Highway to Hitler

Abstract

We show that the building of the Autobahn network in Nazi Germany boosted popular support for Adolf Hitler, helping to entrench the Nazi dictatorship. Direct local economic benefits are unlikely to explain the effect. Instead, it reflects successful propaganda: The regime portrayed the Autobahn as a symbol of recovery and the end of austerity. Support rose particularly strongly where highway construction coincided with greater radio availability and in politically unstable regions. Our findings suggest that visible infrastructure projects can raise support for autocratic regimes when voters are led to associate them with economic progress and an end to political instability.