Architecture created in East Prussia under the symbol of the swastika – an introduction to the preliminary study

Jan Salm

doi:10.5277/arc150209

Abstract

The architecture of the Nazi era in East Prussia is still rather poorly researched and documented, despite the fact that in the years between 1934 and 1945 a signifi cant number of interesting and distinctive buildings and urban complexes was created in this area. East Prussia was in a unique situation in the years between the two World Wars: it was the only part of Germany which suffered destruction during the Great War and then underwent a systematic and planned reconstruction programme. Territorial and political changes also had an infl uence. As a result of the Treaty of Versailles East Prussia was separated from the rest of Germany by the “Polish corridor”, which had an impact on the political and economic situation of the region and resulted in the effort to modernise the province continuing during the 1930s. This was clearly visible in the development of the local built environment. A number of distinctive trends can be distinguished. Firstly a signifi cant programme of residential development could be witnessed, with new suburbs and out of town settlements being realized. Due to their architectural coherence and unanimity they had a noticeable impact on the local landscape. There were also numerous examples of public and institutional buildings, such as schools being built both in and out of towns as well as governmental and administrative buildings housing banks, post offi ces and railway stations. Special attention should be given to the edifi ces designed to propagate and promote ideological messages such as party headquarters and large scale complexes intended for political rallies and sport events. All of them demonstrate universal motives typical of the architecture of the Nazi area. In some cases they take their cue from the local building traditions and regional decorative motifs. The article illustrates a number of buildings refl ecting the trends described above: The Town Hall in Szczytno, which draws on the architecture of Teutonic Knights; the square in Tylża (today’s Sovietsk) inspired by the Germanic tradition of Thing Plaze; the party meeting house in Święta Siekierka (today’s Mamonowo) with its rootes in classical architecture and Nazi symbolism and fi nally, the railway station and square in Olsztynek, which forms an integral and signifi cant part of the route culminating in a nationalistic war memorial in nearby Tannenberg.