Nuremberg: Germany's dilemma over the Nazis' field of dreams - Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany
N 49° 25.869 E 011° 07.477
32U E 654048 N 5477556
The City of Nuremburg is struggling with what to do with this infamous site. // Die Stadt Nürnberg kämpft mit dem Umgang mit dieser berüchtigten Seite.
Waymark Code: WMYMWB
Location: Bayern, Germany
Date Posted: 07/01/2018
Views: 6
Some want the Nuremburg complex where Hitler spoke to be left to crumble, others want it preserved as a warning from history, says Tony Paterson.
The monstrous complex, complete with a “light dome” featuring 150 searchlights pointing skyward, was immortalised in the German director Leni Riefenstahl’s epic propaganda film Triumph of the Will which depicts Hitler as a superhuman Messiah figure, descending into Nuremberg from the air. The film is still banned in Germany.
Albert Speer, Hitler’s favourite architect and the creator of Nuremberg’s rally site, claimed that he had used special building materials to ensure that the complex would be like the remains of the Roman Empire and “last for a thousand years”. He could hardly have been more wrong.
Just 80 years later, Speer’s creation has left Nuremberg with a monstrous architectural problem which is worsening each year, despite the city’s efforts to put distance and time between itself and the nightmare that began with Nazi rule in 1933. Nuremberg’s rally site is one of Germany’s largest listed building complexes. By law it cannot be destroyed – but nature is doing just that.
The city now faces the difficult question of what to do with the rally grounds. Each year its authorities are obliged to spend upwards of €100,000 (£74,000) to shore up masonry to stop it collapsing on the estimated 250,000 German and foreign tourists who visit the site each year. If the decay continues, the whole site will eventually have to be sealed off from the public.
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 01/01/2016
Publication: Independent
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: international
News Category: Society/People
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