The recently completed Dokumentationzentrum drew 270 000 visitors during the first 14 months. It offers what is probably the most fascinating museum in Germany on the twelve years of Nazi rule. It is located inside the Kongresshalle, the largest building planned by the Nazis for their party rallies in Nuremberg.

The entrance resembles a large glass and iron nailed driven into the stone of the building - forever being a thorn in the flesh of this symbol of fascism. A free audio guide is available.

The displays cover the full spectrum from the Nazi period from its beginnings to the ultimate end at the Nuremberg Trial. Most of the displays are photos but there are also some video material and models. Naturally there is comprehensive information on the Reichsparteigelände--the Nazi Party Rallying Grounds--so it is best to visit the center before strolling around in the area. Scale models give a good impression what was planned and detailed information is available on the symbolism of the buildings.

A video of interviews with people who lived in Nuremberg during the period and talked about how they experienced the party rallying days is very interesting as well. Although most of the interviewees were not party members they could not but help to be impressed that so many people from so many different places came to Nuremberg in a time when most of them had never traveled five miles from home. Although Nuremberg was not a particularly pro-Nazi area before 1933, it willingly turned with the tide like the rest of the country.

Something that often surprises foreigners is how open the Germans can be about the Nazi past. Of course they don’t like it, and Nurembergers surely wish they could wipe the Nazi connection away in the same way Berlin and Munich managed to, but in general they don’t hide the past. Nowhere in the display will you find a single panel trying to justify what happened.

The videos of the rallies attracted a lot of attention and go a long way to explain the subtitled of the exhibition--fascination and terror. It is at once fascinating and scary as hell. Even more harrowing was hearing a radio broadcast by Goebels following the bombing of Nuremberg by the Allies in January 1945: what is one tragic day in a glorious history of a thousand years? Even ignoring his ideas, his voice cut like a knife.

After the displays one returns to the entrance via a narrow glass and steel walkway that gives an interesting glance of the interior of the incomplete building. I don’t know if it is by chance or design but when I walked alone down that alley even my light hiking sneakers sounded like army boots on parade.

Ironically two German words sum up the whole Nazi Party Rallying Grounds concept best: Wahn und Wahnsinn

Open daily: 09 - 18 (10 on weekends)