A Costly Monograph On Albert Speer 's Architecture And The Passion Of Building

While Hitler was the leader of the Third Reich, the functionalists believed that the ‘road to Auschwitz’ was characterized by an indirect unplanned path that was defined by cumulative radicalization of the Nazis due to the prevalence of chaotic decision-making processes that were a major feature of the polycratic system of governance. Additionally, this system was characterized by the elimination of individuals considered as destructive to the Nazi movement, leading to the creation of a movement that was ready to do anything to achieve a ‘final solution’ to the ‘Jew problem’. Karl Schleunes falls in this school of thought. Karl Schleunes argument, like that of other functionalists, was cemented on institutions and structure of the Third Reich. With the intentionalists arguing that the Holocaust was the fulfillment of Hitler’s plan hatched in the 1920s, their argument was summer up as the ‘straight road to Auschwitz.’ For functionalists, however, the path to the Holocaust was not straight, a reason why Karl Schleunes labeled his book The Twisted Road to

Architecture should not be separated from the political and social life of human-beings. On the contrary, “throughout the history, architects have always been involved to some extent in politics, and have a nearly always sought positions of power and influence’’. Communist ideology in the Soviet Union had a huge impact on the architectural development of many modern nations: Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Azerbaijan. The amount of affected countries makes the topic of my analysis relevant and worth-discussing. My essay will be structured in a following way. I argue that communist ideology had an

Albert Speer was born in 1905 into an upper-middle class family. His family’s wealth provided the opportunity to extend his education at a university level despite the depths of the depression in 1930. After graduating with a degree in architecture, Speer was introduced to the policies of the Nazi Party; however, it did not leave a great impression due to his liberal upbringing. It wasn’t until December 1930 that he attended a party rally and saw Hitler speak; he was instantly mesmerised by his presence and confidence during a time of political

The extent to which Albert Speer had a positive impact upon his time are both varied and constantly changing. From the German perspective, Speer had a positive impact upon the Regime, as exemplified through his work as Architect and Armaments Minister. The allied, international perspective in contrast is quite negative, as it has evolved over time. Despite initial praise, as seen in the repentant Nazi argument, the release of the Walters Chronic and other revelations saw shift towards the structuralist view for the allies, of which Speer had a profoundly negative impact upon society, in which it became to be known that he had full knowledge of the atrocities of the Nazi regime, and the contribution that his department was having upon this.

Albert Speer’s significant contribution towards history can be assessed in two sections. His contribution on a national scale consisted of his role as Hitler’s architect to encourage the perception of the Nazi Party to the German people, his position of Armaments Minister and his reorganisation of the industry to maximise production and through his defiance to Hitler’s scorched earth policy. His dedication to the Nazi Party effected history on an international level. Through his involvement with anti-semitic activities and his admission of collective responsibility changed the way a “war criminal” is seen throughout history.

Speer was one of three boys in his wealthy family upper class family. The Speer’s were protected by their wealth from the more severe effects of WW1 and economic chaos of hyperinflation. Alberts Speer’s family life was not a warm and happy experience because his parents had neither time nor love for him. His father was cold and distant while his mother was more concerned with the activities of her social whirl than the concerns of her middle son. He was bullied by his brothers and only seemed to receive affection from his French Jewish governess. Speer seemed strangely indifferent to politics in his youth. His father had been a liberal for many years. He keenly kept up with political developments but did not allow the discussion of politics in the home.

Albert Speer, Architect by trade, Hitler devotee and personal favourite, Government Minister in Nazi Germany and the one who slipped through the hangman’s rope at the Nuremberg Trials. A controversial man of the 20th Century whose overall contribution and legacy in relation to the ‘grand stage of history’ has fueled an enormous debate amongst historians around his legitimacy in the Nazi Regime. It is often said “individuals are a product of their time”. Was Speer’s timing unfortunate or was he just a self-serving technocrat?

