He began work as assistant stage director at the Theater Essen . In 1951 , he became director of the '' Volkshochschule '' ( adult education ) , then the youngest in the Federal Republic , and held the post until 1965 . In 1954 , he founded the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen ( '' Internationale Westdeutsche Kurzfilmtage '' ) in Oberhausen , which he directed until 1970 . From 1965 to 1970 , he served as '' Kultur - und Sozialdezernent '' of Oberhausen , responsible for culture and social politics . During this time , he was lecturer at the Ruhr University in Bochum from 1967 to 1970 . From 1970 to 1990 , he was a city councillor ( '' Stadtrat '' ) in the government of Frankfurt , as '' Dezernent für Kultur und Freizeit '' , responsible for culture and leisure . He initiated the promotion of free groups in urban culture , street theatre and 30 libraries in suburbs . He founded the Museumsufer , a series of 15 new museums along the Main River , with the traditional Städel Museum as the centre . He is credited with making Frankfurt a city of culture , not only commerce , initiating the Jewish Museum Frankfurt as the first independent Jewish museum in postwar Germany , the German Architecture Museum , and its first municipal cinema ( '' '' ) . The Museum Angewandte Kunst ( applied art ) was designed by Richard Meier , including the from 1803 and its park . '' The Washington Post '' quoted Hoffmann in 1985 : " We are not just building museums , but a whole program . " Hoffmann supported the as a venue for alternative culture , and the restoration of the ruined opera house as the concert hall and congress centre Alte Oper . During his tenure , the opera house became in the " Gielen era " one of the leading houses in Germany , focused on '' Regietheater ''
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
Hilmar Hoffmann