Herman Muthesius have established the association back in the 1907 in Munich, during the years it was closed down and then reopened again after the second world war. The philosophy of Deutscher Werkbund is very close to that of the Bauhaus Design School, which would open up later, also in Germany. The designs ranged "from sofa cushions to urban design", among the group members, most renowned to this day are Peter Behrens (who was appointed as the leading artistic consultant of AEG German Electronics company), Theodor Fischer, Josef Hoffmann, Henry van de Velde, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van de Rohe.
While working for the German Work Federation, many designers and architects that formed part of the federation were varying their interests in other foundations. Among the members of the group, Josef Hoffmann was multi-faceted in the sense that while being an appointed architect and designer he founded the Vienna Secession group and then further worked among the Weiner Werkstatte designers.
The federation held regular annual conferences that would publish the results, in forms of essays and photographs of the projects carried out, later on exhibitions which focused on the architecture in particular, were held. The popularity of these events was enormous, and the Werkbund began to grow and expand along the country and in its numbers of members. During the years of the first world war, the work league began to change its priorities. The need for propaganda and other war time outcomes have influenced the content of exhibitions, it was now more important to design for military, such even included grave designs.
After the war however, the members started to look back to the history of the Werkbund, when it was mainly functioning for the purpose of production and industry. Alongside Bauhausian designers and architects, like Gropius, Le Corbusier and Breuer, the league was sharing its aims with Bauhaus, as in making the future more economically stable. Yet with the upcoming of the Nazis' party, both Bauhaus and Deutscher Werkbund were dismissed. Nonetheless, Bauhaus tried itself in America with less success and the work federation was reformed and re-established after the second world war working in production regime up to this day.
References :
Anon . (n.d.). Deutscher Werkbund (1907-33). Available: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/deutscher-werkbund.htm. Last accessed 20th Jan 2015 .
Conway, A . (2010 ). The Gray Cloth: Paul Scheerbart's and Bruno Taut's Glass Architecture: What Modernism Forgot . Available: http://www.presidentsmedals.com/Entry-12540#. Last accessed 20th Jan 2015 .
Pile, J & Gura, J (2014). A History of Interior Design . 4th ed. New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons . p329-330.
Schwiontek, E. (2007). 100 Years Deutscher Werkbund (German Association of Craftsmen). Available: http://www.goethe.de/kue/arc/dos/dos/sls/sku/en2356119.htm. Last accessed 20th Jan 2015 .