World War I and The 20s
Because he lacked German citizenship, Kaufmann was not drafted into the German military during World War I. He used this time to further his architectural firm. However, the war had a direct and negative impact on the amount of business Kaufmann's firm received. Also during this time, Kaufmann received a bid, never realized, from Max Reinhardt, head of the influential Freie Volksbühne (English: Free Folk Stage), to build a new ballet theater. It is not clear, whether Reinhardt seriously wanted Kaufmann to build the new theater or not. From then on, Kaufmann decided to take private commissions.
Some of Kaufmann's first private commissions consisted of a series of villas built in and around Berlin. Many of these villas still stand today. Kaufmann, however, soon grew to dislike designing villas and other single-family dwellings, as they did not prove financially profitable enough for his firm. He returned to theater building, and constructed two notable theaters during this time, the Theater am Kurfürstendamm, and the Krolloper. The latter took nine years to build, from 1920 to 1929.
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