May 19, 2025
Prior to this trip, I connected Nuremberg primarily to the well-known trials of Nazi war criminals following World War II. I hadn't thought of Nuremberg's role in the pre-war and World War II days, so I was a little surprised to learn that as early as 1927, Nuremberg was the location chosen by Hitler and the Nazi party for massive rallies and conventions.
A special area known as the Nazi Party Rally Grounds was designed by Hitler's architect Albert Speer. The first rally was held at the Rally Grounds in 1927, the next in 1929. In 1933, Hitler declared Nuremberg the City of the Reich Party Congresses, and rallies were held in this area every year between 1933 to 1938. Once the war started, the rallies were no longer held.
In total, the Rally Grounds covered about 11 square km (2700 acres). This wide, flat field of about 20 acres was carved out of the forest for a staging area. It could hold about 150,000 people.
Nearby, the Hall of Honor was intended to be a memorial for the 9,855 Nuremberg soldiers who fell in World War I. It was created in 1928-1929, before the Hitler era. In addition to that use, the Nazis used the site to commemorate the 16 dead of the Beer Hall Putsch on November 9, 1923, in Munich--a failed coup d'état by Hitler and the Nazis. Fire bowls were placed atop each of the pillars, but they have not been ignited since the final Nazi rally in 1938 and in fact have mostly been repurposed or destroyed.
The Grosse Strasse or "Great Road" is a mile-long avenue made of granite pavers and intended to be used as a parade route for the Wehrmacht. It was not completed until 1939, too late to be used during the rallies. After the end of the war, the US Army used it as a military airstrip. Nowadays it is used as a parking lot for events at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center.