“An amazing collection of original photographs and postcards relating to the Nuremberg rallies of the Nazis . . . the book is dazzling.” —War History Online This book describes the background to and the development of the Nazi Party Rallies held at Nuremberg each September from 1933 to 1939. These Reichsparteitage (National Party Days) were vast and meticulously staged managed extravaganzas in which ritual and ceremony played an important part. The Rallies had two key objectives. The first was to focus public attention on the successes of the Nazi Party and connect with the public conscience and build a close bond between Party and people. Even more important was the Rallies’ role in presenting Adolf Hitler as the savior of the German nation sent to restore national pride, power and prosperity after the shame and economic disaster of the post war years and the deeply resented Versailles Treaty. The Hitler Cult was blatantly promoted with revolutionary use of propaganda by the latest technology and iron control of the media. The author’s superb collection of postcards and images takes the reader on a visual journey through each year’s Reichsparteitage. The Nazis’ Nuremberg Rallies, which also includes character studies of the principal Nazi figures, is a truly fascinating way to understand this uniquely successful and threatening phenomena. “Excellent . . . The book really does bring each and every rally to life, the book also has some rare photos that I haven’t seen before and it also displays posters and postcards designed for the events. So you get to see the propaganda on multiple levels.” —UK Historian

This book is an up-to-date, illustrated investigation into the notorious Nuremberg rallies and the part they played in the Nazi’s quest to establish their vaunted 1,000 Year Third Reich. Between 1923 and 1938 the Nazis held ten ‘’Reich National Party Conventions’ in the city of Nuremberg. Each rally was bigger than the last, with the number of visitors growing to over half a million, and this growth reflected the spread of National Socialism across Germany. This book explores how the rallies were organized, what the daily schedules were, who spoke at them and who attended. The development of the Rally Grounds under Albert Speer’s direction is also explored. The importance of the rallies in Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda campaign is dealt with as well as the story of Leni Riefenstahl’s filming of the rallies, in particular the Triumph of the Will in 1934.

How does a city and a nation deal with a legacy of perpetrating atrocity? How are contemporary identities negotiated and shaped in the face of concrete reminders of a past that most wish they did not have? Difficult Heritage focuses on the case of Nuremberg – a city whose name is indelibly linked with Nazism – to explore these questions and their implications. Using an original in-depth research, using archival, interview and ethnographic sources, it provides not only fascinating new material and perspectives, but also more general original theorizing of the relationship between heritage, identity and material culture. The book looks at how Nuremberg has dealt with its Nazi past post-1945. It focuses especially, but not exclusively, on the city’s architectural heritage, in particular, the former Nazi party rally grounds, on which the Nuremburg rallies were staged. The book draws on original sources, such as city council debates and interviews, to chart a lively picture of debate, action and inaction in relation to this site and significant others, in Nuremberg and elsewhere. In doing so, Difficult Heritage seeks to highlight changes over time in the ways in which the Nazi past has been dealt with in Germany, and the underlying cultural assumptions, motivations and sources of friction involved. Whilst referencing wider debates and giving examples of what was happening elsewhere in Germany and beyond, Difficult Heritage provides a rich in-depth account of this most fascinating of cases. It also engages in comparative reflection on developments underway elsewhere in order to contextualize what was happening in Nuremberg and to show similarities to and differences from the ways in which other ‘difficult heritages’ have been dealt with elsewhere. By doing so, the author offers an informed perspective on ways of dealing with difficult heritage, today and in the future, discussing innovative museological, educational and artistic practice.

Told from a local historical perspective for the first time, the exhibition Nuremberg - Site of the Nazi Party Rallies. Staging, Experience and Violence traces the history of the rally grounds from 1918 to 2020. A large-scale media installation takes visitors on a journey through time over the extensive grounds.In four epochs, events in the city and on the rally grounds unfold. A variety of exhibits, numerous personal photographs and remarkable biographies unlock new insights into the subject.