A Costly Monograph On Albert Speer s Architecture And The...

ESSAY TOPIC Leon Krier was criticised for publishing a costly monograph on Albert Speer’s architecture (1985)in which, while acknowledging the crimes of the Nazis and the man, Krier nonetheless claimed the book’s only subject and sole justification was â€Å"Classical architecture and the passion of building† (cited by Jaskot, ‘Architecture of Oppression’, 2000). Discuss this claim, the controversy and the issues (historical, philosophical and ethical and possibly others) they raise. Can architecture, Classical, Modern or otherwise, be autonomous from politics and valued independently of the circumstances of politics and history that adhere to it? ESSAY ABSTRACT Through the analysis of events and constructions relating to the works of Speer and Hitler, it can be clearly seen that, unlike Krier’s statements to the contrary, the works constructed during the Nazi period cannot be separated from their political surroundings and must be observed and examined within their political context. By recounting events within the Nazi regime relating to the constructions and building works of the regime it becomes clear that the works are not only intrinsically linked to the political context, but are a means in order to expand and concentrate political ideology. MAIN ESSAY â€Å"Lord of the World.† That was what Hitler envisaged himself to be. It was through political and military means that he hoped to achieve it, and through architecture he intended to manifest it. He began the moment he