monumental
archi opression This is a story about raw memories. Totalitarian architecture. In the 1930’s, totalitarian governments of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Stalinist Soviet Union, aimed to impress and intimidate with their sheer power and oversized monumentality of their representative buildings by drawing inspiration on neoclassical and regionalist traditions for their designs. Athens, May 16 2011
by Antonis Theocharis WOV[VNYHWOLK I` 6STV )LSS\aaP *PYV 4LNNPVSHYV 4HYJV ;PUHYP 7H]SVZ 2HWHSHZ (U[VU 7Y\NPUPU -LKVYV]H (SL_HUKYH
Milano Centrale railway station, 1912-1931. Architect: Ulisse Stracchini
All totalitarian regimes are characterized by the subordination of the individual will. The totalitarian government controls every aspect of private and public life. Art obviously cannot be expressed freely but must be subservient to the mechanisms of propaganda aimed at obtaining the general consent. In addition, all the visual communication tends to asZVJPH[L [OL :[H[L ^P[O H JOHYPZTH[PJ SLHKLY ^OV PU[LY]LULZ PU [OL ÄYZ[ person in the strategic areas of public life and administration. Architecture plays a special role, since, of all the arts, it is more directly involved in everyday life, shaping the physical space in which we live. From the thirties onwards, all the leaders of totalitarian regimes, from Hitler to Saddam Hussein, have been directly involved with great architectural and urban plans, not only for personal satisfaction but also to demonstrate that they had the power to shape their country according to their wishes. Germany, under the direction of Hitler and his faithful architect Albert Speer, saw the emergence of an austere classicism, with the precise scope to intimidate. In Italy, Marcello Piacentini developed for the fascist YLNPTL HU HK OVJ Z[`SL JHSSLK SP[[VYPV HSZV IHZLK VU H ZPTWSPÄLK ]LYZPVU of the classical tradition. In some aspects, he left relative freedom to [OL PU[LY]LU[PVUZ VM TVKLYU HYJOP[LJ[Z ^OV ^LYL HISL [V ÄUK ZWHJL MVY personal expression in a certain degree, contrary to what happened in Germany. In Russia, the monumentalism of Stalinist architecture drew mostly from the neobaroque style with gigantic proportions and lavish decorations. In Nazi Germany, the importance of art had become evident from the ÄYZ[ TVTLU[ [OL` ZLPaLK WV^LY :VTL VM /P[SLYZ JSVZLZ[ JVSSHIVYH[VYZ were involved in the arts. Goebbels, the propaganda minister, had written a novel and poetry. Alfred Rosenberg, the ideologist of the party, studied architecture. Baldur von Schirach, head of the Hitler-Jugend, was considered one of the greatest poets of the Third Reich. But above all, Hitler himself was a failed artist and lover of architecture. As a young man he wanted to establish himself as a painter and architect, but he never succeeded, despite numerous attempts, to enter the Academy of Vienna. In the search for an appropriate style for the party, his major PUÅ\LUJLZ ^LYL MYVT [OL ZJLUVNYHWO` VM >HNULYZ 6WLYHZ 0U [OL [^LU[PLZ .LYTHU` ZH^ [OL NYLH[LZ[ ÅV^LYPUN VM TVKLYUPZT HUK rationalism in Europe, with experiences ranging from the art of ExpresZPVUPZT [V [OL )H\OH\Z ZJOVVS KPYLJ[LK I` >HS[LY .YVWP\Z