The conquest of ruins : The Third Reich and the fall of Rome / Julia Hell.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 445-579) and index.

Introduction. Post-Roman mimesis and the law of ruin -- After Carthage: the Roman empire, its rubble and ruins -- Post-Roman mimesis as conquest/besetzung: Charles V at Tunis, 1535 -- Post-Roman mimesis in the modern age: Cook's second voyage to the South Pacific and the French conquest of Egypt and Algeria -- Barbarians becoming Romans: from Germany's anti-Napoleonic barbarians to the ruin gazer scenarios of the conservative revolution -- With the end in mind: the Nazi empire's post-Roman mimesis and the ruined stage of Rome -- Theorizing empire with the end in sight: Carl Schmitt and Martin Heidegger -- Epilogue: Anselm Kiefer's Zersetzungen/disarticulations.