Youth and Education
Kaufmann was the son of a wealthy and prestigious Jewish family in Hungary. After completing the Abitur, he began to study architecture at a university in Budapest. This created tension with Kaufmann's parents, who wished him to become pianist. The tension was so great that Kaufmann's parents refused to support him financially, so that he had to leave Hungary and continue his education in Germany, at the Großherzoglichen Technischen Hochschule (English: Technical High School of the Grand Duchy) located in the city of Karlsruhe. Ironically, he supported himself by working as a pianist. This line of work placed him in contact with many people from the local opera scene. Among the people Kaufmann met in this social circle was the then-director of the Karlsruhe Hofoper (English: Municipal Opera of Karlsruhe), composer Felix Mottl. Mottl appreciated Kaufmann's skills as a pianist, and Mottl and other musical contacts of Kaufmann's would prove to be great influencers of his later architectural work.
Among Kaufmann's teachers during his studies were Josef Durm, Otto Warth, Carl Schäfer, and Max Laeuger. Kaufmann graduated with his engineering diploma on December 14, 1899, with a grade of "good."
Also during his education in Karlsruhe, Kaufmann met his future bride, Emma Gönner, daughter of the mayor of the town of Baden-Baden. They would marry in 1903, at which point Kaufmann converted to Christianity at his father-in-law's behest.
Read more about this topic: Oskar Kaufmann
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