Excursion to Nürnberg- courtroom 600, Hitler's colosseum/Nazi Party Rally Grounds

Before heading back to camp, my host dad took me on a day excursion to Nürnberg.  Him and my host mom have been wanting to spend some “QT” with me and show me around and finally I had both the energy and the day to do so.  My host dad took and paid for us to go to Courthouse Room 600.  He told me he had been waiting to go there himself, but the girls aren’t old enough to understand, nor have they learned much about Germany’s intense history in school yet. 

I was in awe.  The Brits and Americans specifically restored and remodeled that courtroom for these trials… fancy shit compared to the rest of the building.  The entire courthouse was rather large, but the other wings were used for the media stations, documents, and others who worked around the clock on the translations, newspapers, and clarifications.

During the trials itself, there were 4 tables of 8 translators : English, French, German, and Russian.  Depending on who was speaking or who was listening, each person in the courtroom got a clicker with 5 notches: either listen to the actual person talking, or one could choose from the other four languages. 

The courtroom was so eerie and then taking a tour of the third floor memorial/documents, etc. I felt like I was a part of all the history. They had video footage of the trials, backgrounds of the 22 Nazi officers that were tried.  They had videos from when they introduced each of their pleads; each of them stood tall and clamed not guilty.  By the end of some trials, only a couple actually admitted their wrong-doing, others blamed Hitler and his brainwashing powers or said that they were just following orders, that they didn’t have any other choice, and finally, there were still men who died with pride, “Heil Hitler!”

There were momemnts when my dad and I came together after reading incredible artifacts, and there were a few moments that I sensed him getting choked up a bit. I don’t think ill ever understand a history like this one.

Following the courthouse, we went to the present day Documentation Center. There you can see records of the victims of the Nazis and the places of which Hitler loved to carry out his meetings, rallies, etc.  The building itself is huge and is modeled like the Colosseum.  It's beside a small lake and on the other side of the lake is a huge outdoor rally ground.  There are rows and rows of concrete stairs that circle what is now a grass field.  I climbed up to the top of where about 50 columns used to stand, and I stood on top of where Hitler delivered his speeches.  wow.  When the war was over, the allied troops held a victory march/parade on the street in front of the outdoor "stadium".

Today, Deutschland has stopped funding the grounds because it is too expensive and is falling apart.  Once a year, that same strip of road in front of the columns is used for a famous car race.  When I was there, that road was fenced off for a public rollerblading park.

What an awesome day of history!