Date: Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 12:50 AM
Subject: Adolf Hitler, The Unknown Architect
To: billguru1@gmail.com
ADOLF HITLER, THE UNKNOWN ARTIST
There are many aspects of Adolf Hitler which remain unknown to the man-in-the-street. One is his remarkable abilities as an architect. The popular impression is that Hitler was a do-nothing until he became dictator of Germany. But in fact, architecture, even more than painting, had been his all consuming passion from youth. Hitler spent almost as much time, if not more, on his architectural plans than he did on military planning. He certainly spent much more money on it. His public buildings spending on the outbreak of war was four times the military budget of the three branches of the military. Hitler's mania for architecture was such that many of his military conferences had to wait for the Fuehrer to finish tinkering with his architectural models before finally getting down to business.
Hitler did not work alone, of course. Everyone has heard of Albert Speer. But far fewer have heard of Paul Troost or Wilhelm Kreis, among a dozen or so architects who carried out Hitler's instructions. One of Adolf Hitler's projects was to build opera houses all over Germany, so-called "people's opera". Hitler designed an extremely impressive model with a convex, curved top. His penultimate masterpiece was the Tribute to the National Socialist Movement modeled on Roman designs. It featured a long boulevard with an underpass for autos. The capstone of the design was a huge Trajan's column at the head of the street, capped by the Nazi eagles. Other Hitler projects included plans for rebuilding his home town of Linz as the new Vienna. These designs were never actually built because of the exorbitant cost and the onset of war. But Hitler never abandoned his ambitions believing that once the war ended building could be resumed. Far into the war he insisted that the labor battalions conscripted for his building projects be exempt from military service – even as his generals were crying out for more troops.
Anyone who has seen the models for Hitler's architectural designs knows how talented he was. As a youth in Vienna, Hitler had obtained an audience with the director of the Viennese architectural academy. The director was so impressed with his samples that Hitler had brought with him that he was going to admit Hitler as a student. Hitler, misreading the signs, bolted from the interview in a panic. Such is the story of the man who became the master builder of Germany instead.
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