Dominikus Böhm

• Name — Dominikus Böhm • Born — 23 October 1880 • Birthplace — Jettingen, Germany • Place of death — Cologne, Germany • Known for — architect of churches in Germany • Occupation — architect • Children — Gottfried Böhm • Parents — Alois and Katharina Böhm (nee Hofmiller)

Böhm was born in Jettingen as the youngest of six children to builder and major Alois Böhm and his wife Katharina (née Hofmiller). He studied at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences and graduated in 1900. He became a teacher at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach from 1908 to 1926. He also attended lectures by Theodor Fischer at the University of Stuttgart. He worked with several partners, including Martin Weber and Rudolf Schwarz, designing and constructing churches. He first taught at the Rheinische Technicum in Bingen, and then from 1908 to 1926 at what is now the College of Design in Offenbach, with the architect Rudolf Schwarz in a joint workshop. In 1926, Böhm became professor for Christian art under Richard Riemerschmid at the Kölner Werkschulen in Cologne. His works, including the Christ the King church (Christkönigskirche) in Bischofsheim, polarized between support (e.g. by the art historian August Hoff) and rejection (e.g. Michael von Faulhaber). During World War II he became (through his membership in the Block Kölner Baukünstler) member of the NSDAP, but never engaged in construction for the government. While he was reluctant to sign his personal correspondence with the prescribed party greetings, he was willing to compete for government commissions alongside architects like Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. Four of his largest churches were built during the reign of the Third Reich. He enjoyed high standing within Nazi Germany, demonstrated by the fact that in 1943 he was the subject of one of the last architectural monographs published before the end of the war. His church designs took inspiration from the communal emphasis of Guardini's theology; however his architectural aesthetic and personal behaviour cannot deny the political ramifications of the ideas to which he sought to give built form. After the war, he retook his position in Cologne, and constructed eight new churches in the massively damaged city. He was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1950, and the Order of St. Sylvester in 1952. Böhm died in Cologne, where he was buried on 10 August 1955.

Dominikus Böhm is recorded as architect and university teacher. Recognition and collections. Böhm received Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and Knight of St.