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The Documentation Center Nazi Party Rallying Grounds (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände) is a museum in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
. It is in the north wing of the unfinished remains of the
Congress Hall of the former Nazi party rallies. Its permanent exhibition "Fascination and Terror" is concerned with the causes, connections, and consequences of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Topics that have a direct reference to Nuremberg are especially taken into account. Attached to the museum is an education forum.
Architecture
In 1994 the city council of Nuremberg decided to establish the Documentation Center. Austrian architect
Günther Domenig
Günther Domenig (6 July 1934 – 15 June 2012) was an Austrian architect.
Domenig was born in Klagenfurt, and studied architecture at the Graz University of Technology (1953–1959). After working as an architectural assistant, he set u ...
designed the museum, winning the 1998 international competition with his proposal to spear through the northern head of the building with a diagonal glass and steel passageway. Inherent in the gesture of this project is a pun on the name and a refutation of the chief Nazi architect
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...
who had directed a masterplan for this site including a Zeppelin Field, a stadium to hold 400,000, a March Field for military exercises, a Congress Hall for 50,000, and a wide Great Road. This is where Speer had created the "cathedral of light" and where the Nazis drew nearly a million people in rallies between 1933 and 1938. These were captured on film by
Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda.
A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
in ''
Triumph of the Will
''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
''. Domenig, the son of a Nazi judge, confronted his own personal history in addition to the history and
Nazi architecture
Nazi architecture is the architecture promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime from 1933 until its fall in 1945, connected with urban planning in Nazi Germany. It is characterized by three forms: a stripped neoclassicism, typified by the ...
of the project's site. On 4 November 2001 the project was unveiled by
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician (SPD). He was the president of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004 and the minister president of North Rhine-Westphalia from 20 September 1978 to 9 June 1998. In the ...
, then
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
.
Exhibition
The permanent exhibition "Fascination and Terror" (''Faszination und Gewalt'') studies the causes, coherence, and consequences of National Socialism. It describes the Nazi Party Rallies and explains the fascination they exercised upon participants and visitors. At the same time, the exhibition endeavors to explain what led to the National Socialists' criminal exercise of power and to reveal how the various causal factors were interrelated. A further goal is a frank presentation of the violent consequences that ensued for the population. The events that are inseparably linked with Nuremberg ("city of the party rally" — ''Stadt der Reichsparteitage'') and the National Socialist period are also explained: the activities of
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...
, editor of the anti-Semitic rabble-rousing weekly ''Der Stürmer'' (''The Storm Trooper''), the history of the
Nuremberg Rally
The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning ''Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactful; ...
, the proclamation of the so-called
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of th ...
in 1935, the buildings of the
Nazi party rally grounds
The Nazi party rally grounds (german: Reichsparteitagsgelände, literally: ''Reich Party Congress Grounds'') covered about 11 square kilometres in the southeast of Nuremberg, Germany. Six Nuremberg Rally, Nazi party rallies were held there betwe ...
and the trouble with
Nazi architecture
Nazi architecture is the architecture promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime from 1933 until its fall in 1945, connected with urban planning in Nazi Germany. It is characterized by three forms: a stripped neoclassicism, typified by the ...
after 1945, and the criminal
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
against the chief executives of the National Socialist agenda in 1945-1946 and twelve succeeding trials. The exhibition concludes with an examination of the problem that has been with Germany since 1945: how Germans should deal with the legacy in stone left at the Party Rally Grounds by the National Socialists.
The exhibition is structured in chronological order. The individual exhibition rooms vary in size and structure. They range from corridors of just a few square meters in size to large halls. The exhibition area offers a total of 1,300 square meters of floor space.
The exhibition is presented in narrative form. Use is made of classical exhibition methods as well as of modern forms of presentation. Five films newly created for the Documentation Center are essential elements on the route through the exhibition. Easy-to-use electronic display stations on various topics offer a wealth of informative pictorial material. Eyewitness interviews which were especially filmed are aimed at making history much more amenable, particularly for the younger generation. A wearable "Audioguide" leads visitors through the exhibition in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Polish.
Education forum
The attached education forum is in the glazed cube on the roof of the congress hall. A union of seven Nuremberg educational institutions under the management of the ''museen der stadt nürnberg'' makes possible an extensive and target group oriented program. The offer extends from 45 minute exhibition tours to several day seminars aimed at school classes for both youth and adult groups. The content includes such topics as "the power of images", "youth between adaptation and resistance", and "the system of concentration camps."
The partners of the education center are:
* Geschichte Für Alle e.V. – Institut für Regionalgeschichte
* Jugendakademie im Caritas-Pirckheimer-Haus
* Jugendzentrum für kulturelle und politische Bildung der Stadt Nürnberg
* Jugendring/Kreisjugendring Nürnberg-Stadt
* Kunst -und Kulturpädagogisches Zentrum der Museen in Nürnberg
* Menschenrechtsbüro der Stadt Nürnberg
* Nürnberger Menschenrechtszentrum e.V.
Awards
In 2001, the Innovation-prize of the Nuremberg region was awarded to the partners of the Documentation Center in the education forum.
In 2002, the
British Guild of Travel Writers
The British Guild of Travel Writers Limited is a private company limited by guarantee formed in April 2015.
This private company is the successor organisation to the erstwhile voluntary association known as the British Guild of Travel Writers. ...
awarded the Documentation Center with an award for ''Best New Overseas Tourism Project''.
In 2004, Günther Domenig was honored by the 9th International Architecture Exhibition of the
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
in their section "Transformations." The citation remarked on the opposition of the geometry between the project by Domenig versus the existing structure, and the resulting creation of a profound memorial.
[Citation from the Venice Biennale 9th International Architecture Exhibition, accessed 30 April 2007.]
Information system
Since May 2006, the exhibition in the Documentation Center has been supplemented by an information system with 23
stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
in the grounds, that make possible an individual tour of the former Nazi Party Rallying Grounds.
References
Literature
* Franz Sonnenberger (Hrsg.): ''Die Zukunft der Vergangenheit. The Future of the Past. Wie soll Geschichte des Nationalsozialismus in Museen und Gedenkstätten im 21. Jahrhundert vermittelt werden''. Verlag Nürnberger Presse, Nürnberg 2000, (Schriftenreihe des Dokumentationszentrums Reichsparteitagsgelände, Band 1).
* ''Faszination und Gewalt. Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände Nürnberg''. Museen der Stadt Nürnberg, Nürnberg 2006 (Ausstellungskatalog).
* ''Nuremberg – Site of the Nazi Party Rallies. Staging, Experience and Violence''. Museen der Stadt Nürnberg, Petersberg 2021 (Catalog of the Interim Exhibition).
Video
''Ruins of the Reich''R.J. Adams
R. J. Adams, also known as Bob Shannon (September 20, 1942 – January 26, 2015), was a Canadian-American film and television actor, acting coach, screen writer, film producer, documentary producer and radio personality.
Beginnings
Adams w ...
DVD (Then & Now documentary exploration of the NSDAP party grounds)
External links
Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally GroundsThe Information System at the Nazi Party Rally Grounds
{{Authority control
Nazi architecture
History museums in Germany
Museums in Nuremberg
World War II museums in Germany