Showing 25–36 of 53 results
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The Légion des volontaires français (LVF) was a collaborationist unit composed of Frenchmen who fought to defend Europe against Bolshevism. It was later redesignated as the Waffen-SS ‘Charlemagne’ Brigade, named after the legendary medieval Frankish King Charlemagne. The LVF originated as an independent initiative by a coalition of far-right factions in Vichy France who were disillusioned with the liberalism of the Third Republic. The Legion’s flagpole top seen here is a winged helmet of ancient Gaul, and alongside the unit’s later identification with the legend of Charlemagne, we see the clear and distinct influence of romantic historicism and French national mythology. The Waffen-SS ‘Charlemagne’ Brigade distinguished itself in the Battle of Berlin in 1945, where it remained as one of the last defenders around Hitler’s Führerbunker.
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Tourism poster promoting Germany’s new developments in architecture. Fascist architectural design took inspiration from Ancient Rome and was intended to serve as awe-inspiring references to the great classical world as well as an expression of the regime’s infallible might. Through its synthesis of modernism and classicism, the style sought to articulate a powerful political ethos oriented towards the future yet equally grounded in tradition.
Architecture played a central role in Hitler’s desires to awaken a new national consciousness through reinvigorating German culture. Architectural projects were centered around the cultural life of its citizens, drawing from the Hellenic tradition of the polis as the site of a beautiful or good life. In the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) that is the fascist nation-state, its citizens are not only never far from their spiritual tradition as expressed through architecture, but constitute a part of it.
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A poster from 1943 which reflects the grim determination with which the German populace faced its fate during the last years of the war.
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Poster by Ottomar Anton depicting the Hindenburg crossing the Atlantic, cleverly juxtaposed with an archaic merchant vessel to emphasize the speed of the new airship.
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Poster commemorating the ascension of National Socialism in 1933, commonly referred to as the National Socialist ‘Revolution’.
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Poster from the Italian Social Republic by Gino Boccasile.
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“He [King Heinrich I] was the first among equals, and was met with a reverence greater and truer than ever accorded to the many emperors, kings, and princes that followed, who demanded it through alien Byzantine ceremony. He was called a duke and a king, and was our Führer of a thousand years ago.” — Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler
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A poster promoting the collaborationist Légion des volontaires français (LVF). The LVF was a military unit composed of Frenchmen who fought for the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War, ostensibly to defend Europe against Bolshevism. It was later redesignated the Waffen-SS “Charlemagne” Brigade named after the legendary medieval Frankish King Charlemagne. The LVF originated as an independent initiative by a coalition of far-right factions in Vichy France who were disillusioned with the liberalism of the Third Republic.
The Charlemagne Brigade distinguished itself in the Battle of Berlin in 1945, where it remained as one of the last active defenders in the area of Hitler’s Führerbunker complex in a powerful demonstration of chivalric gallantry befitting of their namesake.
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Poster from occupied Flanders advertising a photo exhibition for the SS. The runic insignia of the SS flank a sword to the backdrop of a Flemish lion.
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An illustration of a cohort of German athletes participating in the Reich Sports Week. The Nazi regime placed great emphasis on the physical fitness of its people, and sports was seen as a means to harden spirits of its people and make them feel they were part of a wider national purpose.
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Army recruitment poster from the Independent State of Croatia. The leader Ante Pavelić can be seen at the forefront saluting his fascist legions with an address to the nation.
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Spanish poster depicting a triumphant Falangist soldier standing atop a bloodied Marxist beast. The Falange Española (Spanish Phalanx) is a fascist political organization founded by José Antonio Primo de Rivera, taking its name from the heavy infantry formations of ancient Greece. It promoted the revival of the Spanish Empire, called for a national syndicalist economy and partook in the Spanish Civil War.
