Visions of Germania
A series of videos exploring how Germania, Hitler's planned rebuilding of Berlin into the capital of a new World Empire, would have looked.
In the cover story of our March 2012 issue, Roger Moorhouse wrote an absorbing account of Welthauptstadt Germania, or 'World Capital Germania', Hitler's wildly ambitious plan to rebuild Berlin into the capital of a Greater German 'World Empire'.
Though never realised, the plan retains a certain fascination, as suggested by the number of models and computer renderings created in the decades since. Below are some examples. Together they give the sense of what it may have been like to stand in the capital city of a world-conquering Third Reich.
Firstly, here's a fly-through of the centre of Germania toward the Volkshalle, complete with suitably powerful music.
Here's another, less sophisticated tour, with a commentary track marking each building:
Next is an extract from an interview with architect Albert Speer, the architect of Germania. The interview was conducted in 1979.