Reading the chapter “Brutality Made Stone,” I was reasonably shocked to discover the amount of time and thought put into architecture produced by the Third Reich. I had heard of Albert Speer beforehand, but did not guess that he was such a prominent figure, both to Hitler and to the Nazi Regime as a whole. I liked Moorhouse’s analysis of Hitler’s relationship to Speer, in that he probably saw the architect as what Hitler himself could have become, had he been able to pursue an artistic career, as well as how Moorhouse notes the “puffed-up” misanthropic nature of Nazism and how it manifested itself even in their building projects . It is interesting that while the Third Reich did draw on Germany’s rich past to create these new buildings (there was the mention of cathedrals), it seemed more interested in recreating what the cities of Paris and Vienna had already done. I am curious to know how the Third Reich saw Germany’s history – if they wanted to make a connection to those buildings, or begin anew?
As well, the comparison to Rome, in terms of the usage of slave labor to construct buildings, stuck out to me. To ask the question “why don’t we view Rome in the same light as the Third Reich?” seemed rather ridiculous to me, but we know that many of the historically successful civilizations and empires (like Rome, and even Egypt) used slave labor for building purposes. It feels odd to compare these peoples to the Nazi regime in Germany, because most of the time, these comparisons are often made in the context of attempts to down-play the horrors of the Third Reich). But, there is certainly a conversation to be had there, and Moorhouse made the point with good reason.
Perhaps, Moorhouse makes the connection to better lead into the next chapter, which concerns the slave labor used by the Third Reich; many of the labor camps were apparently right outside Berlin. It is a good reminder that a wide range of individuals suffered under the Nazi Regime, and of how close to home these labor camps were! As an artist myself, the topic of architecture in the Third Reich is fascinating to me, and I plan on researching and posting about it more in the future.