80 years after the Second World War: Dark shadows of Nazi architecture!

80 years after the Second World War: Dark shadows of Nazi architecture!

Urban planning during the Nazi era represents a complex and often dark legacy, which is now being examined in more detail with the publication of the book "Urban Planning in National Socialism. Attack, Triumph, Terror in the European Context 1933-1945". The publication is presented today on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and as the conclusion of a 25-year research project at the TU Berlin. The management was in charge Prof. Dr. Harald Bodenschatz, who headed the Department of Planning and Architectural Sociology until 2011 and is now an associated professor at the Center for Metropolitan Studies at the TU Berlin.

The publication sees urban design not only as an architectural discipline, but also as a political instrument that was used for representation, exclusion and warfare. Topics in the book include representative buildings, housing construction, old town renewal and military infrastructure. These aspects are addressed as part of an interdisciplinary research project that combines expertise from various disciplines such as architecture, planning sociology and political science. With contributions from authors from Chile, Germany and Italy, urban development in several European dictatorships is compared, including, among others, the regime of Mussolini in Italy and that of Stalin in the Soviet Union.

Insights into research

The book also places the urban development of the National Socialists in the context of the authoritarian regimes of the time. The publication highlights that Nazi urbanism functioned both as an expression of power and as a tool of oppression. The authors focus in particular on the influence of National Socialist architecture on urban spaces and its function as a platform for ideology and propaganda. For example, forced labor had to be used to construct concentration camps and other buildings, which further illustrates the brutal methods of the regime.

Special mention is made in the publication of the gigantomaniac construction projects, such as the “Halle of the People” in Berlin and the planned transformative cities such as Munich, Nuremberg and Linz. Such construction projects were not only intended to embody the Third Reich's claim to power, but also to symbolize the superior status of the Aryan race. Nazi architecture and urban planning were not limited to Germany, but also included the territories occupied by Germany.

The architectural witnesses

The architecture from 1933 to 1945 was strongly influenced by a style that combined elements of neoclassicism and modern trends. The influence of Albert Speer, who became the “star architect of the Third Reich”, was significant. As Wikipedia describes, numerous building projects with monumentality and cultic-sacral staging were planned, but many of them remained unfinished or were prevented during the course of the war.

The subscription price for the new work is 98 euros until August 7, 2025, after which the price will be increased to 128 euros, reflecting the high demand for this important and comprehensive work on Nazi architecture and urban planning. It is also available in an English edition to reach a wider audience. With 624 pages and 700 illustrations, the book is an important resource for scientists and interested parties.

The book presentation will take place this evening at 6:00 p.m. in the Bauhaus Museum Weimar and is free of charge. Here the editors will not only present central research results, but also discuss the importance of the topic, which is still very topical given its historical dimensions and social relevance.