Nuremberg Party Rally Grounds

[Geoff Walden]

Current news about the planned demolition of the Third Reich era main Post building in Nürnberg:

http://www.nordbayern.de/region/nuernbe ... -1.4202529

A tour through the building:

http://www.nordbayern.de/region/nuernbe ... 2#ancTitle

[Paulheald]

Thanks Geoff. An interesting tour of the Hauptpost building in Nuremberg. Although digressing from the main body of the thread, I read somewhere that AH got a percentage of all post office stamps that were sold, since they featured his artwork. Is that a fact? If so he must have been very well off on those commissions - I wonder where he stashed it?

[PF]

Speaking of AH Stamps
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=90676

Didnt AH also get revune after millions of Germans bought his "Mein Kampf"?

[Paulheald]

Returning to the Rally Grounds: I was wondering if, in view of the name of the Zeppelin Stadium, whether the famous airship Graf Zeppelin ever paid a visit to this part of the Rally Grounds? It would certainly have seemed appropriate but I cannot find any photos of this actually happening.

[ManfredV]

In 1909 Graf Zeppelin (the man) landed with his airship Z3 at this place. So the area later was called Zeppelinfeld. But there was no landing of LZ 127 Zeppelin there. But 1933 LZ 127 flew over Rally Grounds.

[Paulheald]

Thank you manfredV that's interesting info, especially re the naming of the Zeppelinfeld at the Rally Grounds. Another matter that came to mind is whether there is, in the interior of the remaining structure, a plaque or inscription recording that Albert Speer was the architect. Maybe Geoff would know, since he has visited the interior several times.

[Geoff Walden]

Hi Paul,

If there ever was such a thing, it's gone now. The interesting inscriptions inside today are 1945-46 period grafitti from US Army soldiers.

Geoff

[Paulheald]

Hi Geoff - thanks for that. I guess that the US Army grafitti is an itegral part of the history of that structure

[Paulheald]

I came across this photo of what appears to have been one of the very early rallies - it looks like it was taken in the area of the Zeppelin Field before the construction of Albert Speer's present day Zeppelin Arena or maybe even the Luitpoldhain Arena - or is it somewhere else?

Here is another part of the Rally Grounds that appears to have fallen into decay. It is currently scheduled for refurbishment under the current restoration program. Nuremberg mayor Ulrich Maly is quoted as saying, "...that to demolish the station would create an international outcry". ( I am not quite sure from whom - save from certain members of the Axis Forum ?)

[Geoff Walden]

Hi Paul,

You're right - that was the Zeppelinfeld during the 1933 Party Rally "Party Day of Victory." Construction on the Zeppelintribüne had recently started, and Speer put up a large wooden eagle and swastika on a temporary basis, above the wooden grandstands. I think it was in Speer's memoirs that the eagle was likened to a dead butterfly pinned to a wall (or something like that). The wooden eagle was used up to 1935. In 1936 most of the structure was finished, but the large gilt swastika wasn't mounted yet, nor were the flame cauldrons at each end.

Geoff

[Geoff Walden]

Here is another part of the Rally Grounds that appears to have fallen into decay. It is currently scheduled for refurbishment under the current restoration program. Nuremberg mayor Ulrich Maly is quoted as saying, "...that to demolish the station would create an international outcry". ( I am not quite sure from whom - save from certain members of the Axis Forum ?)

These are the remains of the Märzfeld station, built to service the SA/RAD/HJ tent camps in the Langwasser area, at the SE edge of the Rally Grounds area. These remains used to be accessible, and there is an interpretive marker there, but the area with the tracks and remains is fenced off now, and it's hard to get up there to where the ruins are (in fact, last year I couldn't find any way to get up there). The station was never completed to the state seen in these architectural models.

The Mayor often has to defend his preservationist views against those who don't want to spend any money on any of the Third Reich ruins in Nürnberg - it's a continuing debate.

[Paulheald]

Many thanks, once again Geoff, for your responses to my queries. You are truly a treasure house of wonderful historical information regarding the period of the Third Reich. Are there any other areas around the Rally Grounds, we have not touched upon to date on this thread, that are also slowly decaying away?

[Geoff Walden]

Hi Paul,

I don't recall if these sites have been mentioned in this thread, but there is a stone water tower that was built to serve the tent camps in the Langwasser area. It's still maintained as a water tower. During the period it had a big eagle and swastika on it, but those are long gone.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=49.41573 ... 1&t=h&z=18 (it shows up nice in the 45 deg view).

There are the remains of the footings of one of the towers of the Maerzfeld - approx. location - https://maps.google.com/maps?q=49.41872 ... 1&t=h&z=18 .

The former housing area for the Deutsche Arbeits Front is also maintained - today it is a home for the elderly. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=49.43014 ... 1&t=h&z=17 (this also looks good in the 45 deg view).

The Fischbach Bahnhof is out at the edge of the Party Rally Grounds area, but it was built to serve the Party Rallies. It is definately starting to decay away. - https://maps.google.com/maps?q=49.41450 ... 1&t=h&z=18

Geoff

[Paulheald]

Thanks, once again, Geoff. I find these forgotten relics of yesteryear most interesting - almost like entering a modern day time warp. On my last visit to Auschwitz I came across a totally overgrown area outside the southern periphery of the Birkenau camp that had crumbling buildings in its midst and was so overgrown as to be almost inaccessible. I looked on the main Axis forum contents , but did not see a thread on Auschwitz to find out what this part of the camp actually was at one time. Do you think I should start a new thread on the Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp itself?

[Geoff Walden]

Hi Paul,

Myself, I think that would be a great idea! I don't know if there is a thread in the Holocaust section that would already fit that bill ...

If what you saw was just outside the camp fence, just across the road at the southeast corner, there were two "Kartoffellager" potato storage buildings there. One is totally gone, but the other is in ruins now.

Geoff