Heinrich Hoffmann photograph of architect Albert Speer (far left), interior designer Gerdy Troost, Hitler, and others inspecting the House of German Art construction site in Munich on June 29, 1935, on the occasion of the topping-out ceremony.Library of Congress
From radio broadcasts to shrewdly composed photographs, the Nazi propaganda machine played a critical role in helping Adolf Hitler solidify power. And the messaging extended beyond posters and speeches and into Hitler’s domestic life. As these photos taken by Heinrich Hoffmann show, the Nazi regime used depictions of Hitler’s residences to project the image of a modern, sophisticated ruler.
Three of Hitler’s residences–his country home, the Berghof; his Munich apartment; and the official chancellor’s residence in Berlin–were all renovated in an attempt to portray him as an assured, worldly leader, rather than a trouble-making outsider, as Despina Stratigakos shows in the new book Hitler at Home, from which the images above are drawn. As one might expect, Hitler was personally involved in many of the decorating decisions.
The book Hitler at Home is available Tuesday at bookstores, through online booksellers and at yalebooks.com.
Heinrich Hoffmann photograph of architect Albert Speer (far left), interior designer Gerdy Troost, Hitler, and others inspecting the House of German Art construction site in Munich on June 29, 1935, on the occasion of the topping-out ceremony.Library of CongressA postcard image of the Berghof, circa 1936.
Heinrich Hoffmann Collection, Picture Archive, Bavarian State Library
Heinrich Hoffmann, postcard of the Berghof, 1936.Heinrich Hoffmann, photograph of the Cabinet Room (formerly the Congress Hall) on the second floor of the Old Chancellery in Berlin after the renovation by the Atelier Troost, c. 1934. On January 30, 1933, Hitler had been sworn in as chancellor by President Hindenburg in this room.Library of CongressHeinrich Hoffmann, postcard of the Great Hall, 1936.
Bavarian State Library:
Heinrich Hoffmann Collection, Picture Archive, Bavarian State Library
Heinrich Hoffmann, photograph of Hitler’s private study on the second floor of the Old Chancellery in Berlin after the 1934 renovation by the Atelier Troost.Library of CongressHeinrich Hoffmann, photography of Hitler’s private library on the second floor of the Old Chancellery in Berlin after the 1934 renovation by the Atelier Troost.Library of CongressHeinrich Hoffmann, photograph of Hitler’s Ceremonial Office on the second floor of the modernist building annex to the Old Chancellery in Berlin after the renovation of the former Red Room by the Atelier Troost, c. 1935. This office preceded the more famous and monumental formal office designed in 1939 for the New Chancellery by Albert Speer.Library of CongressPhotograph by Heinrich Hoffmann of Gerdy Troost speaking with Hitler and surrounded by a crowd of Nazi bigwigs at the House of German Art in Munich on the Day of German Art, July 16, 1939. Those pictured (from left to right): Eugen von Schobert, Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler, Dino Alfieri, Gerdy Troost, Heinrich Himmler (back turned), Konstantin von Neurath.Bavarian State Library:
Heinrich Hoffmann Collection, Picture Archive, Bavarian State Library
