Bookends

“Nuremburg is the most German city” proclaimed Adolf Hitler. As the traditional seat of power and situated in the south of Germany near to his power base it was politically savvy to nail his colours to this city. Two years after coming to power he and his Nazi party constructed an amazing complex from which to stage the 1934 Nuremburg rally which was attended by 700,000 Nazi party members. The rallies had been held since 1923 but on a very small scale initially. The last rally was in 1938. The 1934 rally was filmed by the creative genius Leni Rieffenstal and produced as a propaganda film called Triumph of the Will. It is worth watching chunks of this to witness the mass of humanity that turns out, the incredible oratory of Hitler himself and the mesmerised look on the faces of the crowds. It is truly mind blowing to see the platform and the main stage intact and even more amazing to be able to freely wander up and stand where Hitler delivered his speech.

Nuremburg was formed in 1050 AD and became the seat of power for the assorted Germanic states in the 14th century. Throughout the middle ages and the Renaissance this was not just the economic and political capitol of Germany but also the intellectual and artistic centre. This is a beautiful city that fans out from the castle to old squares, medieval buildings and soaring gothic cathedrals making this a must see destination in Germany.

At the end of WW2 some 90% of Nuremberg was just rubble. The Allies targeted Nuremburg with aerial bombing as Hitler had earmarked the city as his spiritual home. Most of waht we see today is not ancient but reconstructed but wow, what a great job!
Postwar Nuremberg was chosen as the site for the court to try Nazis for war crimes and continues to do so to this day. A perfect bookend to the 1934 Nazi prewar rallies. Ironic!