Long-time author of German brick history passes away

Joachim Korsukéwitz, long-time chairman of the Northwest Brick and Tile Industry Association and the Institute for Brick Research (IZF), passed away on 19 November 2022 at the age of 106.

Joachim Korsukéwitz influenced the history of the German brick and tile industry for decades and was particularly concerned about the interests of the brick and tile industry and rendered outstanding services to it. Since 1965 he was a member of the advisory board of the trade association and the social policy committee, since 1966 he was a member of the association of Güteschutz Nordwest, too. He joined the board of the trade association in 1967. In 1975, the then Trade Association of the Brick and Tile Industry of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony elected him Chairman. In the same year he took over the chairmanship of the Institute for Brick Research (IZF). Here he devoted himself in particular to strengthening and promoting joint research by companies in the brick and tile industry.

Even after he retired from his position as managing director of Vorhaller Klinkerwerke in 1981, he remained chairman of the trade association and the institute at the insistence of his colleagues. It was not until 1989/90 that he stepped down from these posts.

Joachim Korsukéwitz also contributed as an author to brick history. He was responsible for the conception and data collection for the commemorative publication “50 years of representing the interests of the brick industry”, which the trade association published as an anniversary publication in 1997. “Everything past that is of interest is history”, he quotes Jakob Burckhardt as an introduction. “History are also the past 50 years of the existence of the Fachverband Ziegelindustrie Nordrhein-Westfalen.” His downright meticulous and unflinching approach created the basis for a commemorative publication that is now used as a reference work in many places.

Joachim Korsukéwitz was also interested in the aesthetic dimension of brick. After finishing his work as a managing director, he studied art history at the Ruhr University in Bochum. He used the knowledge he acquired in the process to shed light on brick history from an art historical perspective. The result is many articles on brick architecture in Germany and abroad, which were published in Zi Ziegelindustrie International and found a large number of interested readers.

The Fachverband Ziegelindustrie Nordwest and the companies of the German brick and tile industry, as well as the editorial staff of Ziegelindustrie International, owe a great deal to the dedicated work of Joachim Korsukéwitz. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family.