Hitler at Home

Stratigakos Despina

Adolf Hitler's makeover from rabble-rouser to statesman coincided with a series of dramatic home renovations he undertook during the mid-1930s. This provocative book exposes the dictator's preoccupation with his private persona, which was shaped by the aesthetic and ideological management of his domestic architecture. Hitler's bachelor life stirred rumors, and the Nazi regime relied on the dictator's three dwellings-the Old Chancellery in Berlin, his apartment in Munich, and the Berghof, his mountain home on the Obersalzberg-to foster the myth of the Fuhrer as a morally upstanding and refined man. Author Despina Stratigakos also reveals the previously untold story of Hitler's interior designer, Gerdy Troost, through newly discovered archival sources. At the height of the Third Reich, media outlets around the world showcased Hitler's homes to audiences eager for behind-the-scenes stories. After the war, fascination with Hitler's domestic life continued as soldiers and journalists searched his dwellings for insights into his psychology. The book's rich illustrations, many previously unpublished, offer readers a rare glimpse into the decisions involved in the making of Hitler's homes and into the sheer power of the propaganda that influenced how the world saw him.

About the Author

Despina Stratigakos is associate professor and interim chair of architecture at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

Reviews

"Stratigakos convincingly argues that the production of Hitler's domesticity was among the regime's most successful propaganda campaigns, serving to transform Germany's leader from odd bachelor to civilized statesman" – Karen Fiss, California College of the Arts

"In a book of rich detail, Stratigakos lays out the complex and multilayered significance of the three main residences that Adolf Hitler once called home. She shows how their designs shed new light on the instrumental use of culture by the regime, and how sensationalized meanings were projected onto the structures from abroad both during and after the Nazi period" – Paul B. Jaskot, DePaul University; Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art

"...A page-turner. Readers with an interest in Hitler's personal life and in the effects of propaganda on international public sentiment will find this book fascinating" – Felicia J. Williamson, Library Journal

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