Nuremberg, Germany – Sunday, December 18th, 2016
On the final day of our Germany Christmas Markets tour we visited the beautiful medieval city of Nuremberg. It has an impressive medieval wall that can be seen in the historical poster below. Nuremberg became the birthplace for Nazism as seen in this propaganda poster and was once declared the most “German” city by the Nazi officials:
Nicole, Harmony, Martin and Ryan went on the Nuremberg WWII tour which included Hitler’s Rally Grounds, Congress Hall, and ended at the Nuremberg Courthouse in which the Nuremberg Trials were held between 1944 and 1945. We felt this would be an important way to bring additional context and a more satisfying conclusion to our worldschooling studies of WWII in Europe.
In the years and decades after WWII, Germany and Germans have struggled with how to deal with the legacy of Hitler, Nazis and the crimes against humanity committed by far too many Germans. Silence was the initial strategy. The shame and pain of the realities of what happened in the name of “Germany” resulted in several decades in which Germans simply were silent. Hitler’s Germany was not taught in schools, nor did families discuss the great shame in their homes. Beginning in the 1980’s this began to change — the stories of Hitler’s Germany must be told!
Hitler and his Nazi legacy are not the beginning nor the end of the story of Germany. Modern Germans can be proud of their long cultural heritage and their place in the world community. They uniquely can educate the world of the dangers of authoritarianism, dictatorships, prejudice, exclusionary policies, discrimination, and the risks of blind allegiance to charismatic leaders. Germans uniquely can educate and equip the world community so that atrocities such as the holocaust will happen “never again.”
We appreciate the city of Nuremberg and the country of Germany for preserving and transforming these sites from their intended purpose of glorifying the ideals and person of Adolf Hitler to offering generations of education so the world can recognize, resist and refuse to allow such atrocities to ever again be committed in crimes against humanity.
Hitler choose to hold his massive rallies in Nuremberg. His favorite architect, Albert Speer, designed the vast Nazi Rally Grounds which still serves as a symbol of Hitler’s megalomania. It centered on the monumental Grandstand that held a raised platform for the Fuhrer.
Here is what it looked like when completed:
This four-square-mile complex known as Zeppelin Field consists of parade grounds and a huge grandstand. The field gets it name from the landing of one of Count Zeppelin’s airships in 1909. In the 1920’s, the city of Nuremberg created an expansive sports and leisure park there. It included the municipal stadium (which was later expanded by Hitler), green spaces and sports fields.
After 1945, Zeppelin Field was used as a sports field and parade ground for the US Army up until their withdrawal in 1995. The annual Norisring car races are currently held here – an important sport for Germans. It is also still used for musical festivals.
We also drove the bus in and around Hitler’s unfinished “Colosseum” like Congress Hall building. Here is an exterior view of the building from across a manmade lake (dry during winter):
It was built to be 1 and 1/2 times the size of the Roman Coliseum and made out of a core of brick covered in granite produced in holocaust labor concentration camps. That fact alone gives this building a dark and eerie feel.
You can see the similarity to the Roman Coliseum design in this picture above.
And here is panoramic of the unfinished interior of the building that would have held stadium seating (see pictures below):
It was designed to be a “secular” cathedral that would have had light from the roof windows shine on Hitler as he addressed his followers.
It reminded us of other ego-driven historical leaders who saw themselves as “sun-gods” bringing light to the world. These massive structures were designed to impress the masses and elevate Hitler to a status above the emperors and Caesars of old.
After visiting the Festival Grounds and driving through the arena that was never actually completed, we visited the “Fascination and Terror” exhibition at the Documentation Center:
We were disturbed by the fact that these structures fueled Hitler’s propaganda machine, showing the power of his personality and followers. As our German tour guide put it, the architecture and advertising (propaganda) blinded the German people to the real agendas of Hitler: expansionist wars of aggression and the evil extermination of six-million Jews, political enemies, disabled, homosexuals, minority cultural groups like Gypsies, and many more. Anyone who didn’t fit within the Arian ideals of Hitler and the Nazi party were marked with stars and triangles to indicate their “separate” status. It is a reminder for our modern times to guard against political structures that seek to “mark” and ostracize groups of people based on their politics, religion, ethnic background, immigration status, sexual orientation, or gender identification.
As we exited the center there was a meaningful memorial for the 6-million Jews who died at the hands of Nazi’s in concentration camps. It is an illuminated railroad track. Between each railroad tie are hundreds of metal plates with the name of someone who died. Each metal plate is symbolic of 10 people who lost their lives – if they would have made a single plate for each name, the rail road tracks would have extended for 4 kilometers!
We ended the day by going to see the court house of Nuremberg and famous room 600 where Nazi leadership were put on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Here is what it looked like during the actual trials:
And here are a few pictures of the modern courtroom. It still looks very similar. We were surprised to see a large cross in the court of law!
The outside of the building show the illuminated widows that looked into the courtroom.
But during the actual trial the widows were blacked out so that snipers wouldn’t have a clear shot. That why many of the defendants wore sunglasses during the trial — it wasn’t because they didn’t want to be seen; rather, the fluorescent lightbulbs were too harsh on everyone’s eyes during weeks of testimony.
The Nuremberg trials set an important legal precedent that would guide the international Hague courts and United Nations in the 20th and 21st centuries:
“The Nuremberg trials established that all of humanity would be guarded by an international legal shield and that even a Head of State would be held criminally responsible and punished for aggression and Crimes Against Humanity. The right of humanitarian intervention to put a stop to Crimes Against Humanity – even by a sovereign against his own citizens – gradually emerged from the Nuremberg principles affirmed by the United Nations.” From https://www.roberthjackson.org/speech-and-writing/the-influence-of-the-nuremberg-trial-on-international-criminal-law/
Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of crimes against humanity after the Nuremberg trials — crimes that continue to be denied or go unpunished. Governments who are part of the United Nations must work together to hold political and military leaders accountable for their crimes, and America must make sure it protects human life even as it seeks to carry out peacekeeping missions. Too often the collateral damage of our efforts creates resentments toward America and opens us to the same criticisms we quickly assign to corrupt and aggressive governments.
We are thankful the German people and government have invested in preserving the history of “Hitler’s Germany.” The Documentation Center has preserved and displays the actual historic artifacts of records and propaganda media produced by the Third Reich. To witness, with our own eyes, the posters, advertisements, commercials, and videos. To see the ledgers of carefully organized data the Nazis collected of their strategically enacted plans — numbers on pages of their successful exterminations. Their carefully documented records of extermination methods that yielded highest casualties using lowest resources. All the records carefully collected, documenting the “success” of their plans. The Nazi’s careful records were pivotal in convictions during the Nuremberg Trials.
We will never forget what we have now witnessed. We are among those who cry out this commitment, “Never again!”
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