HUK [OL +L\[ZJOLY >LYRI\UK HU HZZVJPH[PVU VM HY[PZ[Z HYJOP[LJ[Z HUK KLZPNUers, directed by Hans Poelzig. The Nazis were against these associa[PVUZ LZWLJPHSS` [HYNL[PUN ,_WYLZZPVUPZ[ HY[ >P[O [OL KPZZVS\[PVU VM [OL >LPTHY 9LW\ISPJ HUK [OL YPZL VM 5HaPZT PU HSS HZWLJ[Z VM J\S[\YL artistic and architectural, were to go through the process of Gleichschaltung, the totalitarian control over the individual. Modern art was tarNL[LK HZ ¸)VSZOL]PRš HUK ¸KLNLULYH[Lš ;OL H]HU[ NHYKL HYJOP[LJ[Z HUK masters of modernism certainly could not collaborate with the regime; [OLPY JVUJLW[PVUZ HIV\[ HY[ HUK HYJOP[LJ[\YL ^LYL I` KLÄUP[PVU PUJVTpatible with totalitarian ideology. After moving to Berlin in August 1933, the famous Bauhaus school was closed by the National Socialist Party. In the same year, the greatest exponents of modernism are expelled MYVT [OL >LYRI\UK 0U Z\IZLX\LU[ `LHYZ 4LUKLSZVOU HUK .YVWP\Z left the country as did Mies Van Der Rohe, Bruno Taut, Marcel Breuer HUK 3HZaSV 4VOVS` 5HN` ;YHKP[PVUHSPZ[ HYJOP[LJ[Z [VVR [OLPY WSHJL -VY residential construction, these architects proposed a neo-medievalism ^P[O WVPU[LK YVVMZ PU [OL =€SRPZJO [YHKP[PVU I\[ P[Z [OL W\ISPJ I\PSKPUNZ [OH[ WYPTHYPS` PU[LYLZ[LK [OL 5HaPZ HZ [OL` HKVW[LK H JHYLM\SS` ZPTWSPÄLK and monumental neoclassical style. 0UP[PHSS` [OL [P[SL VM VMÄJPHS (YJOP[LJ[ VM [OL 9LPJO ^HZ NP]LU [V 7H\S 3\K^PN ;YVVZ[ 6UL VM OPZ U\TLYV\Z ^VYRZ ^HZ [OL /H\Z KLY 2\UZ[ PU 4\nich, designed in 1933 and completed in 1937 in a neoclassical style PUZWPYLK I` :JOPURLS 0[ VWLULK ^P[O HU L_OPIP[PVU VM ^OH[ ^HZ KLJSHYLK ¸[Y\L .LYTHU HY[š PU JVU[YHZ[ [V H ZLYPLZ VM L_OPIP[PVUZ VM ¸KLNLULYH[L HY[š VYNHUPaLK PU VYKLY [V ZOV^ [OL WLY]LYZPVU VM TVKLYU HY[PZ[Z ^OVZL ^VYRZ ^V\SK [OLU IL I\YULK ;OL` WYLZLU[LK [OL ^VYRZ JVUÄZJH[LK MYVT HY[PZ[Z SPRL 4HYJ *OHNHSS -YHUa 4HYJ HUK 6ZRHY 2VRVZJORH
(M[LY ;YVVZ[ KPLK PU (SILY[ :WLLY [VVR OPZ WSHJL HSVUNZPKL /P[SLY HZ (YJOP[LJ[ VM [OL 9LPJO :WLLY ^HZ HU LTISLTH[PJ ÄN\YL MVY [OL YLSH[PVUship between architecture and power. The close collaboration established between the two was intended to create an exaggeration of the characters of neoclassical architecture, intended for propaganda and PU[PTPKH[PVU :WLLY ^HZ HSZV TPUPZ[LY VM (YTHTLU[Z HUK >HY 7YVK\J[PVU and was tried and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment during the Nuremberg Trials. 6UL VM :WLLYZ ÄYZ[ [HZRZ ^HZ [OL WYLWHYH[PVU VM [OL HUU\HS 5\YLTILYN WHY[` YHSS` ZLLU PU [OL TV]PL I` 3LUP 9PLMLUZ[HOS ;YP\TWO KLZ >PSSLUZ ;YP\TWO VM [OL >PSS ;OL 5\YLTILYN YHSSPLZ VYNHUPaLK \UKLY [OL HY[PZ[PJ direction of Joseph Goebbels, were the instrument through which the Nazi ideology was inculcated, exploiting the new medium of mass communication and cinematography. Since the totalitarian State could now KPYLJ[ P[Z WYVWHNHUKH [OYV\NO [OL ÄST :WLLYZ KLZPNUZ VM [OL 5\YLTILYN YHSSPLZ ^LYL THKL PU [OL MVYT VM [LTWVYHY` ZL[Z MVY [OL ILULÄ[ VM camera angles. This was in contrast with the theory supported by Speer HIV\[ [OL ¸]HS\L VM [OL Y\PUZ š (JJVYKPUN [V [OPZ [OLVY` LU[O\ZPHZ[PJHSS` welcomed by Hitler, all new monumental buildings of the regime, made entirely of stone, were to be constructed in a way that future