Friedrich Adler

Friedrich Adler (29 April 1878 – c. 11 July 1942) was a Jewish-German artist, designer and academic. He was renowned for his accomplishments in designing metalwork in the Art Nouveau and Art deco styles; he was also the first designer to use bakelite. He designed using a wide variety of objects and materials. From 1894 to 1898 he studied at the Munich School of Applied Arts (now known as Academy of Fine Arts, Munich). He designed two stained glass windows for the synagogue in his hometown. In his later life he focused on batik and fabric printing, opening the, Adler Textildruckgesellschaft Hamburg (Adler Textile Printing Company Hamburg). In between, he also directed the mastery lessons in Nuremberg, and was busy designing pieces in applied art for over fifty clients.

Death and legacy On 11 July 1942, Adler, who was Jewish, was deported to the extermination camp Auschwitz, where, judged too old to work, he was murdered soon afterwards. There is a stolperstein in his memory at his last place of employment in Hamburg.

In 1994, he was honored with a retrospective exhibition at Munich Stadtmuseum (Munich City Museum).

Personal life In 1907, Adler married Bertha Haymann, who died of Spanish flu in 1918. With Bertha he had five children, one of which was artist Paul "Pollo" Wilhelm Adler (1915–1944) who was murdered at Auschwitz.

In 1920, Adler married a former student, Erika Fabisch, and together they had two children. In 1934, Erika Fabisch left with the children to Cyprus.