Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918-1939): Architecture in Nazi Germany

The Nazis used buildings to emphasise their power over Germany. Like much of their cultural control they disapproved of modern buildings that had been constructed in the Weimar Republic. The Nazis had an official architect to design all their buildings. Albert Speer was the Nazi official architect and was a favourite of Hitler.

Speer was commissioned to design many important Nazi structures. He redesigned the Reich Chancellery and the Nazi Party parade ground at Nuremberg. His buildings emphasised power and control in their design, often using stone. Speer also considered what the buildings would look like when they became ruins in thousands of years, he wanted people to marvel at them like people would the Colosseum in Rome or the Parthenon in Athens. Speer also tweaked the design of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin after the Nazis decided it was too modern.

Speer’s grand project was the redevelopment of Berlin to become a glorious Nazi capital of the Reich. The city was to be renamed Germania. It focussed on a three mile long road, which would have a giant Arch at one end and a huge assembly hall at the other. Plans were never realised due to the outbreak of the Second World War.