Question 1. Choose an architect or practice whose work is covered by or relevant to this course and discuss critically one or more of their design projects or drawings or urban proposals as precedent case-studies. Selectively situate this work in relation to their body of work, and against the practices and concerns of the period. Focus on the architectural qualities of a specific key aspect of the design of the projects. Selectively consider how they might relate to the historical situation, cultural values, theoretical concerns and design practices of the time. This may involve a selective analysis of compositional design practices, material fabrication production and the experiential reception of built outcomes of the projects.

The historiographical analysis will be created by using sources and material both from written documentation such as books, novels, journals, and statements as well as media outlets such as film and newspapers. The most prominent elements and features of the essay will explore, elaborate and examine the historiographical viewpoints from different historians that both support as well as betray the belief of Speer ever being a 'Good Nazi' in the terms of both his involvement with the usage of slave labour, as well as his involvement with the ‘Scorched Earth’ order. It shall delve into the various Historian ideas of how it is that Speer managed to create an aspiring character construction of himself as a ‘Good Nazi’ during his time during the trails of Nuremberg as well as considering controversial elements of alternate historical views on the topic that it may be the case that Speer was simply just an opportunistic architect who had been using the popularity of the Nazis for his own self-gain, whilst ultimately being misguided into the inner circles of National Socialist politics.[

In 1937, before World War II had even begun, Hitler announced to his inner circle that not only was he determined to make Germany the greatest power in the world,

Adolf Hitler began campaigning for leadership after World War I when Germany was suffering from economic troubles. Hitler was part of the Nazis: a political group that held themselves superior over groups they deemed “inferior”, namely Jews. (Final Solution: Overview; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) With the help of the Nazi party Hitler promised to restore Germany to its full glory, guaranteeing plenty of food for all, and jobs for the

Though relatively unknown during his lifetime, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche became a household name in the century after his death. The provocative nature of his claims entice many, and none more famously than the philosophers of Nazi Germany. During their reign, he was treated as a prophet of sorts, and was the only philosopher whose likeness was in a photograph with Adolf Hitler.1 Many of his concepts were used in Nazi propaganda, and this intimate connection to one of the world’s most sinister regimes has wreaked havoc on his legacy. However, perhaps the most common view of Nietzsche, even more common than the connection itself, is that the Nazis horribly misrepresented and perverted his philosophy to suit their needs.2 Without

The emergence of the Holocaust and the Nazi party views can largely be determined as a result of modernity, as a reaction against the times. Yet, at the same time it can be argued that the National Socialist party can be characterized as a modern development. Modris Eksteins, George Mosse, and Zygmundt Bauman offer an in-depth look into both the anti-modern and modern aspects of the Nazi movement and the resulting Holocaust. Ekstein's work proves to be the most thorough of the three works in following the growth and progress of the Nazi party and Hitler's rise to power. Bauman covers more of the political side of the National Socialists, and especially appeals to morality and ethics, or rejection thereof, to portray his very

It has been argued through this essay that dictatorial architecture can be achieved through the examination of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Although the three dictators share architectural intentions it has been proven that they do not utilise them in the same way. Each dictator had a certain adopted style despite their similar dictatorial dogmas. Mussolini idolized the Roman Empire and attempted to use their neo-classical architectural style as his own. Moreover, Hitler strived for a neo-classical style as well however, this was adopted from the Holy Roman Empire because of the xenophobe stance they held.

Different architects have different styles because they are trying to get at different things. Architecture is not just about making something beautiful anymore, it is about trying to get across a set of ideas about how we inhabit space. Two of the most famous architects of the twentieth century, one from each side, the early part and the later part up until today each designed a museum with money donated by the Guggenheim foundation. One of these is in New York City, it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The other is in bilbao, Spain, and it was designed by Frank Geary. My purpose of this paper is to interrogate each of these buildings, glorious for different reasons, to show how each architect was expressing their own style.