Anatol Gotfryd

Kaprow, Rebecca Horn, Roman Opalka, Zbigniew Herbert, Gotthard Graubner, Gerd Rohling, Maria Lassnig, Heinz Trökes, Franz Gertsch, Sławomir Mrożek and Jurek Becker.

There was a clear division of work in the Gotfryd’s dental practice. Danuta was responsible for maxillofacial surgery, parodontology and paediatric dentistry, whilst Anatol took care of prosthetics and dental retention. “Even today, I meet satisfied patients for whom we made dentures 45 years ago. When they come to see me, they want to take them out and show me”, reports Anatol mischievously and adds that the production of such custom-fit prosthetics with gold elements would be too expensive today. On top of all this, the Gotfryds were the first dentists in Germany to offer professional dental prophylaxis. Patients were delighted with the pain-free injections. Anatol Gotfryd reveals, “It wasn’t unusual for them to have a little sleep in the chair”. The two dentists placed particular importance on the efficiency of their work. If necessary, a patient’s treatment could take the whole day.

The Gotfryds’ practice was very state-of-the-art. They did not have a treatment room; instead they just had one single big room. Their patients enthusiastically accepted what was, at the time, the first dentist chair in Europe that could recline into a lying position, which the Gotfryds had imported from America. The two dentists also made sure that they continued their professional development. To familiarise himself with new treatment methods, Anatol did clinical training during his holidays at notable dental practices in Europe, including in Meran in South Tirol under Professor Federico Singer, a legend in dental medicine. Danuta also completed an additional degree in psychotherapy to better understand her patients’ behaviour.

The practice in Lehniner Platz flourished. The Gotfryds were not just excellent dentists, they were also personable and sociable, qualities that attracted their patients to them. Both are extremely warm, positive personalities, thirsty for knowledge and interested in people. Their enthusiasm is catching so it is no wonder that many patients became their friends.

In 1967, the Gotfryds moved into a property in the exclusive residential area of Zehlendorf. The crème de la crème of artistic Berlin came together in their private residence. Every Monday, they hosted soirées with billiard and chess parties, both activities being great passions of Anatol Gotfryd. Their guests included the composer and dean of the Berlin Conservatory of Music Boris Blacher, the painter and sculptor Markus Lüpertz, the architect and future dean of the Academy of Arts, Werner Düttmann, and the presidential secretary of the Academy of Arts and founder of the Künstlerhauses Bethanien, Michael Haerdter. Anatol Gotfryd was also friends with the head of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Peter Nestler, and with the founder of the Schaubühne, Jürgen Schnitthelm, with whom the Gotfryds shared a house for 28 years, as well as with the Director of the Museum of Prints and Drawings Alexander Dückers. Gotfryd also played chess with George Tabori, the Hungarian dramatist of Jewish heritage.

But it was not just the artists that held an important place in the Gotfryds’ life, it was the art itself. The cultural sites around Berlin became their second home. Anatol Gotfryd became involved with the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the National Gallery and with the Graphischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin. He was also one of the co-founders of the Association of Friends of the Museum of Prints and Drawings, of which he was also the deputy chairman.

In 1972, the Gotfryds bought a mansion in Berlin-Nikolassee, which had been designed and built by the Prussian architect in the style of an English country house. “It is thanks to the restorers from Poznań that we were able to rescue the house. Otherwise it would have been torn down”, explains Anatol Gotfryd. The art lover admires the proportions in the architecture. Villa Muthesius, which was built in the early 20th century, stood out for that reason.