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HITLER SHOWS HOW IT SHOULD BE BUILT
The Modern Highway System
Without giving due credit to the source of the whole idea, Americans this past week celebrated the 50th anniversary of the authorization in 1956 of the so-called Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, better known simply as the U.S. interstate highway system. Twenty-three years before that, however, Adolf Hitler had already turned over the first spadeful of earth in 1933 to inaugurate construction of the first leg of the world-famous AUTOBAHN. Here is a brief excerpt from Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics by Frederic Spotts, describing the Führer's concept of modern highway function and design. Although himself an anti-National Socialist, the author does succeed here in giving us a rare glimpse into Hitler's artistic vision of a better world.
Among their numerous foreign admirers was David Lloyd George. The former [British] prime minister travelled to the Berghof in September 1936 to pay his respects to Hitler and, among other topics, to discuss the motorways, which he had evidently inspected with care. He returned home greatly impressed by what he had observed and praised his host as "a great man." What is not widely appreciated is that Hitler regarded these highways above all as aesthetic monuments. For the first time in history, roads were to be not merely or even primarily a utilitarian mode of transportation but a lasting work of art, in his mind comparable to the pyramids. The visual element was central from the very beginning. He once commented how unbearably boring he found the highway between Bonn and Cologne. "But when I go from Berlin to Munich, there is one beautiful sight after another. ... " The autobahns were therefore intended not so much to facilitate cars going from one place to another, as to show off the natural and architectural beauty of the country. Routes were chosen to go through attractive areas without disturbing the harmony of hills, valleys and forests. [Scenic overlooks] were created for travellers to stop and admire the panorama. In some cases the roadway itself made a detour, despite additional costs, to offer a particularly impressive view. Great effort went into construction, so as to minimize damage to the environment. Landscape architects vetted the plants, directional signs were discreet and service stations were made as inconspicuous as possible. Bridges and overpasses were designed and built, not only to fit in with the landscape, but also to be architectural achievements in themselves. Linked to beauty was sleekness. The roadways were to sweep through the countryside without intersections, a notion that was prefigured in a drawing in Hitler's 1925 sketchbook.
But if Americans were able, belatedly, to replace their roads—barely improved since horse-and-buggy days—with a more modern highway system, it has in many instances been a cheap imitation of the real thing, marked by poor-quality construction, frequent repairs, clogged lanes, unsightly billboards and commercial advertising, crumbling infrastructure, and urban sprawl. So is this really cause for a big birthday celebration? Or is it but one more bit of evidence that the United States, for all the Fourth-of-July hoopla, is creeping, slowly but surely, toward Third World status? You decide.
For more on this sad story go to: 'A CRUMBLING LEGACY'' |
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