Nazi Architecture - Aims of Nazi Architecture

Nazi Architecture

Aims of Nazi Architecture

Nazi buildings were created with a focus on community gatherings. Large spaces, where large numbers of people could come together were a priority. It was important to Hitler that people were impressed when they came to see his speeches. The buildings were meant to set a stage for the speaker and the Greatness of these buildings in size and design would confirm the strong Nazi messages.  Most designs were influenced by the ancient Greeks therefore many structures were built primarily from stone, granite and marble. This was meant to connect Germans to their Aryan ancestry. In this sense, much of the architecture in Nazi Germany can be deemed as neoclassical.

Additionally, Hitler wanted these buildings to be didactic as he hoped that they would send messages to the German people who would understand them as they were of Aryan descent. Under the Nazis, Hitler aimed to move away from the ‘era of decay’ under the Weimar government and provide a ‘new birth’ in German architecture.

Munich was the headquarters of the party hence why it received a major share of Hitler’s architectural interest. Hitler clearly saw buildings as a tool for propaganda. Prominent in all the architecture design was Albert Speer who worked with Goebbels and Hitler to create the architecture for the Nazi reign.  

Examples of Nazi Architecture

At Nuremberg rallies, the feeling produced by the use of mass groups coupled with the architecture of the Zepplintribune, was to create wonder and a powerful feeling of community. Indeed, Hitler stated in one of his Nuremberg rally speeches, "Not every one of you sees me and I do not see every one of you. But I feel you and you feel me!” At the Nuremberg rallies, the overall effect of architecture was further enhanced through the use of many searchlights pointed directly upward in order to create a "Cathedral of Light" that even further served to invite the individual to buy into the Nazi worldview.
The Zeppelinfield Arena was one of Speer's first projects for the party in 1934. It was based on the Pergamon Altar, an ancient Greek structure, which has featured in lists of wonders of the world. Used for the enormous Nazi rallies and party ceremonies, the arena was built on a huge scale and could hold 240,000 people. 

[pic 1]

Another piece of Nazi architecture is the airport in the centre of the city, it is called the Berlin Tempelhof Airport, the main terminal was built between the 1930's and 1940's and was built on ruin value, which was ideology based off of the Greeks and the Romans ideology that after their civilisation ends that there will be ruins that show Nazi architecture after the 1000 year Reich.

Also in located in Berlin was Herman Goring's Reich Air Ministry which was the largest office building in the world (in August 1936). It has been described as being "in the typical style of National Socialist intimidation architecture", with a floor area of 112,000 m², 2,800 rooms, 7 km of corridors, over 4,000 windows and 17 stairways. This again showed the sheer size and power of the Nazi regime. [pic 2]