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Background: The way things look can be a form of propaganda. The Nazis worked to put their stamp on German cities not only by the buildings they constructed, but also by a multitude of swastika flags and banners. On holidays, the Nazis encouraged everyone to display swastika flags. Those who have seen Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will will remember the sea of flags in that film.

These pictures come from an interesting 1940 book of photographs of German cities. Most of these pictures seem to have been taken on ordinary days without any particular attempt to include Nazi symbols, since many do not have any flags at all. Rather, they show how German cities looked under ordinary circumstances. Click for larger images.

Another GPA page has city maps from 1938, showing how major squares and streets were re-named for Nazi potentates.

The source: Adam Kraft, Großdeutschland: Die Städte (Carlsbad und Leipzig: Adam Kraft Verlag, 1940).

German Cities in 1940

Augsburg street scene.
Augsburg
Eßlingen street scene.
Eßlingen
Frankfurt/Oder street scene.
Frankfurt/Oder
Freiberg street scene with flags and banners.
Freiberg (Saxony). In this case, a festival is going on, which explains the greater than average number of flags and banners.
Graz street scene.
Graz (Austria)
Kolberg street scene.
Kolberg. This was the city at the center of the last Nazi-era feature film, titled Kolberg.
Linz street scene.
Linz (Austria). Hitler had big plans for Linz, a city from the area he was born in.
Magdeburg street scene.
Magdeburg
Naumburg street scene.
Naumburg
Zwickau street scene.
Zwickau
Last edited 20 September 2025