generations ^V\SK ÄUK [OLT HZ NYHUKPVZL Y\PUZ [V [LZ[PM` [OL NYLH[ULZZ VM [OL ;OPYK Reich, such as the ruins of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. This way of using architecture as a means to an end is also evident in the most important building designed by Speer, the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin. The design of the Chancellery summarizes the substantially intimidating nature that Nazi architecture was to have. Inaugurated in 1939, word spread that the project had been commissioned just a year LHYSPLY ^OPSL PU YLHSP[` :WLLY OHK ^VYRLK PU [OL WYVQLJ[ ZPUJL Rectorate building, University of Rome campus, 1932-1935. Architect: Marcello Piacentini
The building of the Chancellery was long and thin, and a symmetrical stone façade, with an exaggerated classical design, gave the impression that a massive palace extended behind it. Visitors were allowed to enter not the main entrance, from which you would immediately be MV\UK PU [OL -\OYLY»Z VMÄJL I\[ MYVT H ZLJVUKHY` LU[YHUJL ^OPJO would cross the entire wing of the building, consisting of a sequence VM LU]PYVUTLU[Z OLH]PS` KLJVYH[LK HUK JVUÄN\YLK [V PU[PTPKH[L [OL viewer. After this quarter mile path, the visitor would reach the main hall, stretching 450 feet long, leaving no doubt about the power of the UL^ .LYTHU` ;OL JVUZ[Y\J[PVU VM [OPZ PTWYLZZP]L ^VYR ^HZ IHZLK VU labor provided by the concentration camps of Mauthausen and Flossenburg, located in the vicinity of quarries which provided all the stone necessary to the needs of Speer for his monumental projects in Berlin, Nuremberg, Monaco and Linz. The hall of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, twice as big the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles was often compared in size to it. Hitler had always in mind the comparison with Paris which he had visited in June 1940, HSVUN ^P[O (SILY[ :WLLY HUK (YUV )YLRLY [OL ZJ\SW[VY VM [OL VMÄJPHS regime. Berlin, the new capital of the Reich, would surpass in size and THNUPÄJLUJL 7HYPZ HUK HU` V[OLY ,\YVWLHU JHWP[HS :WLLY»Z KLZPNUZ for the city center were based on the construction of a road axis of 5 RT ^P[O [OL =VSRZOHSSL H O\NL KVTLK I\PSKPUN H[ [OL UVY[O LUK ;V the south of the immense avenue there was to be built an arch, modLSLK VU [OL (YJ KL ;YPVTWOL PU 7HYPZ I\[ IPNNLY >P[O [OL V\[IYLHR VM >VYSK >HY 00 [OL WYVQLJ[ ^HZ HIHUKVULK HUK UV[OPUN ^HZ YLHSPaLK VM this megalomaniac plan. The Chancellery was destroyed by the Russians in 1945 and Hitler’s plans to reshape the appearance of Germany failed; the few remains of the stands in the arena of Nuremberg have none of the “value of Y\PUZ¹ HUK ]LY` ML^ I\PSKPUNZ Z\Y]P]L [VKH` [OH[ HYL YLWYLZLU[H[P]L VM [OL HYJOP[LJ[\YL VM [OL ;OPYK 9LPJO PU )LYSPU 6UL VM [OL TVZ[ PTWYLZZP]L PZ [OL (PY 4PUPZ[Y` HSVUN [OL >PSOLSTZ[YHZZL I\PS[ PU I` ,YUZ[ :HNLIPLS 0[ Z\Y]P]LK [OL IVTIPUN HUK [VKH` TPU\Z [OL Z^HZ[PRHZ HUK 7Y\ZZPHU LHNSLZ OV\ZLZ [OL .LYTHU -PUHUJL 4PUPZ[Y` (UV[OLY YLTHYRHISL building is the Tempelhof airport by the same architect, completed in 1941. The facades of these buildings, covered in limestone, travertine, HUK [OL Z[YPJ[ Z`TTL[Y` HUK YLWL[P[PVU VM LSLTLU[Z WYV]PKL [OL SPUR ^P[O the classical tradition, but they hide modern construction techniques. In Germany, the aesthetics of the Nazi regime was almost completely erased from history, but the same cannot be said for Italy. Berlin Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, 1936-1941. Architect: Ernst Sagebiel
