Background: The Nazis creatively adopted technology to political campaigning even before their takeover of power in 1933. During the presidental election in April 1932, the party organized mass rallies throughout Germany. Hitler spoke at as many as five cities on the same day, flying from one to the next. This book, published shortly afterwards, gave an account of the aerial tour, with numerous photographs. I provide five of them here, including three wide-angle shots of mass rallies. Clicking on the pictures will lead to a larger image.
The source: Heinrich Hoffmann and Josef Berchtold, Hitler über Deutschland (Munich: Frz. Eher Nachf., 1932).
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The book’s cover |
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The top picture shows a rally in Berlin with 200,000 in attendance. The bottom picture shows “more than 100,000” people in Chemnitz. |
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The top photograph is of a night rally in Görlitz with “over 100,000” people. The bottom photo claims 120,000 in Atona, outside Hamburg. |
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The top photograph claims 30,000 attendees in Stuttgart. The bottom photo has 30,000 in Bad Kreuznach. |
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This is a scene on the plane on Hitler’s 43rd birthday, 20 April 1932. |
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This two-page spread shows scenes of Hitler’s tour. |
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