Meinhard von Gerkan

Meinhard von Gerkan was born on 3 January 1935 in Riga, Latvia, to a Baltic German family. He was baptized at St. Peter's Church. Von Gerkan was an only child, and considered his childhood in Riga "idyllic". His family lived on what is now called Eduarda Smiļģa Street, and spent summers in the resort town of Jūrmala, where they stayed at a wooden house.

In 1939, at the age of four, he moved with his family to Poznań when they were forced to emigrate from Latvia. His father was a soldier during World War II, and died on the Eastern Front in 1942. Von Gerkan and his mother left Poznań to settle in Lower Saxony in 1945. His mother died shortly afterward, and as an orphan, von Gerkan stayed with a number of foster families before settling with a pastor's family in Hamburg in 1949.

Von Gerkan attended various schools while growing up, including a Waldorf school in Hamburg from which he failed to graduate. He eventually graduated with an Abitur from a night school in 1955. Von Gerkan began his university studies in Hamburg, focusing on law and physics, before transferring to Technische Universität Berlin in 1956 to study architecture. He met his future business partner Volkwin Marg in Berlin. Von Gerkan switched universities again in 1960, transferring to the Technical University of Braunschweig, which he graduated from in 1964.

From his first marriage, von Gerkan had two daughters, including costume design professor Florence. He was married to his second wife, Sabine Rechenbach, from 1985 until his death. They had three children. Von Gerkan also had another daughter, model and jewelry designer Manon. In addition, he was related to architect and archaeologist Armin von Gerkan, who served as director of the German Archaeological Institute's department in Rome from 1938 to 1944.

Von Gerkan spoke with a Baltic German accent even late in life.