Hitler über Deutschland [Hitler Over Germany]
- Title:
- Hitler über Deutschland [Hitler Over Germany]
- Alternate Title:
- Hitler Over Germany
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Hoffman, Heinrich
- Date:
- 1932
- Posted Date:
- 2017-04-14
- ID Number:
- 2260.01
- Collection Number:
- 8548
- File Name:
- PJM_2260_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1920 - 1939
- Subject:
- Between the Wars
Pictorial
Politics & Government - Measurement:
- 24 x 17 (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This map is the cover illustration of a political propaganda pamphlet celebrating Hitler’s “Flights Over Germany,” a series of airborne barnstorming speeches that turned the tide for the Nazi Party in the 1932 German elections.
As the 1932 German Presidential election approached, the Nazi party was growing rapidly in strength. In the hope of preventing the election of Adolf Hitler, the 84-year-old incumbent German President, Paul von Hindenburg, was persuaded to seek a second term. In the first round of voting, on March 13, 1932, von Hindenburg ran well ahead of Hitler, but fell slight short of the 50% majority needed to avoid a runoff. This led to the scheduling of a second election on April 10 among von Hindenburg, Hitler and the Communist Party candidate.
Von Hindenburg had imposed an "Easter Truce," effectively barring any candidate from campaigning from March 30 to April 3. That limited Hitler, who was greatly dependent on campaigning in person, to just seven days in which to bring his message to the public. Hitler risked "absolute humiliation" in the runoff election, and Goebbels believed that "only a bold stroke can retrieve matters." Pietrusza 129.
"To reach as many people as possible directly, the Nazis staged Hitler's first Deutschlandflug - 'flight over Germany.'" von der Golz 157; see Pietrusza 138-48. Using a ten-passenger, three-engine Junkers D-1720, Hitler was able to speak to as many as five rallies a day, 23 in all over a period of just seven days. In order to meet the travel schedule, Hitler shortened his usual remarks at these rallies, but he nevertheless drew massive and enthusiastic crowds – often over 100,000, in Berlin some 200,000. Although Hitler had been airsick on a flight in the 1920s, he seemed to have no problem during this frantic campaign, remaining calm and working on his remarks for the next rally despite often harrowing weather. Ibid. 142. While Hitler lost the second round election, his support grew by some 2 million votes, about triple the gains of von Hindenburg, and his share of the vote grew from about 30 percent to 37 percent. Buoyed by the success, Hitler turned immediately to the German provincial elections that followed. He delivering another 25 major speeches in a second Deutschlandflug between April 16 and April 24, and the Nazis registered substantial gains in Bavaria, Prussia and elsewhere. Ibid. 148.
More importantly, Hitler's dramatic flights themselves became "a massive media event" that "presented Hitler as a political messiah, floating above Germany just as he allegedly towered above the fray of political parties" and they "helped to foster the Hitler cult in the long run." von der Golz 157.
The pamphlet is illustrated throughout with photographs by Heinrich Hoffman, who had been Hitler's official photographer since the early 1920s, as well as a close personal friend. (It was Hoffman who introduced Hitler to his young studio assistant, Eva Braun.) There are numerous photos of the large rallies, as well as personal events. The work was published by Verlag Franz Eher Nachf. of Munich, which became the official Central Publishing House of the Nazi Party one year later.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- Hoffman, Heinrich, text by Josef Berchtold. 1932. Hitler über Deutschland [Hitler Over Germany]. Munich: Franz Eher Nachf.
- Cite As:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Repository:
- Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
- Archival Collection:
- P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.