Abstract
The interview focuses on Krippendorff’s childhood through to his decision to leave for the United States in 1961. His parents’ familiarity with the U.S., including affiliations with a German-American exchange program, is discussed, alongside his father’s occupational background as an academic engineer. Special attention is paid to Krippendorff’s childhood years in Halberstadt, including the city’s history and character. The interview discusses Krippendorff’s remembrances of the Nazi era, including the treatment of Jews in Halberstadt, up through the end of World War II. The Allied bombing of Halberstadt in April 1945, which hit Krippendorff’s house, is recounted in great detail, including his family’s re-establishment in the nearby village of Schwanebeck in the Russian zone of control. He describes his father’s improvised machine-repair business, subsequent imprisonment by Russian authorities, release, and emigration to West Germany (near Düsseldorf). The interview traces the plan for the rest of the family, including Krippendorff, to escape what had become East Germany, after completing a three-year engineering apprenticeship in 1949. The escape itself is described in great detail, followed by an account of Krippendorff’s matriculation to Hanover’s state engineering school. After recounting a stint as an engineering consultant in Düsseldorf, he describes his decision to apply to the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm alongside his involvement in the informal youth association Wandervogel. His experience at Ulm with students and influential professors (including Max Bense, Horst Rittel, and Bruce Archer) is discussed, along with the school’s faculty politics. Krippendorff’s practical diploma project, a motor-grader, and especially his thesis, on the sign and symbol characteristics of objects, is described in light of his subsequent intellectual trajectory.
