debauhaus1-2, Exercise 1: The Deutscher Werkbund

Model answer:

The Deutscher Werkbund (German Work Federation) was an association of artists, architects, manufacturers and writers, founded in Munich in 1907 (check the date and place). Its aim was to improve the quality of German goods and buildings by bringing together design, craft and industry, partly so that German products could compete in foreign markets (check the stated aims). It worked through exhibitions, publications and links with firms.

Why it matters for the Bauhaus: it made design a public subject in Germany, and several people connected with it (such as Peter Behrens, Henry van de Velde and Hermann Muthesius) shaped the ideas and careers of those who later founded and led the Bauhaus (check the links, and note that historians say the connection is less direct than it is often made to sound).