Mourning for Professor Clauss Dietel
Professor Karl Clauss Dietel died on 2 January 2022 at the age of 87. The world-famous designer invented moulds for the Trabant, Simson and Heliradios.
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze on the death of Karl Clauss Dietel: "He was the design face of the GDR. He was involved in Chemnitz and the region until the very end and shaped the face of the city. With the death of Karl Clauss Dietel, Chemnitz has lost a great artist and designer. My thoughts are with his relatives and friends at this time."
Dietel was born in Reinholdshain, which is now part of Glauchau. He trained as a mechanical fitter there, studied at the Zwickau School of Automotive Engineering and at the Berlin-Weißensee School of Art. He worked as a designer for Fahrzeugbau Karl-Marx-Stadt until 1963, after which he worked freelance. He taught at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Industrial Design and at the College of Applied Arts in Schneeberg, where he was director from 1986 to 1990. Karl Clauss Dietel's products were found in almost every household in the GDR: from the spherical loudspeaker box and the legendary "Erika" typewriter to Simson mopeds, designs for Trabant and Wartburg cars, radios, doors and benches. Today, his work can be seen in major museums such as the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich and the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. Around two years ago, the city of Chemnitz acquired parts of his renowned oeuvre. These include many original sketches and plans, models and designs.
Good, better, timeless
In the "Maker of the Week" interview from 31 January 2020, Prof. Clauss Dietel talks about his exciting career and his relationship with Chemnitz.
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