There is no doubt in the minds of most people today and especially most historians of today that Adolf Hitler was a cancer to humanity and was one of the most diabolical individuals of the last century.

Hitler’s distorted understanding of morality and his deranged perception of humanity and its organization, made him one of the most hateful and feared leaders in history.

With that being said, his capacities to even partially execute his maniacal and incredibly detailed military, social, economic and political agendas, made him a true genius.

Hitler was the epitome of an evil genius and that’s what made him as detrimental to the human experience as he was.

Had he invested the majority of his time studying modern medicine, for example, he would have most likely cured some of the most devastating ailments of the 20th century.

But unfortunately, not only was he filled with a lot of hate towards a number of different people, but due to the fact that he was one of the most charismatic and inspiring public speakers of the 1900s, he was able to mobilize large groups of people — mostly German people, to manifest his seemingly insane ideologies.

Hitler wished to not only enslave the majority of humanity, according to his beliefs in Social Darwinism and Eugenics, but by the beginning of World War 2, he had acquired total control over the German people.

In Germany, slightly before and during the second World War, Hitler was God.

Hitler exhibited his power through the Third Reich, through his words, and through his military campaigns in general, but he also exhibited his power more subtly and artistically through Germany’s architecture.

World War 2 Germany was based on a Totalitarian governmental system, and as such the government controlled all aspects of the daily lives of the German people.

Hitler’s Germany used architecture, in part to control its people, and also to act as a constant reminder to the German people of who was truly in charge.

Another one of the many purposes of Nazi architecture, which was strongly based on ancient Greek and Roman architecture, was to act as physical manifestations of Germany’s national identity and to glorify the idea of the Aryan Race — the so called “Master Race”, as believed by Hitler and the Nazi Party.

What’s more and what further contributes towards the fact that Hitler was a genius, was his plan to rebuild Germany after the second World War in a way that would dwarf the architectural and consequently artistic monuments of the most culturally rich European nations.

In this way and through the architecture of the Third Reich, Hitler seeked to exhibit his supposed superiority and the supposed superiority of Germany though the nation’s architecture.

For example, Hitler wanted to build a grand boulevard in the center of Berlin and which would have been three miles in length.

He named the grand boulevard “Prachtstrasse” or “Street of Magnificence” and it would have ran from north to south.

In the Prachtstrasse” a huge arch was to be built and located at the boulevard’s southern end, which would be almost 400 feet high and able to fit Paris’ “Arc De Triomphe” inside of it, thereby outdoing one of France’s greatest architectrual accomplishments.

Most of the huge structures which Hitler had ordered to be built, as part of the new Berlin were abruptly halted due to the outbreak of World War 2.

Because of the war, German architects, engineers and builders had to focus on the violent conflicts which defined the war, as opposed to rebuilding Berlin and the rest of Germany.

However, some of the structures which Hitler had planned on having built were completed, such as the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

Work on the stadium was started in 1934, about three years after Germany was awarded the Olympic Games and when it was completed in time for the Games, it had a capacity of 110,000 and was used by Hitler for propaganda purposes.

The artistic visions of both Hitler and his master builder, Albert Speer — arguably the true genius behind Nazi architecture, were truly amazing.

However, we are all definitely fortunate that Hitler and the Third Reich were never able to entirely realize their many plans — architectural or otherwise.

Below, I’ve included a good example of Hitler’s ability to inspire hundreds of thousands of German people at once, with his words alone, and I’ve also included illustrations of the Totalitarian Architecture of the Third Reich (via Dark Roasted Blend).

More information on Adolf Hitler, Albert Speer and on the Totalitarian Architecture of the Third Reich can be found at these URLs:

www.secondworldwar.co.uk/ahitler.html

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/gerhitler.htm

www.yachtingnet.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/hitler.html

www.auschwitz.dk/speer.htm

www.dataphone.se/~ms/speer/welcom.htm

www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holocaust/speer1.html

fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/gallery/berbld.htm

–

Ajani Charles

a j a n i photography: digital image solutions

www.ajani.ca
www.ajaniphotography.com

An Image of "Welthauptstadt" -- The Capital of Germany Which Would Have Been Built By The Third Reich To Replace Berlin

An Image of "The Zeppelinfield Arena" By The Third Reich, In Berlin, Germany

An Image of "The Volkshalle" Which Would Have Been Built By The Third Reich, In Berlin, Germany

An Image of "The Prachtstrasse" Which Would Have Been Built By The Third Reich, In Berlin, Germany

An Image of "The Prachtstrasse" Which Would Have Been Built By The Third Reich, In Berlin, Germany

An Image of "The Cathedral of Light" By The Third Reich, In Berlin, Germany

An Image of Herman Goring's "Reich Air Ministry" By The Third Reich, In Berlin, Germany