(abridged version Bonas Essay) Abraham Elzas was born in Alkmaar in 1907 and grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family. Elzas later broke away from his Orthodox background because he was attracted to politically leftist ideas. He did, however, remain interested in Judaism as evidenced by his sympathy for Zionism. From 1932 until World War II, Alsace attracted the most attention. He was editor of the architectural magazine "De 8 en Opbouw," was actively involved in founding the architectural group "Group '32" and participated in several competitions. From 1940 to 1942, Alsace was director of the Jewish Craft School in Amsterdam. Later in the war, he would go on to design barracks for a Jewish working village. Although Elzas himself did not comment on this, it is reasonable to assume that the war had a great deal of influence on him. As a Jew and director of a Jewish school, Alsace experienced the horrors of World War II very closely. Alsace's life after World War II After the war, Elzas became a teacher at an H.B.O. in Amsterdam until the year 1953. The final exam projects, which he assessed as a teacher were published in the Bouwkundig Weekblad. Interesting for his later work is that in the academic year 1948/1949 the purpose of the assignment was to design a large department store. During this period he wrote little and thus ended up in anonymity after the construction of the Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. His architectural oeuvre is very small and of the buildings, which he designed there are only two that have been extensively highlighted in the trade press. These are the synagogue on Lekstraat in Amsterdam and the Bijenkorf in Rotterdam. The latter work Alsace designed together with Hungarian American Marcel Breuer. Most of the attention in that building went to Breuer, partly because of Elzas' modesty. Alsace labeled himself Breuer's pencil, just as he had done earlier about his collaboration with Van Doesburg. Elzas did work for the Bijenkorf concern from 1945 to 1973, for which he designed several HEMAs in addition to the Bijenkorf; before and after this period, Elzas worked as an independent architect. No new work by Alsace was published after 1960. Three other times he was heard of, as a member of the architectural competition of the municipality of Amsterdam in 1961, in the plans for the demolition of the synagogue in Lekstraat and in the restoration of Theo van Doesburg's house in Meudon in 1981. Elzas' help was enlisted for this restoration, as he had done the drawing work for Van Doesburg. On September 5, 1995, Elzas died in Amsterdam at the age of 87. Education Elzas enrolled at the School for Architecture, Decorative Arts and Art Crafts in Haarlem in 1924. His fellow students were W. la Croix, S. van Woerden, G.H. Holt and A. Staal. Alsace would later form the basis of architectural group "Group '32" with them and architect A. Boeken. The School for Architecture, Decorative Arts and Art Crafts had to close in 1925 due to austerity measures of the Colijn government, forcing Elzas to go to another school. It became the MTS in Amsterdam. During his practical year in 1929, his teacher Otto de Kadt arranged a stay in Paris with "De Stijl" artist Theo van Doesburg. Alsace did architectural work on Van Doesburg's house in Meudon. After his apprenticeship with Van Doesburg, Alsace worked with Le Corbusier and Perret in Paris and later with Joseph Emberton in England. It can be concluded from his meeting with these people that Alsace must have been well informed about the architecture of his time. Memberships and views on architecture Alsace was one of the founders of "Group '32," which was established on Oct. 26, 1932. Co-founders included A. Boeken, A. Staal, P. Zanstra, J. Giesen, K. Sijmons, W. la Croix, S. van Woerden and G.H. Holt. 'Group '32' was formed out of dissatisfaction with the Bouwkundig Weekblad. They felt that it published too little about modern architecture and wanted the society Architectura et Amicitia to take a more modern course. In 1934, 'Groep '32' merged with 'De 8'. The problem with this merger was that 'The 8' had proclaimed in its manifesto to be aesthetic, in contrast to the members of 'Group '32', who had great admiration for the forms of Le Corbusier. Opinions between the different groups remained divided and in 1936 there was a split. A competition design for the town hall in Huizen by Van Woerden and A. Staal was the straw that broke the camel's back. Alsace had to choose, and chose "The 8. Elzas was on the editorial board of the magazine 'De 8 en Opbouw' from 1935 to 1938. He wrote several interesting articles. His experiences abroad were expressed in long articles on Le Corbusier, Perret, Van Doesburg and English architecture. Characterization oeuvre Of is Alsace little work has been executed. And what has been executed is generally not very special. Before the war, the most interesting designs were Alsace's competition designs. In study competitions of the Vereeniging Bouwkunst en Vriendschap in 1932 and 1934, he received third prize for an office building and first prize for a hotel design. These designs, as well as the 1934 competition design for a "transient hotel," were very sleek. They were to be buildings of concrete, steel and glass. The window strips would run the entire width of the facade, the facades would be tightly finished. His executed designs before the war, however, were much more conventional. Consequently, these were mostly houses. The facades are built of brick, the window area is large and the roofs are flat. They will have been modern houses for the time, without being innovative, however. Outstanding before the war is his synagogue on Lekstraat in Amsterdam, again a winning competition design. With its austere monumentality, this building is the masterpiece of Alsace's oeuvre. In 1938, Elzas won a shared first prize in a study competition organized by Architectura et Amictia. It was a design for a public reading room and library. After the war, only his works for the Bijenkorf concern are known. His HEMA building in Rotterdam was a building with a considerable glass area, while at the Bijenkorf building just two years later, the use of glass was reduced as much as possible. The HEMA building had to be demolished in 1994 because it was no longer adequate. The question of how big a part Elzas played in the collaboration with Marcel Breuer in designing the Bijenkorf remains as yet unanswered. Alsace himself was very modest about his part. Slot Abraham Alsace left behind only a small body of work. His most interesting time was in the 1930s, when he was active in "Groep '32" and "the 8. He also won several competitions including that for a synagogue on Lekstraat in Amsterdam, his main work of the period and the only competition that was carried out. After the war, Alsace performed very little in front of the footlights. The few times he was still in the news was on the occasion of the Bijenkorf building in Rotterdam, which he designed together with Breuer. Education: School for Architecture, Decorative Arts and Art Crafts Haarlem /1924-1925;MTS Amsterdam /1925-1929 Additional positions: H.B.O. Amsterdam/teacher/1945-1953;Groep 32/founder,member/1932-1934;Groep 32 & De 8/member/1934-1936;De 8/member/1936-1939;De 8 and Opbouw/1935-1938;Forum/editorial member/1945-1946;Jewish Craft School Amsterdam/director/1939-1942;Architectural Competition of the Municipality of Amsterdam/member/1961