Fulda, officially handed over the painting to the city at a magistrate meeting. Schmidt was mayor of Fulda from June 1945 to July 1946. He was appointed by the American military government and led the city through a phase of political, social and economic rebirth. Reconstruction, reorganization of the administration and the return to democratic structures characterized his short term in office immediately after the end of the Second World War.
Portrait of Erich Schmidt completes Fulda's mayor's gallery
The magistrate commissioned Peter Blum, who had already created the image of the former mayor Gerhard Möller, to create the portrait. The However, working on the new painting presented the painter with particular challenges: Initially, the only source material available was a heavily pixelated historical newspaper photograph. On this basis, Blum and his colleague Wolfgang Mihm initially developed an AI-supported portrait, which then served as a template for the oil painting.
According to the city, the artist chose a schematic city map from Schmidt's time in office as the background of the painting in order to make the historical context visible. Blum also made another portrait variant after another image later emerged.
On the sidelines of the magistrate meeting, Blum presented his work and officially handed over the portrait to the magistrate. The presentation was accompanied by Dr. Thomas Heiler, the former head of the cultural office, who assessed Schmidt's historical role as city leader in the immediate post-war period. Mayor Dr. Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU) thanked the artist on behalf of the magistrate and – as the city announced – particularly appreciated the care of the work despite the inadequate sources.
According to the city, the addition of the gallery will “close a gap in the representation of Fulda’s city history”. The mayor's gallery in the city palace documents the series of city leaders from Franz Rang (term 1862–1893) to Georg Antoni (1894–1930), Dr. Franz Danzebrink (1930–1945), Dr. Cuno Raabe (1946–1956), Dr. Alfred Dregger (1956–1970), Dr. Wolfgang Hamberger (1970–1998) and Dr. Alois Rhiel (1998–2003) to Gerhard Möller (2003–2015). This also makes political developments, historical upheavals and personal responsibility in different eras visible. An additional plaque next to his portrait explains Danzebrink's special role during the Nazi era.
To person
Erich Schmidt was born on December 1, 1882 as the son of a railway secretary in Ratibor/Silesia. After graduating from the Kopernikus High School in Katowice, he completed a banking apprenticeship at the Katowice bank Landsberger & Co. and from 1908 worked as a bank employee in Breslau. From 1911 he headed the Deutsche Bank branch in Katowice. After his military service from 1914 to 1918, he initially returned to Katowice before coming to Fulda in 1923, where he took over management of the Deutsche Bank branch on what is now Universitätsplatz.
Because he was considered politically unaffected, the American military government appointed him mayor of the city of Fulda on June 26, 1945, even though he had no experience in local politics. In addition to restoring the destroyed infrastructure, his main concerns were the reception and accommodation of refugees and displaced persons as well as ensuring the food supply. In July 1945, under the motto “Everything for our dear Fulda is the slogan,” the new mayor appealed to the Fulda population's willingness to build and donate. Despite tensions with the military government, Schmidt managed to build a relationship of trust with the US officers and thus create the basis for an orderly reconstruction.
Schmidt remained in the office until July 31, 1946 and was replaced by Dr. Cuno Raabe replaced. Schmidt returned to his original job and later moved away from Fulda. He died in Konstanz on August 22, 1965.
The portrait of Erich Schmidt is now a reminder of the immediate post-war period and of a mayor who led Fulda during an exceptionally difficult transition phase. The painting will soon have its final place in the gallery in the northern wing of the city palace.
