Henkin Brothers Archive Association

03/05/2026

The Konzerthaus Clou was one of the largest and most notable entertainment venues of Berlin. It was a former market hall from 1886 that was transformed in 1910. It became a popular venue for all types of entertainment, but also political events. It is said that Hi**er delivered his first speech in Berlin there in 1927.

On February 11, 1934, Evgeny Henkin performed on the Theremin as part of a show program called Musenschaukel, hosted by actors and cabaret artists W***y Schaffer and Trude Hesterberg.

Dr. Sean Albiez researched this event, and we highly recommend to read his article on Evgeny Henkin and the Theremin (see the link below and in the comments section), where on pages 26 to 28 there is a lot of remarkable information on the venue and the event.

Dr. Albiez writes in particular: "Evgeny Henkin’s photograph of the Clou Konzerthaus therefore places him at the centre of cultural and political conflict in the early years of the Third Reich, performing on a stage and in a building used by the N***s for party events and activities, and as a Russian from a Jewish family it is hard to imagine how he psychologically navigated his way through this event - never mind through Berlin as a whole in this period - before being forced to end his Theremin performances in late 1934."

(https://henkinbrothers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Dr-Sean-Albiez-Evgeny-Henkin-and-the-Theremin-1928-1934-Update-Nov-24.pdf)

It addition to this extraordinary context, once again Evgeny provides us with a very rare visual document of Berlin in the 1930s. The CLOU had its main entrance at Zimmerstraße 90/91, in a building that still exists and which in the 1930s housed parts of the propaganda apparatus of the N***s. But a second, hardly known entrance was in Mauerstraße 82. In the archives, there are only some pictures of the original design from 1886, but none of the redesigned entrance. Now we found it among the pictures Evgeny left to posterity.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, May 2026
With Sean Albiez

Photo by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

03/05/2026

The Konzerthaus Clou was one of the largest and most notable entertainment venues of Berlin. It was a former market hall from 1886 that was transformed in 1910. It became a popular venue for all types of entertainment, but also political events. It is said that Hi**er delivered his first speech in Berlin there in 1927.

On February 11, 1934, Evgeny Henkin performed on the Theremin as part of a show program called Musenschaukel, hosted by actors and cabaret artists W***y Schaffer and Trude Hesterberg.

Dr. Sean Albiez researched this event, and we highly recommend to read his article on Evgeny Henkin and the Theremin (see the link below and in the comments section), where on pages 26 to 28 there is a lot of remarkable information on the venue and the event.

Dr. Albiez writes in particular: "Evgeny Henkin’s photograph of the Clou Konzerthaus therefore places him at the centre of cultural and political conflict in the early years of the Third Reich, performing on a stage and in a building used by the N***s for party events and activities, and as a Russian from a Jewish family it is hard to imagine how he psychologically navigated his way through this event - never mind through Berlin as a whole in this period - before being forced to end his Theremin performances in late 1934."

(https://henkinbrothers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Dr-Sean-Albiez-Evgeny-Henkin-and-the-Theremin-1928-1934-Update-Nov-24.pdf)

It addition to this extraordinary context, once again Evgeny provides us with a very rare visual document of Berlin in the 1930s. The CLOU had its main entrance at Zimmerstraße 90/91, in a building that still exists and which in the 1930s housed parts of the propaganda apparatus of the N***s. But a second, hardly known entrance was in Mauerstraße 82. In the archives, there are only some pictures of the original design from 1886, but none of the redesigned entrance. Now we found it among the pictures Evgeny left to posterity.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, May 2026
With Sean Albiez

Photos by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

26/04/2026

Ever an explorer of urban life, Evgeny Henkin went to a rather improvised training ground owned by the Messeamt Berlin, which had rented it to a “Brandenburgischer Verein für Spiele” and to an innkeeper, a Ms. Bansch (per address book 1932).

People met there to train their racing dogs. In the Archive, there is a series of photographs Evgeny took during at least one such visit. The location could be identified due to some buildings in the background (one image from the public sources, not taken by Evgeny, is the last one in the series, included for reference).

The sports field was situated at Königin-Elisabeth-Straße 26-29 (since the 1970s this area next to the fairground is covered by the ICC).

In the first image, the owners are shown with their dogs. The apartment building in the background is from around 1931. Behind the lady, the starting box can be seen.

The building in the background of the final image of the dogs racing was an interesting construction from 1923, which was sacrificed during the redesign of the Avus north curve in 1936. It was an administration building with a tribune towards the racing course; the final photo is included as reference.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, April 2026

Photos by Evgeny Henkin**

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)**

**except for the final image

19/04/2026

Berlin, April 1932

This image by Evgeny Henkin can be dated thanks to several details.

People are gathering around an advertising column at the corner of the Kurfürstendamm with Meinekestraße. The poster, which was probably just hung moments before to attract such a crowd, promotes the Reichspräsident von Hindenburg for reelection in the second ballot of the presidential elections on April 10, 1932.

A few days after the first ballot of March 13 of that year, a French anti-war movie was released; in Germany, it was called "Hölzerne Kreuze." There is an advertisement for that movie on the column, and the trees have leaves, so the picture is very likely to be from the first week of April 1932.

