Another sleepless night in an unfamiliar bed, but I should not be griping when I have the opportunity in a life time being able to live and serve in Germany. We had another day planned but didn't anticipate that it would take 9 hours to do it. The first place we headed for was Hitler's hangouts ( The Congress Hall, The Documentation Center for the National Socialist Party Rallies, Grandstand of the Zeppelinfield and Palace of Justice) Now for more details, we started by going to the Palace of Justice which the famous Court Room 600 where the Nurnberg trials were set. The defendants were detained in the adjoining prison behind the court building and the infamous Hermann Goring who did himself in before he saw the gallows. We were only able to see the outside because they were closed for some odd reason. There were a lot of people in tours that were hopping mad too. Anyway enjoy the pictures
The second place we saw was the Documentation center of the National Socialist Party Rally Grounds. We signed up for a tour but we went into the wrong room where they were giving a lecture on the Nurnberg court compared to today's courts. When we walked in it was half over and we felt like uninvited guests which by the way we were. I found out later it was only for people who had signed up for it 2 weeks in advance. Because Gene could not here anything that was said (his hearing aid does not work) we opted to leave, so we gingerly got up and left (all eyes on us of course). We were each given a self guided tour machine that was as complicated as a computer. Needless to say, there is no love lost between Gene and the device. He waited for me until I was through with the tour which was a fast one. I don't know what I thought I was going to see, but it only mildly touched on the fact that a lot of Jews died because of Hitler's movement. At the end of the tour we saw the Congress Hall, a horseshoe shaped building that was only half finished. It was designed in accordance with the Colosseum in Rome. Today it is only used for storage. It was made of granite blocks that were put in place on the backs so to speak of the Jewish men held in a concentration camp near there. No wonder the German's didn't want to finish it. They have reconstructed everything else that was destroyed by the War, but not this structure.
The third place we saw was the Zepplin Stadium which was where Hitler held his speeches for the masses from the small projecting section of the tribune, as in 1938 when more than half a million followers came to Nurnberg. For them, the Furer brought back the Imperial insignia from their repository in Vienna. This place was huge, you might remember the name Zepplin that was the name of the gigantic dirigible that took passagers from Germany to America. Well on to less somber sites.
Next we went to the Germanisches Museum in the middle of Nurnberg. On the path toward the museum we passed huge white concrete pillars that lined the sidewalk. Each one was engraved with the articles of Human Rights, dedicated to the many people whose human rights were taken away from them during World War II. We had a guided tour of the Museum but she could only give us a brief walk through of what was actually housed here, so we went back on our own and looked at what interested us. We were told if we actually saw everything it would take us at least 4 hours. I believe it. 4 floors house various objects from Prehistoric times, weapons and ceramics found in tombs near by. On one floor is the works of art and spans a period of time from the Carolingians up to the end of the Middle Ages. The floor above is reserved for painting, sculptures and objects of art from Durer's time to the present day. The other floors had extensive displays of clothes in different eras, musical instruments and how they began It houses the largest display of pianos in the world. Weapons and suits of armour. The first globe ever made before Columbus. I enjoyed the furniture section. The museum also houses an extensive library, about 600,000 books but we didn't know about that until we left so Gene was bummed. There were a few original paintings by German's artist Durer. He did paintings of some very famous people.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves. I hope you enjoy.
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