The Characteristics of Kitsch in the Architectural Propaganda of the Third Reich

The aim of this article is to examine the use of kitsch elements in architecture as a tool of propaganda in the totalitarian regime of the Third Reich. The study employs a historical-interpretative research method. It begins by outlining the mechanisms through which kitsch was utilised within totalitarian systems, before proceeding to a detailed analysis of the role of kitsch in the state’s official architecture. The findings indicate that, although the architecture of the Third Reich was generally characterised by conventional architectural standards, it exhibited features of kitsch only to a marginal extent or in respects intrinsic to the architecture of political power. These features include a lack of artistic ambition, exaggerated monumentality and excessive repetition, clarity and unambiguity of message, and deliberate distortion of reality. The article also explains the purpose served by the incorporation of kitsch as a component of the propaganda embedded in the official architecture of the Third Reich.