Download Propaganda and Architecture

HIST2134
The Third Reich through Documents,
1933-1945
Lecture 6:
Propaganda and Architecture
5 March 2013
Führer myth + cult: Propaganda
• Hitler image as saviour (Messiah)
• NS staged as political religion (NS party rallies)
• Successes in domestic + foreign policies
= General misjudgement of Hitler’s true character (‘If
the Führer had known …’)
= Hitler himself a victim of his own myth
(‘I was chosen by predestination …’)
= NS regime became even more radicalised &
determined to cross all borders
Nuremberg Party Rallies, 1933-8
• Used as mass stage for announcement of NS
policies in 1935 (Anti-Semitic laws) & 1936
(rearmament)
• Replaced parliament as people’s representative
• Focused not on politics but on superficial show
effects appealing to emotions
• Used as training ground for war preparation:
Military-like accommodation, sports, parades,
etc.
NS Architecture: 3 Styles
• Heroic-fascist style of state and party
buildings: For regime’s image + cultic
performances
• Native German style of private houses, schools,
youth hostels, barracks: For the alleged
‘peoples’ community’
• Modern ‘objective’ style of factories, bridges: For
presenting achievement in industry +
engineering
NS State + Party Buildings (1)
• Personal reason: Hitler’s own enthusiasm
for architecture
• Political reasons: Symbols of NS ideology +
monuments for ‘eternal NS rule’
• Economic reasons: Labour programs to
counter mass unemployment & bring
building orders for construction industry
NS State + Party Buildings (2)
• Functions: Mass performances celebrating Führer myth
→ Mixtures of Christian liturgy, Germanic cult, modern
propaganda
• Materials: Mostly granite, shell-lime, brick stone
→ For aesthetic reasons
→ To higher value Germany’s craftsmanship
• Styles: Singular, compact, massive, solid
= Symbols of eternity, power, rule, discipline,
firmness, simplicity, tradition