Das Erlebnis der Reichsautobahn

Colour photographs show completed sections of the Third Reich’s motorway network, including bridges across rivers and valleys, alpine scenery and a petrol station near Rosenheim. The 24 images present the roads in relation to the surrounding landscape, with locations identified in an accompanying index. They were made during journeys in sunny weather. The project began as a portfolio presented by the Reichsautobahn workforce to Fritz Todt for his fiftieth birthday. A foreword by Albert Speer explains that the photographs were subsequently released to the public with the permission of Todt’s family to mark the first anniversary of his death. Herybert Menzel’s introductory text discusses the motorway experience and the planning of roads to blend into local scenery. The combination of colour landscape photography and commemorative writing places the book within Nazi propaganda about the motorway programme. It is included in the third volume of Martin Parr and Gerry Badger’s survey of the photobook.