The Documentation Centre is housed in the Congress Hall, an immense building where Hitler planned to hold the annual Nazi Party gatherings but which was never finished due to the outbreak of war. The Centre is a modern spear-shaped addition to the north wing of the building which the architect described as slicing into the heart of the National Socialist tyranny.
The permanent exhibition, 'Fascination and Terror', is a one-way walk which displays the history of the Nazi Party rallies which were held at Nuremberg. This is done through videos and other displays - thank goodness for an excellent audio-guide in English which also provides an English 'voice over' for the videos!
We spent about three hours making our way through the nineteen chronologically arranged areas which tried to explain how Naziism could develop in Germany through propaganda and the staging of mass gatherings. We saw a video which discussed the making of the 1934 propaganda classic 'Triumph of the Will' and included large excerpts from that film. To see the way that ordinary people were swept up in the enthusiasm for Hitler and the prospect of a glorious future for Germany was quite remarkable - but also to some degree understandable.
The exhibition ended with a section on the Nuremberg trials of the main Nazi leaders and the efforts to make them answer for their crimes against humanity.
We needed a break before tackling the Rally Grounds but, after a snack in the cafe, we set off to walk around the outside area where there were some more exhibition boards at each venue. We walked around the outside of the Congress Hall and into the central circle which is now empty although the intention was to cover the outer circle with a roof and provide space for a crowd of 50,000 to attend. While we were there we were amused to see five tour buses from Viking Cruises drive around the circle, one behind the other. Goodness knows whether those tourists were given an opportunity to see the actual exhibition inside!
We walked around the picturesque Gross Dutzendteich lake, stopping at various sites including the Zeppelin Field where Hitler addressed his followers and the Grosse Strassse (a road down which the Nazi groups marched and which was wide enough to be later used by the Allies as a runway). The Zeppelin Field stone grandstand and the area where Hitler stood to address the crowd of 250,000 people are now very dilapidated and, in some parts, actually hazardous.
This area has now largely been returned to the people of Nuremberg as a lakeside park and we enjoyed watching the yachts skipping across the water in the breeze, the ducks and a lonely swan in the reeds, and families walking or on bicycles or roller blades. A much better use of the space!
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| A wig shop in Nuremberg central station - a bit of light relief! |
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