The cultural production of domination in Nazi Germany : architecture as propaganda / by Jeffrey D. Narver

This thesis considers architecture as an aesthetic medium that is subject to the political communication encoding process. As an art form/cultural production which is profoundly interactive, architecture can simultaneously modify behaviour by constricting or expanding enclosed spaces, thus forcing a desired type of communicative interaction, and alter perception by emphasizing or de-emphasizing symbolic or historic stylistic elements. As well, emotional responses (around patriotism, for example), can be evoked through a thorough command of the symbolic environment with architecture as both a visual and ideological focus. The thesis employs the historical example of the official, national architecture of Nazi Germany, and analyzes the architectural strategy of the Nazis against the broader background of the propagandistic treatment of art. Nazi design and architecture are examined as a constructed symbolic environment meant to propagate and reinforce the Nazi political and social agenda: that is, architecture in Nazi Germany is approached as a tool of state propaganda, which serves to spread the message of the state while acting as a material reminder of the dominance of the state. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)