The monumental tribune for Hitler in Nuremberg is set for a major renovation

Nuremberg - The construction of the monumental complex for the party rallies of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) led by Adolf Hitler in Nuremberg was thwarted by World War II. Even 75 years after the Second World War, a meaningful use is still being sought for the completed and unfinished structures that are a significant alteration to the shape of the city due to their grandiosity.

The only completed part of the complex is the Zeppelin Field with its grandstand, dominated by a speaker's podium for Hitler in the center. The site, named after the landing of the airship piloted by Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was transformed for Nazi purposes by Hitler's court architect Albert Speer.

The field provided space for parades of 250,000 people, with an additional 70,000 accommodated in the adjacent grandstands equipped with towers featuring powerful spotlights directed at the sky for the effect of a light dome. The site is now partially used as a sports facility, while other areas are utilized by driving schools, and the space in front of the grandstand serves motor racing events.

The site, where crowds once enthusiastically paid tribute to Hitler, is visited by over 300,000 people every year. The reasons for this are varied. "Students and schoolchildren, for example, say they want to see for themselves that the images of what they saw on the internet actually exist," says Annekatrin Fries from the Nuremberg city administration, which is involved in the preparation for the future development of Zeppelin Field. The aim is to open as much of the area to the public as possible.

However, the scope of today's tours is limited by the extensive closure of the complex, necessitated primarily by the dilapidated state of the grandstands. This is expected to change in the coming years thanks to an investment of around 85 million euros (2.3 billion CZK). "The funding has been approved. The federal government will cover 50 percent of the financing, the state government 25 percent, and the remaining 25 percent of the costs will be borne by Nuremberg," she explains.

Construction modifications could begin in 2022 and will then take several years. However, according to Fries, part of the complex could be completed by 2025, such as the interior of the grandstand with the central Golden Hall. This is the entrance for the highest Nazi officials.

In the Golden Hall, which has an area of over 300 square meters and ceilings that are eight meters high, one of the two enormous fireplaces originally installed at both ends of the grandstand is now located. The second fireplace, located outside behind the grandstand, served as a fountain after the war. Alexander Schmidt from the documentation center of the former Reich Party Congress grounds supports this with an article featuring a photograph capturing children swimming.

The project plans to significantly expand the space for visitors, allowing access to previously closed interior areas of the grandstand as well as a large part of the parade ground with the audience stands, including the towers flanking the stands. This area is now behind a fence, which, according to Fries, contradicts the idea of a democratic society.

Schmidt agrees and cites as an example of a democratic era that anyone can now take a seat on the main grandstand. "By making the place open, society has reclaimed it from the Nazis and radicals. The fact that a German or a foreigner, a poor or a rich person, or an ordinary individual can sit here is a complete denial of the intention of the Nazis," explains Schmidt in the central part of the grandstand. "This area in the center of the grandstand was reserved for the most powerful; no one else could access it," he adds, as a group of schoolchildren gazes down from the podium designed for Hitler onto the former parade ground just a few meters away.

Waiting for use next to Zeppelin Field is also the unfinished structure of the congress hall, which, once completed, would accommodate up to 50,000 people. One part has housed the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (Nürnberger Symphoniker) since the 1960s, while another part contains the documentation center for the former Reich Party Congress grounds. The building of the center is now undergoing extensive renovations and new exhibitions.