I visited Nuremberg's Documentation Centre to educate about Nazism, a museum, in the north wing of the unfinished remains of the Congress Hall of the former Nazi party rallies, which was approved to be built by the Nuremberg City Council in 1994.
While the permanent exhibition examines the causes , context and consequences of the Nazi reign of terror it has relatively few artifacts from the Nazi era, focusing more on on "documents" (text and archival photographs etc) After researching why that is , I understand that a documentary approach was preferred because it was believed that authentic Nazi artifacts still had enduring auratic power and the ability to fascinate present day Germans. This is not a museum about victims, but about perpetrators, and it was felt that putting things into a display cabinet exalts their status, giving them that mystical aura.
Yet,ne of the things I most remember about going through the exhibit was the room that contained a gold bust of Adolf Hitler which was an authentic Nazi artifact, one of the relatively few artifacts in the Documentation Centre. I watched three high school German boys who were part of a class trip lingering over this Hitler bust after the rest of their group had moved on. The three of them were taking photos with their i phones , placing their own faces next to the Hitler bust, smiling and laughing as they were doing so. They were able to effectively make their own post. As I watched this scene, I wondered why the Documentation Centre had put this bust of Hitler in the middle of the room, making it a focal point, such that it served as an object of fascination for these German teens rather than an object of repulsion.
The plastic green Nazi soldiers, also artifacts, that were displayed underneath glass in the floor, giving them a 'trampled on' status, were a more fitting display than the Hitler bust
The three boys rushed through much of the exhibit but I later watched the three teenage German boys as the also lingered over an exhibit showing antisemitic drawings and books and a period map of Nuremberg which marked Jewish owned stores with an X. They were listening intently to the audio in German, and when I tried to listen to the relevant audio in English, it wasn't working. It was a disquieting feeling to recognize all the surnames on the map, such as Cohn, Stern, Herzl, and Salomon.
While there were not that many artifacts in Nuremberg's documentation centre, the site itself is really one monstrous artifact, since the gigantic Congresshalle is a testament to Hitler's meglomania. The "glass and steel arrow" of the north wing of the Documentation Centre which pierces the Congresshalle is meant to be a spear in the heart of Nazism. But, it should be noted that the Austrian architect of the Documentation Centre, Günther Domenig, who won an international competition , had his own Nazi demons to confront. His father was a die hard Nazi, and he himself had antisemitic feelings, but according to the New York Times his being involved in the project enabled him to find "a degree of atonement for his own anti-Semitic feelings," Domenig told the New York Times, ''Even when I entered college, I was troubled to find that many fine architects were Jewish...'I wondered if I should stop going to school. I asked myself this. It took me 10 years in my life to get over all this. So you see, it was very important for me to do this building [the Documentation Centre.''
It wasn't until the 1994 that the City of Nuremberg decided to build the Documentation Centre and the history of why it was finally built is rather interesting. After World War 11, Nuremberg was completely destroyed. It had been was extensively bombed by the Allies during World War 11, not so much because it was the heart and soul of the Nazi party , but because it was a vital rail centre and large numbers of aircraft, tank, and submarine engines were manufactured in Nuremberg, making it a prime target to the 1944 Allied bombing campaign.
After the War, it was decided not to rebuild a totally new city, but rather to restore as many historic monuments and the old town, using the materials that had characterized the city for centuries before the Nazi period. The medieval splendor of Nuremberg was restored, including all the narrow, cobblestone streets, and half timbered houses. The restoration which took 38 years tried to return Nuremberg to its pre-Nazi state , thereby purposely forging continuity with its earlier state. The restoration was not complete until 1984 and during that time, no one in Nuremberg thought about any Musuem or Centre to document Nazi crimes, which did not fit at all with the theme of splendidly rebuilding the Nuremberg of the middle Ages and Renaissance. The desire was to return to Nuremberg it's 'good name' and to wipe away the terrible stain of Nazi history, as if this history could really be rinsed away thereby returning Nuremberg to its glorious past (Tourists easily could be directed to the old restored town, and not to the Nazi Party Rallying Grounds )
If I wasn't aware of Nuremberg's Nazi history and long history of antisemitism, I would have been able to enjoy meandering though its restored old town, with its Gothic churches, patrician houses, walls , bridges, towers and medieval ambiance. But I couldn't ignore the overwhelming stench of Nazi history.
It was only in the 1990's with the rise of Neo-Nazism in Germany that the Nuremberg Documentation Centre came to life, since it was believed to be necessary to educate about the horrors of Nazism in order to counter the rise of Neo-Nazism.
And interestingly enough, despite Nuremberg's attempt after the Holocaust to forge its identity with its pre-Nazi history, the number one attraction in Nuremberg according to Trip Advisor today is the Documentation Centre at the former Nazi Party Rallying Grounds. Although the reconstructed old town of Nuremberg 's towers, churches , bridges , walls and half timbered houses is a tourist draw, Nuremberg's number one attraction throughout the year on Trip Advisor is the Documentation Centre. Nuremberg in that respect has not been able to ever fully divorce itself from its Nazi past.
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