Secret Nazi Science

The programme explores how Nazi architects drafted plans for future cities, drawing on the aesthetics of historic great civilisations while cloaking an oppressive ideology. Their urban designs aimed to create monumental spaces that echoed ancient empires yet served the regime’s repressive agenda.

The Nazi Empire is a programme episode that turns its lens on the architectural ambitions of the Third Reich. It concentrates on the plans drafted by Nazi architects for the cities they imagined would arise in a future dominated by their regime. These visions were presented as models of modernity and order, and efficiency for the regime. Central to the episode is the way these future‑city schemes borrow heavily from the great civilisations that preceded them. The architects looked back to classical antiquity, imperial Rome and other historic empires, using their monumental forms and urban layouts as a template. By echoing these celebrated cultures, the designs sought to convey a sense of timeless authority. Yet the episode also reveals how the grandeur of these plans masks a darker purpose. Beneath the impressive façades lies an ideology of oppression, with the architectural language intended to reinforce totalitarian control. The sleek, ordered streets and towering structures were not merely aesthetic choices but tools designed to embed the regime’s repressive principles into everyday life. By juxtaposing the aspirational visions of a future metropolis with the concealed intent to enforce authoritarian rule, the programme paints a picture of how architecture was co‑opted as a vehicle for oppression. It demonstrates that the Nazis’ urban fantasies were as much about projecting power as they were about hiding the brutal realities that underpinned their regime.