In 1937, Adolf Hitler announced that henceforth all new government buildings were to be constructed in the style of traditional classical architecture. The mandate was part of Hitler’s grandiose plan of transforming Berlin into “the capital of the world.” Hitler named his utopian city Germania. In this new metropolis, German government buildings were to rival the edifices of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Rome and Athens.
In early February 2020, word got out that the Trump administration was working on an Executive Order to impose classical architecture on all new U.S. Federal buildings. According to Trump, these traditional style buildings will “once again inspire respect instead of bewilderment or repugnance.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/opinion/letters/federal-architecture.html
Is this Trump’s first step toward Trumponia?
Hitler’s model of Germania, a metropolis full of classical architecture (the concept never materialized). Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2017. www.walled-in-berlin.com
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Adolf Hitler, Berlin, classical style architecture, Donald Trump, Germania, Trumponia
