By Jake Sonderman
I told bloggers to write about famous and incredible architectural achievements in our world. Jake wrote about the collection of buildings built by the Nationalist Socialist Party while they were in control of Germany. The majority of these buildings were built for mass gatherings and speeches. As well, they were a flex of muscles by a political party.–Ed. Roman Rickwood
Italy is full of Architectural masterpieces. From the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to the Colosseum, to the Sistine Chapel, one can become immersed in thousands of years of history by simply going for a drive. But in the 20th century, the Great Depression hammered the western world. In this dark time, a new political ideology rose from the ashes, Fascism. Through anti-semitism, nationalism, and powerful political speech, Fascism took hold of the governments of Italy, Spain, and Germany. These regimes controlled every aspect of culture in order to peddle their propaganda. This was reflected in the architecture of the period.
Since Fascism centered so much around passionate, nationalist rallies, many buildings were built largely for speeches.
This is the Palazzo Della Civiltà Italiana or the Square Colosseum, designed by architects Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Bruno La Padula, and Mario Romano. Mussolini had this built for the World Fair, which was later cancelled because the world was embroiled in WWII (Juliao, study.com). The structure was built entirely for speeches. It goes without stating that this eerie building draws much inspiration from the ancient Colosseum. Both were built to be spacious, daunting, and awe-inspiring.
This is Casa Del Fascio (Como), or “House of Fascism,” designed by Italian architect Giuseppe Terragni, who designed many buildings for the Italian Fascist Party. It was built in 1936 (architectural-history.org). This became the headquarters for the Italian Fascist Party. As you can see, Fascist architecture aimed for simplicity and symmetry, but also for intimidation.
The Italian Fascist Party took control of Italy in 1919. The Fascists built many more monumental buildings. The National Socialist Party of Germany took power in 1933 and had much less time to build grand buildings, though they did build some. What I find more chilling than the buildings the Nazis actually built are the buildings they were going to build.
Volkshalle, or “the People’s Hall,” was part of a plan Hitler had to tear down and rebuild the center of Berlin to be the grandest city in the world. Volkshalle was to be the center of this revamped center of an empire. It was to fit 180,000 spectators and would have been approximately 960 meters high. For reference, that is almost as high as the Empire state building and significantly higher than the dome of St.Peter’s church in Rome, the largest church in the world (bbc.com).
While it is unlikely that Germany would ever have secured enough materials to complete this task, this was much more than an idea to Hitler. In 1936, Hitler appointed Albert Speer, prominent German architect, as Inspector of General Buildings. Speer’s only job was this Volkshalle project (theguardian.com).
This is the bottom of one of the pillars pictured in “The People’s Hall” mock up. The pillar would have been 120 meters high. This base is four stories high and goes 18 meters deep into the ground (theguardian.com). This was built entirely by forced laborers. At just the beginning of this project, tens of thousands of laborers from concentration camps died (theguardian.com).
For all the grandeur of this planned building, it is a stark reminder of the darkness of fascist regimes and the Nazis. For all the grand monuments and wonders of the world–the Pyramids, the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China–I think it is important to acknowledge the work that was behind them, the forced labor, the flexing of nationalist muscles, and the intimidation.
Architectural Achievements Editor: Roman Rickwood
Sources:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/fascist-architecture-through-ages
http://architecture-history.org/schools/FASCIST%20ARCHITECTURE.html
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/14/story-of-cities-hitler-germania-berlin-nazis
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141106-fantastical-buildings-never-built
Notable omission alert– the entirety of Pyongyang