We didn’t know about the existence of the Nazi Rally Grounds until after we arrived in Nuremberg.
It was listed as one of the attractions in the area, and our curiosity got the better of us so we took the train out one gloomy afternoon to pay the site a visit.
The on-site museum (Documentation Center) is housed in the old Congress Hall building. The exhibits feature detailed accounts of the rallies, as well as some history of the Nazi Party and national socialism in Germany.
Afterwards we were able to explore the grounds. It was a bizarre feeling standing on the podium of the Zeppelinfeld Grandstand, looking out over the field where 100,000 dedicated party members once cheered their leader.
Many areas in the Nazi Rally Grounds are still used today. Some of the stadiums have been converted to recreation areas, and the Great Road is used as a car park for special events.
You can find more info on the grounds at the Nuremberg Museums website.
The Zeppelin Field and its once magnificent Grandstand.
The Congress Hall building that houses the on-site museum. In the foreground is a lake created by excavation for the German Stadium which was never finished.
The museum was comprehensive. Videos were shown of some of the rallies as well as photos of the rally ground buildings in use.
Its’s such a surreal feeling when you’re in a location that is so entrenched in history. Germany was perhaps the location I felt this the most, but it’s so valuable to get a real sense of the horrors that occurred there.
Absolutely – I think it’s very valuable to visit places that have a sad history so that we can learn and develop into better people.
Nuremberg, that wonderful city, was more than 200 years one of the Capital Cities of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”, founded (a discussion of historians) by the emperors Saint Carolus Magnus 800aC. more – another opinion – by Saint Otto I., also called “Magnus” (the grand) 100 years later. Nuremberg was at the late middle age and the early modern age one of the most important cities in the world, one of the seats of the German Emperor and conserved the signs of the “Holy Empire”, like the imperial crown. In 1806, at the time of the Napoleonic wars, Emperor Charles resigned, the “Holy Roman Empire” ended and in the future, the historical German Empire was divided into the south-eastern part, Austria (Vienna as capital city), and, starting in 1871, the Prussian-dominated part (Berlin as Capital city).
After WWI, a reunification of Austria and the rest of Germany was forbidden.
So, the Nazi Movement had chosen the historical City of Nuremberg as “City of the NSDAP-Councils”. All was an expression of the fascistic movement, even one of the most anti-Jewish laws was made there, the so called “Races Law”.
Your description is very comprehensive. An horrible impressive part of the “Reichsparteitagsgelaende” still exists. Now, finally, also a museum exists there , showing the history of the place and the incredible cruelty Nuremberg symbolizes – even if not a place like Auschwitz, it is the most important symbol of German fascism.
Thank you for the very interesting article!