Similarly, in 1934 Hegemann viewed the persecution of Jews in Germany as "in conformity with Old Prussian tradition" of antisemitism, and as consistent with the German aristocracy's lack of interest in "intellect and higher culture." Writing from the perspective of 1934, Hegemann recognized in Hitler a fanatic, but did not believe he would be taken seriously for long, and never imagined that five years later Hitler would have seized total control of Germany and begin a world war resulting in the deaths of 60 million people. Hegemann's early years in the United States, along with his strong education and broad interests, made him an intermediary between architects and city planners throughout Europe and on both sides of the Atlantic. In particular, his The American Vitruvius refers extensively to European design, taking many examples from his book on the Berlin 1910 exhibition, while in Amerikanische Architektur und Stadtbaukunst he informs German architects of American solutions. However, his emphasis on urban planning rather than purely formal considerations and possibly his having not been present during the development of the Modern Movement in architecture in Europe put him at odds with modernists. For example, in 1929 he was forced to retract an accusation that Martin Wagner's primary activity as chief of city planning for Berlin was funnelling architectural commissions to extremist friends, and he labeled Le Corbusier's Ville Contemporaine project for transforming Paris "only vieux jeu" (old hat) and sarcastically predicted that it was likely to be realized, [not] because [the skyscrapers] are desirable, healthy, beautiful, and reasonable from the perspective of urban planning but because they are theatrical, romantic, unreasonable, and generally harmful, and because it is part of the money-making activities of a metropolis, in what is literally the world's most international city, Paris, to serve the need for sensation and the vices of native and imported fools. Der Gerettete Christus Hegemann authored the book Der Gerettete Christus (Translated as Christ Rescued) in 1933. The book discusses a variant of the swoon hypothesis that Jesus did not die on the cross but only fainted. Death In New York in early 1936, Hegemann became ill, first diagnosed with Sciatica and then hospitalized with apparent pneumonia. While bed-ridden at Doctors Hospital (Manhattan) he worked on his last book, the three-volume "City Planning, Housing," intended to supplement and update The American Vitruvius. Eventually completed by two co-editors, the last volume appeared in 1938. Hegemann