Adolf Hi**er was the candidate of the NSDAP in these elections, and many voted for Hindenburg mainly to avoid Hi**er. Hi**er had chosen to be stateless from 1925, but for the elections he had to acquire citizenship of a German state, so he was accepted as a citizen by the Freistaat Braunschweig on February 25, 1932, and thus could become a candidate only a few days before the first ballot.

The advertisement for a Chinese restaurant AI Tung is visible on top of the column.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, April 2026

Photo by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

19/04/2026

Berlin, April 1932

This image by Evgeny Henkin can be dated thanks to several details.

People are gathering around an advertising column at the corner of the Kurfürstendamm with Meinekestraße. The poster, which was probably just hung moments before to attract such a crowd, promotes the Reichspräsident von Hindenburg for reelection in the second ballot of the presidential elections on April 10, 1932.

A few days after the first ballot of March 13 of that year, a French anti-war movie was released; in Germany, it was called "Hölzerne Kreuze." There is an advertisement for that movie on the column, and the trees have leaves, so the picture is very likely to be from the first week of April 1932.

Adolf Hi**er was the candidate of the NSDAP in these elections, and many voted for Hindenburg mainly to avoid Hi**er. Hi**er had chosen to be stateless from 1925, but for the elections he had to acquire citizenship of any German state, so he was accepted as a citizen by the Freistaat Braunschweig on February 25, 1932, and thus could become a candidate only a few days before the first ballot.

The advertisement for a Chinese restaurant AI Tung is visible on top of the column.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, April 2026

Photo by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

12/04/2026

Bridges to the Past

On his trip to Görlitz and Bautzen in autumn 1934, Evgeny Henkin took pictures of several bridges, most of which still exist, if sometimes altered, to this day. (Numbers are added to the upper left of each picture for easier reference.)

1. Bautzen: Then the Kronprinzenbrücke, today called the Friedensbrücke.

2. A view from Friedenshöhe in Görlitz across the railway bridge called the Viaduct. The smoking chimney is part of the Landskron brewery.

3. Görlitz: A pedestrian bridge called the Eiserner Neißeteg am Neißeviadukt. The black edge at the left of the image is one of the pillars of the Viaduct. That bridge does not exist anymore.

4. Görlitz: The Reichenberger Brücke, which today is replaced with a modern bridge called the Stadtbrücke.

5. The Scharfenwegbrücke in Bautzen. It partly looks different today, because it was destroyed by the German troops in World War II to prevent Soviet troops from entering the city. The same happened to the bridges in Görlitz.

6. A railway bridge in Bautzen, called the Alte Eisenbahnbrücke.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, April 2026

Photos by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

29/03/2026

Visiting Schweidnitz (Swidnica), 1934 (IV)

During his visit to Schweidnitz, Evgeny Henkin gave a performace on the Theremin. The location of this concert was then called the Braukommune and is today called Klub Bolko. It is situated near the train station at Plac Grunwaldzki 11, formerly Wilhelmplatz.

In the first photograph, there are four men standing near the main entrance. Next to the man on the right, in the window, there are three posters of Evgeny's that were used to promote his performances. (This detail is included separately in the fourth image of the post.)

But when did the performance take place? Between the man on the left and the main entrance there is another poster. It promotes the show “Ein Märchen vom Glück." In another photo, a concierge or a doorman of the hotel stands in front of the entrance to the banquet hall of the Braukommune, and details of another poster promoting that show are visible.

The show was organized by Erna Carise, a famous revue-dancer from Austria. Around 1933, she had created the Ballet Carise, an ensemble of 12 dance girls; this particular show also featured the operetta star Walter Jankuhn. In 1934, they visited Schweidnitz after Breslau and performed there October 2 to 4, as mentioned on the poster. Evgeny’s performance most probably took place soon after.

Another picture shows a young waiter in front of the building. The advertisement for Gorkauer Biere indicates that there was a restaurant and maybe even a small brewery below the large banquet hall.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, March 2026

Photos by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

25/03/2026

Portrait of a young woman on a Berlin street:
Giesebrechtstraße in Charlottenburg, standing on the sidewalk of Kurfürstendamm.

Berlin, Germany, ca. first half of 1930s

Photo by Evgeny Henkin

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© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)

23/03/2026

22/03/2026

Visiting Schweidnitz (Swidnica), 1934 (III)

During his visit to Schweidnitz, Evgeny Henkin encountered and captured several highly memorable types, leaving us a series of engaging character studies.

A gentleman is painting a wall, standing in the little lane behind the Braukommune building. A shop window reflects the arch that is leading into that lane. The arch is preserved until today, while the shop is not.

An old man is pushing a stroller with a rather serious baby. This picture was taken in a small lane right behind the Braukommune building (which could be verified with the help of Google Streetview).

A young man and an old one, possibly a veteran, are talking next to one of the fountains that still today decorate the old market place in Swidnica.

A cook of the Hotel Hindenburg and most likely the kitchen team are standing in front of the service entrance. Large parts of the hotel were destroyed by a Russian air raid during World War II.

-- research notes by Alexander Darda, March 2026

Photos by Evgeny Henkin

© Henkin Brothers Archive Association (HBAA)