Architectural propaganda is the use of architecture for the purpose of propaganda. Throughout history, significant architectural works have been used to convey ideas, including many intended to command respect and obedience.
Common themes
Architect Richard Buday has contended that architectural works have been used to justify loyalty to an area's rulers, or to religious and spiritual figures.
Buday suggests that "
the Sphinx
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza ...
and
the pyramids were outsized visual demands for respect and obedience to
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...
. The
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are conside ...
was constructed for societal manipulation, as well as to honor a goddess (the temple’s ornamentation reminded Athenians that their beating back a
Persian invasion Persian invasion may refer to:
* Persian invasion of Scythia, 513 BC
* Greco-Persian Wars
** First Persian invasion of Greece, 492–490 BC
** Second Persian invasion of Greece
The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred duri ...
was an act of divine intervention).
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
triumphal arches were self-aggrandizing demonstrations of rulers’ might and superiority".
Later in history, Buday writes that various leaders have invoked particular architectural styles to invoke connections with previous historical states and ideas which are associated with them, such as using
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
imagery to convey the idea of democracy, or invoking similar
classical architecture
Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect ...
to denote
imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texas
...
ambitions.
In modern times, architecture is used to attract tourism.
Examples
China
Journalist
Joshua Kurlantzick
Joshua Kurlantzick is an American journalist from Baltimore, Maryland, United States. He is a Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Career
Kurlantzick was most recently a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for Internation ...
writes that China has been engaging in a "charm offensive" in the 21st century to improve relations with many other countries, especially in the
developing world
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agree ...
.
Kurlantzick contends that the Chinese government has leveraged the construction of large works of architecture abroad to better its standing with these countries.
He also criticizes many of these projects, such as large-sized buildings and
government ministries
Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration." Энцикло� ...
, as
white-elephant projects.
[Kurlantzick, Joshua. Charm Offensive. New Haven and London: Yale University, 2007, 101.] Kurlantzick cites examples of Chinese-led construction in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...
and
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-we ...
as examples.
Mexican drug cartels
Mexican drug cartels have used architecture as part of their overall propaganda campaign. Large houses called "''narco mansions'' or ''narco castillos'' (drug mansions or castles)" are becoming an increasingly common feature of the recent drug conflicts in Mexico. To overwhelm and sway over local populaces and potential rivals, these demonstrations of wealth and power are built at least partly for their psychological value.
Nazi Germany
Nazi architecture
Nazi architecture is the architecture promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime from 1933 until its fall in 1945, connected with urban planning in Nazi Germany. It is characterized by three forms: a stripped neoclassicism, typified by the ...
is a commonly cited example of architectural propaganda.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
was personally fascinated with
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...
, and Nazi architecture adopted elements from
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...
.
Part of the Nazi cult involved the overaweing and subsuming of the individual into the greater German ''volk''. This giving over of oneself to the whole was also expressed through Nazi architecture. The three primary expressed roles found in Nazi architecture are the (i)Theatrical, (ii)
Symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ic, and (iii)
Didactic
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need t ...
, but each of these roles has its own place within the larger sphere of propaganda value.

Nazi architecture was designed to make the individual feel small and insignificant through its use of high ceilings. For example, at
Nuremberg rallies
The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning ''Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactful; ...
, the feeling produced by the use of massed groups coupled with the architecture of the Zepplintribune architecture was to create wonder and a powerful feeling of community. Indeed, Hitler stated in one of his Nuremberg rally speeches, "Not every one of you sees me and I do not see every one of you. But I feel you and you feel me!".
[Baynes, Norman H. The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922 – August 1939, V1 & V2. London: Oxford University Press, 1942. V1 – V2 – ,197.] At the Nuremberg rallies, the overall effect of architecture was further enhanced through the use of many searchlights pointed directly upward to create a "Cathedral of Light" that even further served to invite the individual to buy into the Nazi worldview.
Another prominent conceptual feature of Nazi architecture was the "
Theory of Ruin Value", first put forward by
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of ...
, Hitler's personal architect. This theory postulated that for a civilization's influence to pass beyond the existence of the civilization itself, it was important that aesthetically pleasing and impressive ruins be left by the dilapidated buildings of that civilization. This theory, too, took inspiration from the ancient Romans and Greeks in attempting to emulate the even architectural remains of their civilizations with Nazi ones in thousands of years. Since the original inspiration for Nazi architecture was itself, the ancient Romans and Greeks, it was important to Hitler that at the end of the Thousand Year Reich, the remains would inspire others as Roman ruins had done for him.
An interesting remaining piece of Nazi architecture can be found in the former
Berlin Tempelhof Airport
Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, leav ...
which closed all airport operations in 2008. The main terminal was designed and built during the late 1930s and early 1940s according to a design by
Ernst Sagebiel
Ernst Sagebiel (2 October 1892 in Braunschweig (Brunswick) – 5 March 1970 in Bavaria) was a German architect.
Life
Sagebiel was a sculptor's son, and after his ''Abitur'' in 1912, he began his studies in architecture at the Braunschweig Univ ...
following the ideas of Speer and Hitler including that of ruin value. It was designed to be the main hub for Hitler's redesigned Berlin, to be called Germania. When completed, it was the world's largest building and today, should the building fall into disrepair, Speer and Hitler's ruin value theory may be demonstrated.
North Korea
The
Potemkin village
In politics and economics, a Potemkin village (russian: link=no, потёмкинские деревни, translit=potyómkinskiye derévni}) is any construction (literal or figurative) whose sole purpose is to provide an external façade to a co ...
of
Kijŏng-dong
Kijŏng-dong, Kijŏngdong, or Kijŏng tong is a Potemkin village in P'yŏnghwa-ri (), Kaesong, North Korea. It is situated in the North's half of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Also known in North Korea as ''Peace Village'' (),[North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...]
as prosperity, and to encourage
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n soldiers to defect, has been cited as an example of architectural propaganda by architect Richard Buday.
United States
Architectural propaganda has been used throughout the history of the United States. Early in its history as an independent country,
neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...
was often employed to convey allusions to democracy, stability, and refinement.
During the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
, many government buildings were constructed in an
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
style in an effort to convey a modern and progressive image.
Modernist architecture
Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...
became common in the United States during the time of the
Cold War, and was used to demonstrate ideas such as efficiency and technological superiority.
During the 21st century, figures on the political right-wing in the United States have promoted the use of neoclassical architecture.
Proposals for an
America First Caucus have endorsed "
European architecture
The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelt ...
" as "befitting a world power and source of freedom", and then-President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
passed an executive order mandating the use of neoclassical architecture in government buildings, and recommended demolishing or re-modeling existing modernist federal buildings.
Trump's executive order was quickly overruled by subsequent President Joe Biden,
and calls to discourage or prohibit non-classical architecture have been opposed by groups representing architects, and architectural firms.
Some have also linked the uptick in interest in reviving classical architecture in the United States during this time with
white nationalism
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbar ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loa ...
Propaganda by medium