On day 3, we went to the concentration camp. From this visit, we learnt how to treasure one’s life. This is because we saw gruesome pictures of how the prisoners were tortured and killed. We also learnt we should appreciate the peace we have in Singapore where all races are treated equally unlike in World War 2, where the Jews were treated with discrimination. We were disturbed by the gruesome pictures and we felt very sorry for the victims. The concentration camp served a warning from history to prevent the holocaust from happening again.
Next, we went to the Nazi Rally Site, we learnt that we should set long term goals. Hitler was a strategic planner. He planned carefully the places to hold his rallies to ensure that it was accessible to all. He connected the train routes to the rally site where all his supporters gathered. He went all out to ensure the success of his plans. He was willing to push the boundaries to achieve greater height. The last place we went to was the Palace of Justice. It was where Hitler sends those who opposed him on trials. This taught us the importance of fair treatment of all races.
To conclude, these visits have taught us that we should have a vision to achieve long-term goals but not to the expense of hurting others. Ambition serves as a motivation to reach our goals. We should accept others for who there are and not to discriminate them.
Categories: Day 3 · Group Reflection
Nazi party rally grounds (in German Reichsparteitagsgelände) is the name of a site in the southeast of Nuremberg (UGN: 49.43° N 11.12° E), where the Nazi party rallies were held from 1933 until 1938. It includes the Congress Hall, the Zeppelin Field, the Märzfeld (March Field), the Deutsche Stadion (German stadium), the former Stadion der Hitlerjugend (“stadium of the Hitler Youth”, today Frankenstadion) and the Große Straße (“great road”). The party grounds were planned by Hitler’s first architect Albert Speer (except of the Congress hall, which was planned by Ludwig and Franz Ruff).
The Zeppelin Field (in German: Zeppelinfeld) is located east of the Great Road. It consists of a large grandstand (Zeppelinhaupttribüne) with a width of 360 meters (400 yards) and a smaller stand. It was one of Albert Speer’s first works for the Nazi party and was based upon the Pergamon Altar. A very popular movie clip is of the swastika on the grandstand being blasted after the war.
In the 1970s, the pillars were removed. The rest of the stand is intact and used as the centerpiece of the Norisring motor racing track.
Today, the whole site serves as a memorial.
Source: Wikipedia
Photos:
- Wikipedia
Related Websites:
- Wikipedia
- Third Reich in ruins: Nazi party rally grounds
Categories: Day 3 · Places we visited
Nuremberg Palace of Justice (germ. Justizpalast) is a building complex at Fürtherstrasse 22 in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany is most famous for being the location of the famous Nuremberg Trials that were held after the Second World War for the “henchmen” of Adolf Hitler, between 1945 and 1949 for those who were still presumed to be alive. Among the infamous ones who made the appearance were Hermann Göring (suicide by potassium cyanide), Rudolf Hess (life internment), Franz von Papen (Vice-Chancellor under Hitler, acquitted), Arthur Seyss-Inquart (Austrian Chancellor, Nazi Commissioner, hanged) and Joachim von Ribbentrop (Foreign Minister, hanged). It is a commonly known fact that Göring was not hanged as planned, but instead committed suicide by taking a cyanide pill smuggled into his cell. He was later quoted in his suicide notes that “being hanged is not appropriate for a man of [his] status”.
The trials took place in courtroom number 600, situated in the eastern wing of the Palace of Justice. The courtroom is still used, especially for murder trials. Since the end of the Nuremberg Trials the courtroom was refurbished and is now a bit smaller as a wall that had been removed during the trials in order to create more space was re-erected. In addition, the judges´ bench was turned 90 degrees and is no longer situated in front of the window but now stands where the witness box was placed during the trials.
The Palace of Justice was chosen as the site of the trials because it was almost undamaged, offered a lot of space and accessed a prison. In addition, the Americans opted for Nuremberg as it was situated in their zone.
Source:
- Wikipedia
Photos:
- http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Nurnberg/Nurnberg05.htmlRelated Websites:
- Wikipedia
- http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Nurnberg/Nurnberg05.html
- http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/st/~asuelzle/doc2.html
Categories: Day 3 · Places we visited
Dachau was a Nazi German concentration camp located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Munich in southern Germany. Opened on 22 March 1933, the Dachau concentration camp was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) government. Heinrich Himmler, in his capacity as police president of Munich, officially described the camp as “the first concentration camp for political prisoners.”
Dachau served as a prototype and model for the other Nazi concentration camps that followed. Its basic organization, camp layout as well as the plan for the
buildings were developed by Kommandant Theodor Eicke and were applied to all later camps. He had a separate secure camp near the command center, which consisted of living quarters, administration, and army camps. Eicke himself became the chief inspector for all concentration camps, responsible for molding the others according to his model.
The camp was divided into two sections: the camp area and the crematorium. The camp area consisted of 32 barracks, including one for clergy imprisoned for opposing the Nazi regime and one reserved for medical experiments. The courtyard between the prison and the central kitchen was used for the summary execution of prisoners. An electrified barbed-wire fence, a ditch, and a wall with seven guard towers surrounded the camp.
In total, over 200,000 prisoners from more than 30 countries were housed in Dachau of which nearly one-third were Jews. 32,099 prisoners are believed to have died in the camp and almost another 10,000 in its subcamps, primarily from disease, malnutrition and suicide. In early 1945, there was a typhus epidemic in the camp followed by an evacuation, in which large numbers of the weaker prisoners died.
Source:
- Wikipedia
Pictures:
- Wikipedia
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/euroshots/188704645/
Related Websites:
- Wikipedia
- Virtualtourist.com
- Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site
Categories: Day 3 · Places we visited
