Explaining the Role of Nazi Architecture in the Architecture of Iranian State Buildings(First Pahlavi Era, period of 1933-1941)

Problem statement: 

With the rise of the Nazi Party in August 1941, Iran-Germany relations entered a new era. Increasing German influence in Iran through propaganda about the superiority of the Aryan race and the struggle against colonial powers such as Britain and Russia led Iranians to see Germany as their potential supporter and savior. Due to this perception, a large number of specialists and experts in various fields entered Iran to cooperate with the Pahlavi government. Among them, the presence of German architects, engineers, and construction companies is more prominent than any other group and their role in building many state buildings is obvious; buildings that emerged to show the power and glory of the government, influenced by the buildings of the Nazi era with a neoclassical orientation.

The current research aims to study the neoclassic architecture and extract its indicators and analyze them in the built monuments by German architects in Iran. Therefore, the main research question is based on this point that to what extent the tendency to the Nazi Architecture (neoclassic) has affected the contemporary architecture of Iran? The theoretical framework of the article also emphasizes that with the expansion of relations between the years of Nazi ruling in Germany and the first Pahlavi in Iran, part of the underlying factors for the formation of contemporary Iranian architecture emerged under the influence of Germany.

The current study is qualitative research. Method of interpretive historical research as well as the descriptive-analytical method is used in a mixed way.

Research results show that the presence of German expert groups and individuals in Iran had a very significant role in the entry of the Western architectural elements in Iran. Patterns and characteristics have been effective in three functional (plan), physical (form), and symbolic areas in the Iranian architecture, and in the meantime, the influence of the functional components have been more than the other two components. Also, improving the construction methods and using modern materials has been another area of influence of Germans in Iran.