NOVA ARQUITECTURA ALEMÃ – EXPOSIÇÃO EM LISBOA – “The New German Architecture – Exhibition in Lisbon” November 8–23, 1941, at the Fine Arts Hall in Lisbon, Portugal – First edition. Booklet from the exhibition showcasing buildings designed by architects of the Third Reich, authored by Albert Speer, General Inspector for the Planning of Berlin. In Portuguese. Rare.
Booklet of photographs featuring buildings and structures from the architectural exhibition held as part of Nazi propaganda during Portugal’s period of neutrality. The exhibition aimed to present Nazi Germany as a cultured, modern, and meticulously planned world power. On display were physical models and architectural plans for institutions and public spaces, designed in an ancient Greek style combined with Nazi symbols and Third Reich flags. At the opening of the booklet appears a photograph of Albert Speer, the German architect, Nazi war criminal, and high-ranking member of Hitler’s regime (convicted at the Nuremberg Trials and sentenced to twenty years in prison for his role in supplying arms to the German Wehrmacht). The booklet includes photographs of:– the German pavilion at the Paris International Exposition, adorned with an eagle and swastika – The Nuremberg Party Congress Hall – a model of a Hitler Youth building in Berlin designed by architect Hans Dustmann– the Royal Square in Munich – the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery designed by Albert Speer – and Adolf Hitler’s office interior, also designed by Speer.
On November 8, 1941, the impressive exhibition “New German Architecture” opened in Lisbon, organized by the General Inspector for Reich capital projects, Albert Speer, in collaboration with the Luso-German Guild and the Lisbon branch of the RDV. The opening was attended by President of the Republic, General Carmona, and Minister of Public Works, engineer Duarte Pacheco (Prime Minister Prof. Salazar visited at a later date). After greetings were presented to the president by von Weizsäcker-Huene and by the president of the Fine Arts Society Eugénio Côrte-Real, the head of state toured the exhibition with Speer and the organizers and requested detailed explanations regarding the works of Troost, Speer, and Giesler. An hour later, despite the heavy rain that day, a crowd gathered outside the Fine Arts Society to watch General Carmona’s departure. The following day, when news of the exhibition appeared in the headlines of the Portuguese press, twelve thousand people came to visit—despite continued rain and the flood of visitors, which forced police to temporarily close the venue. Over the fourteen days the exhibition remained open to the public, it drew more than one hundred thousand visitors, making it the largest exhibition ever held in Portugal at the time.
[15] pages. Good condition.
