Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds

The Myth "Germania" and the "Temple City" of Nuremberg

7 April to 23 October 2011

The twelve years of the National Socialist regime have left brutal architectural scars. In some ways, the Nuremberg Nazi Party Rally Grounds, planned to cover over 11 square kilometres, can be regarded as the "test piece" for Hitler's favourite architect, Albert Speer, but it was really only the beginning of National Socialist urban visions. For the period after the aimed-for "final victory", Speer had much grander plans for the Reich’s capital Berlin, including establishing radical axes in the city and constructing a gigantic hall. People and existing buildings were to be mercilessly subordinated to these plans.

The first part of the exhibition takes a closer look at the capital. Using documentation of selected building projects and of the Nazis' organisational machinery, it examines technical aspects of construction the social and political background of the period. The focus will be on the disastrous consequences, in particular on the "depopulation plans" for Berlin Jews. The second part of the exhibition gives an insight into the major building site of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, as well as into the redevelopment, deemed necessary for ideological reasons in the Old Town and in other Nuremberg districts.

The central focus of the exhibition will be two large architectural models: the "North.South Axis", right through Berlin for the "World Capital Germania", and the "German Stadium" in Nuremberg. These architectural visions which were never implemented are in sharp contrast to the unfinished exhibition hall, a tangible and unique visual representation of the failure of National Socialist urban visions.

A visit to the special exhibition is included in the entrance fee for the Documentation Centre. The entrance fee for the special exhibition only is 3 Euros (concessions 2 Euros).