Nuremberg

Well, this place was extremely interesting! we went on the WW2 tour, which concentrated on Hitler, Nazi Rallys and Nuremberg Trials after the war. this was the Nuremberg House of Justice where the trials were held of prominent Nazi war criminals - best known ones being Goering and Hest. it was held in Nuremberg app. because it was in US hands, (not Russian, they wanted the trials in Berlin which they controlled) and the House of Justice was about the only building still intact in the city after the bombing! plus it had a prison right behind it.

We then moved onto Zepplin Field, which was the place where Hitler and the Nazi Party held huge rallies during the 1930's as a big propoganda exercise to brainwash everyone. It is huge! (could hold up to 200,000 on the field and another 60,000 in the stands around) the rallies were held once a year and took place every day over a week! Now it is falling down concrete with weeds everywhere. app. it is now used as a race track once a year for cars, and for rock concerts! the city doesnt know what to do with it, cause to put money into its upkeep looks like it is supporting what it stands for etc. It was a spooky place to be, cause I kept hearing Seig Heil! and tramping of thousands of jackboots parading past (yes my imagination ran overtime).

After that we moved onto the Congress building, which was started by Hitler in the 1930's as a ampitheatre (think the coloseum in Rome!) to outshine all others in history! yes he was slightly mad even then! they had to stop work on it at the start of the war (money and manpower needed to advance the cause of the third reich!) and of course it never got finished! it has been left as it was -

On the end of this congress building they have built a Documentation Centre . This was an amazing place to go through. It goes through the rise of the nazi party (esp. in Nuremberg who embraced it totally), the rallies held there,with old nazi film footage, and then onto the war itself, Jewish holocaust etc. In the final room it was all about the Nuremberg trials with actual film footage of the trials! talk aboout absorbing! here was Goering denying he knew anything about the death of Jews at concentration camps etc (he said he thought they were being deported out of the country!!). Any way 13 of the men were sentenced to death (hanging), some got prison sentences and 3 got let off! didnt know that did you??? there was an actual photo of all 13 in a newspaper article showing them dead on slabs of concrete with the ropes still around their necks, to prove to the world they had died! quite gruesome but dave loved it! unfortunately you oouldnt take photos! ( I am sure you could google it) this documentation Centre was one of the highlights so far, as it was done so well but also included the German perspective during the lead up to the war etc.