GERMANY, NUREMBERG: WORLD WAR II SITES

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.

We noticed a few of these buildings along the route. Our guide told us they were intended to be public bathrooms.

Understandably, there has been some controversy over the years about the preservation/development of this area, the Zeppelin Field, where troops marched past Hitler and his henchmen for review and a show of power and as a means of unifying the German people. Information onsite notes the recent decision to make this a place of "learning and encounter" where citizens can learn about "the staging of the 'Führer' cult, the effect of architecture and the buildings, the militarisation of society, concepts of specifically 'German Labour', and social gender roles." Refurbishment of the Zeppelin Grandstand began in 2019 and was expected to be finished in 2025 (although it wasn't close in May 2025 when we were there) and cost 85.1 million euros.

Also designed be Hitler's architect Albert Speer, this section of the Zeppelin Grandstand is 390 yards long and with other stands on the other three sides of the field, could seat about 70,000 spectators.

The central rostrum was where party officials would gather and from which Hitler would lord over the crowds. The field in front of the stands could hold 100,000 participants, from soldiers to military bands to performers. When we were there is was eerily quiet, but it wasn't hard to squint just a little and imagine what that field might have looked like filled by an adoring crowd.

Here is what the grandstand looked like in its prime. Note the backdrop of columns, built to resemble an ancient Greek altar in Pergamon. Nazi flags were hung between the columns. 

Photo from here

The grandstand survived the war pretty much intact--unlike the city of Nuremberg--and fell into the hands of the invading US Army, who used it to stage their own premature victory parade on April 22, 1945. The parade was symbolically follwed by a spectacular explosion of the giant swastika that topped the central grandstand. The colonnades were torn down in 1967 when they were deemed structurally unsafe.

Photo from here

Some interesting trivia about Zeppelin Field: Bob Dylan (who is Jewish) and Eric Clapton played a concert here on July 1, 1978, to an audience of more than 80,000.

The final part of Hitler's ambitious building plan in Nuremberg is the grandest (and most delusional) project of all: Congress Hall. It was planned to be the meeting place for the NSDAP, or National Socialist German Workers' Party, aka Nazi Party.

From the exterior, it is quite an impressive building that was clearly inspired by the Roman Colosseum, although U-shaped rather than round. Construction began in 1935, but it didn't come close to being finished because once the war began, funding and manpower went elsewhere. From the start, it was an over-reaching, megalomaniacal endeavor, intended to represent the Third Reich's power and domination. 

Had it been finished, it would have had 50,000 seats (similar to the Roman Colosseum) and would have had a self-supporting domed roof, something engineers today say would have been impossible. The walls are an impressive 131 feet high and were planned to be even higher. The structure lay uncompleted for decades and used for various purposes off and on. Only recently has the city council determined to make it usable space. It is being turned into a cultural venue where ballets and operas will be performed.

My photos and the video below do not give an accurate sense of the enormity of this structure. It's overwhelming.

Here is a rendering of the final project after the remodeling is completed:

Like the Zepellin Arena, completing and repurposing this building has been controversial. Many believe a symbol of evil should not be housing cultural events.

The last war-related site we visited in Nuremberg was the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, the one (and only) place I was aware of before we visited the city. 

It was in this courtroom that a dozen or so trials of high-ranking Nazi officials were presided over by the Allied powers between 1945 and 1949. In the main trial from November 1945 to October 1946, 22 of the most prominent surviving Nazis were tried. Of these, the most infamous was Hermann Göring. Besides bringing these men to justice for war crimes, the trial set important precedents in international law and human rights. It was where the idea of a "world criminal court" was first implemented. It also exposed the horrors of the Holocaust, bringing to light previously unknown information about the genocide. Judges and prosecutors came from the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. In the end, twelve defendants were sentenced to death by hanging (although Göring killed himself by swallowing a cyanide pill smuggled into the prison), seven were sent to prison, and three were acquitted.

 

It was chilling to be looking down on this room from an observation deck, trying to comprehend what had happened here--and what had led to the trials in the first place. Later, twelve more military trials were convened by the United States in this same courtroom. Of the almost 100,000 Germans arrested as war criminals, 177 were tried. Among them was Karl Brandt, the personal physician to Adolf Hitler and the co-director of the Aktion T4 program--the Nazi euthanasia program that directly impacted my family and which I will write about later. He was convicted and executed by hanging on June 2, 1948.

The courthouse includes an exhibition of materials related to the Nuremberg Trials. Magazine covers from the period are on display, including one with Albert Speer (Hitler's architect mentioned a couple of times already in this post) on the cover. He was indicted during the initial Nuremberg Trials and found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, then sentenced to 20 years in prison.

It would be easy to spend several hours in the museum, but our time was limited. In the little bit of time we had, and with the aid of English narration provided through a headset, I think I got the most out of this exhibit showing an actual photo of the defendants and a description of who they were, what they were accused of, and their fates.

I also found this Life magazine spread showing the 11 dead Nazi leaders interesting--but incredibly creepy as well.

It was all pretty heavy, and we were ready for a change of pace.