Nuremberg Trials

To round out our trip to Nuremberg, we went to the Nazi parade grounds and went to see Courtroom 600 where the Nuremberg Trials took place.

Courtroom 600 is located in the Palace of Justice which was in a different part of Nuremberg. The Palace of Justice was selected to hold the trials because it was relatively undamaged in the war and included a large prison area. Additionally, Nuremberg had been the site of the Nazi propaganda rallies, so holding the postwar trials there marked the symbolic end of Hitler’s government, the Third Reich. Above the courtroom, was Nuremberg Trials Memorial, which was excellent. It had various displays and video footage from the trials. It also provided an above view to the courtroom. The courtroom has been modified since the trials and is smaller. It's also still an activity used courtroom, especially for murder trials. So, it is best to visit Courtroom 600 on the weekends right when it opens, as it gets crowded.

Palace of Justice:

Courtroom 600:

The Nuremberg Trials Memorial was excellent. It was very powerful to see the footage of the trials, the sentencing and to hear the defendants speak. It continues to baffle me how such evil exists in the world.

This was the electrical unit which supported the courtroom:

This is the courtroom from above, in the memorial:

These are views from the memorial of the surrounding area:

From the Palace of Justice, we moved onto Zepplin Field which is where the Nazi propaganda rallies where held. A soccer stadium sits near the field now.

Our last stop was the Nazi Documentation Center which is in the unfinished Congress Hall. The museum has a permanent exhibition entitled "Fascination and Terror" which explains the rise and fall of National Socialism and the Nazi Party. It was also excellent.

Nuremberg was a fantastic city and I would most definitely return. It was easy to get around and English was commonly spoken. There is so much history there and a lot to see. It was pretty surreal to visit the courtroom and field. It is my opinion that we learn from the mistakes of the past so as not to repeat them in the future.

On to the next adventure...