;OL THU` JVU[YPI\[PVUZ PU [OL ÄLSK VM HYJOP[LJ[\YL HUK \YIHUPZT VM [OL fascist regime are evident across the country and especially in Rome. 4\ZZVSPUP SPRL /P[SLY ZOV^LK OPTZLSM WLYZVUHSS` JVTTP[[LK [V YLI\PSKing the country, and he too had his trusty architect, Marcello Piacentini, who was more concerned with power relations that the architectural reZLHYJO L]LU PM [OL X\HSP[` VM OPZ ^VYR PZ UV^ ILPUN YLL]HS\H[LK /LYL [VV the aesthetics of the scheme became a reality through a comparison with classical antiquity, starting from the traditionalist artistic movement of the Novecento. But for the rest, the Italian story is completely different. -HZJPZT \USPRL 5HaP .LYTHU` JHSSLK MVY H TVKLYUPZ[ HKKYLZZ I\[ HZ H right-wing dictatorship could not be detached completely from the past. Between 1922, the year of Mussolini’s march on Rome, until 1931, when the Union of Architects withdrew support from the MIAR (Italian 4V]LTLU[ MVY 9H[PVUHS (YJOP[LJ[\YL [OL HYJOP[LJ[\YHS PKLVSVN` VM [OL MHZJPZ[ TV]LTLU[ ^HZ JOHYHJ[LYPaLK I` H JVUÅPJ[ IL[^LLU TVKLYUPZT HUK [YHKP[PVU ([ [OL LUK MHZJPZT SPRL V[OLY [V[HSP[HYPHU YLNPTLZ YLX\PYLK H return to neo-classicism, but the process was slow and went through ZL]LYHS Z[HNLZ ;OL 0[HSPHU H]HU[ NHYKL HM[LY [OL -PYZ[ >VYSK >HY OHK SVZ[ its most important architect, Antonio Sant ‘Elia, who fell in war. In Milan in 1922, Novecento was founded. It was an art movement of historicist orientation that attracted ex-futurists such as Mario Sironi and Carrà. Along with the painters, in architecture, there was a group of architects, led by Giovanni Muzio, which wanted to reinterpret tradition. There was a need to return to the regularity and the classical patterns, especially in the planning of cities. The Novecento inadvertently precedes the neoclassicism of the State from 1931 and subsequent years, with its banal rhetoric, and therefore easy communicability, that would sweep away both the modernist and avant-garde intellectual historicism. 4VKLYUPZT ^HZ YLWYLZLU[LK I` [OL NYV\W ¸ ¹ MV\UKLK PU ;OL NYV\W ¸ ¹ OHZ[LULK [V WVPU[ V\[ [OH[ KPKU»[ ^HU[ [V IYLHR ^P[O [YHKP[PVU but carried on a strict adherence to logic, rationality, an architecture that does not use pre-made styles, but tries to respond to the principal aim VM H I\PSKPUN" P[»Z M\UJ[PVU >OPSL [OL 5V]LJLU[V ZV\NO[ H WYPUJPWSL VM YLN\SHYP[` PU H ]HYPL[` VM MVYTZ VM [OL WHZ[ [OL NYV\W ¸ ¹ ^HZ SPURLK [V [OL ,\YVWLHU TVKLYU TV]LTLU[ HJ[P]L PU [OVZL `LHYZ 6UL VM [OL TVKLYUPZ[ HYJOP[LJ[Z VM NYV\W ¸ ¹ .P\ZLWWL ;LYYHNUP KLZPNULK [OL *HZH +LS Fascio in Como, considered the masterpiece of Italian rationalism and a masterpiece of modern architecture of the twentieth century. The MIAR was born in 1928 in order to convince the regime to adopt rationalism as an architecture representative of the State. Milano Centrale railway station, 1912-1931. Architect: Ulisse Stracchini