Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Saturday, 10 June. When we woke up, the ship was already in Nuremberg, but we were docked on the outskirts. At 08:30 there was a lecture entitled “Germany since 1933" but it was really about Germany under Hitler. It was very interesting to hear it from the prospective of a German who probably was born 15 years after World War II, and Nuremberg certainly is an appropriate place to hear about the Nazis. Hitler chose Nuremberg as the site of massive Nazi Party rallies, probably because of its important role in the First German Reich (the Holy Roman Empire). [The period of the Kaisers (1871-1918) was the Second Reich and, of course, Hitler claimed to have established the Third Reich.] Each year (1933-1938) as many as a million party members would travel to Nuremberg for a week-long rally. The first official party rally was held in 1927 at the Hauptmarkt, Nuremberg’s main square. In 1933, the rally was held at Zeppelin Field, an airfield southeast of the city, because of the huge space it provided. Hitler's official architect, Albrecht Speer designed the temporary reviewing stand, topped by a gigantic eagle. Over the next few years, a magnificent permanent structure was built at Zeppelin Field that could accommodate 100,000 people.
At 09:30 the bus left for our visit to these two major Nazi landmarks. (Jane and I had been to Zeppelin Field twice before in the early 1970s, once on an Army tour and once to watch our two older sons run in a track meet held there.) The reviewing stand hasn’t looked like much since the colonnade along the rear was removed (1967), and what used to be the parade ground is so cluttered that it’s hard to comprehend the vast size of it.
Our bus next drove us through Nuremberg (along the outside of the city walls) and on to the suburb of Fürth. The post-World War II War Crimes Trials (the Nuremberg Trials) were held here in Courtroom 600. The courtroom is still used by the Germans but was opened in 2000 for public tours on the weekends. Our group supposedly had reserved time for a visit but, when we got there, they wouldn’t let us in. So we had to content ourselves with taking pictures from the outside.
On the way back, we passed the old St. Johannis Cemetery, a huge expanse that looked more like a flower garden than a cemetery. Albrecht Durer was buried there (1528), as well as many other notables. Then the bus took us inside the Nuremberg city walls and dropped us off near the center of the old city. There we started a very short walking tour at 11:20 with the local guide. Our first and only stop was the Hauptmarkt, the market square where the city’s famous Christkindlesmarkt (Christ Child Market) is held every Christmas season. It dates back to 1628. (Jane and I visited the Christkindlesmarkt twice in the early 1970s.) The square is dominated by the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady)(1358). Another principle feature of the square is the ornate Schöner Brunnen fountain (1385 but since replaced by a replica), but we could barely see that. Apparently to protect the fountain from rowdy soccer fans, it was covered by a “sculpture” consisting of a double-helix of 780 stadium chairs.
At this point, our guided tour ended. We had about 45 minutes free before we had to catch the bus back to the ship at 12:30. |
