Between 1933 and 1938, Nazi Germany staged massive rallies in Nuremberg. The former Nazi Party Rally Grounds remain the largest surviving complex of National Socialist architecture in today’s Germany. Designed by Hitler’s architect Albert Speer, the vast structures still convey the immense power of Nazi propaganda. Speer was later convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. He served 20 years in prison and died in London in 1981.
The Zeppelinfeld (Zeppelin Field), shown above, is one of the most striking remains. Its massive grandstand, 360 meters wide, was modeled on the Pergamon Altar of ancient Greece, with square piers inspired by Franco-American architect Paul Philippe Cret. After Germany’s defeat in 1945, American forces famously blew the swastika from its top. The name “Zeppelinfeld” refers to the landing of Count Zeppelin’s airship (LZ6) here in 1909.
I visited in April 2024, on a cold and windy day, with my cousin from Nuremberg who graciously served as my guide. The site felt stark, desolate, and impossibly vast—its scale resisting any attempt to capture it in photographs. Only a handful of visitors were there, but the immensity of the place chilled me. I tried to imagine the grounds filled with uniformed followers of Adolf Hitler, roaring in unison. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
How could this have happened in Germany—a country with such a deep tradition of culture, learning, and science? Could it happen again? Is it already happening? The pull of the far right has not disappeared; it is rising once more.
What happened here was not inevitable. It can happen again.
Sources: Nuremberg Documentation Center | Wikipedia | Google Arts & Culture| Albert Speer – Holocaust Encyclopedia | US Holocaust Memorial Museum