We almost missed this. This tour was advertised by the ship as a tour to the Documentation Center. They said we might get to see the courtroom where the Nuremberg trials were held, but it could not be guaranteed since it was an active courtroom. To me, the name Documentation Center sounded like a musty repository for documents and records, so, since the courtroom visit was iffy, we didn't sign up. Fortunately, the evening before the tour they announced that the courtroom would be available, so we changed our minds later and went. The Documentation Center is not merely a repository, it is a museum which tells the story of the rise of the Nazi Party, the Third Reich in power and the atrocities which were committed during the war. That alone was worth the tour; the courtroom was just the icing on the cake.
Nuremberg is the cradle of the Nazi Party and Hitler wanted an overwhelming arena which would hold thousands for the party congresses. Although impressive, it was never finished. It was to have been a covered arena, but most speculate that its design would not support the intended flat roof.
I don't recall the meaning of the money display. Perhaps it was some of the money confiscated from those who were annihilated.
Just some photos of a few of the pictures on display.
A youth studying an exhibit portraying Hitler:
This is the building housing the courtroom, behind the big windows on the top floor.
Our guide was excellent. He is a student/teacher completing his PhD on the sociology of the Third Reich period. Absolutely fascinating. The first thing you learn is that the Germans are very open in teaching about Nazi Germany and the atrocities. It’s taught because they never want it to happen again. Student education begins in elementary school with the required reading of "The Diary of Anne Frank."
Our guide also talked about the intergenerational struggle that occurred in Germany. The attitude of grandparents and parents who lived through Nazi Germany was don’t talk about the war. Sort of an early version of don’t ask, don’t tell. But as young children grew up, they began to question their parents’ and grandparents’ roles in the war, precipitating an extreme social crisis in the 60’s. Now it had to be talked about and discussed.
A popular notion is that since the Nazi Party was born in Nuremberg, it was chosen as the site for the trials to symbolically make it die there. Our guide said that is a myth. Nuremberg was chosen because it was the most secure location of all the options.
