History In the Streets
Here in the small village of Pontlevoy, France we have a museum showing the history of our town that’s spread all over its streets, showcasing how the town has changed and remained constant through a series of old photographs. Taking into account my recent journey to Munich and the surrounding areas, such as Nuremberg and Dachau, it strikes me that a museum like this would be beneficial to the city. A museum in the streets would help travelers and even locals to better understand the Nazi past, because so many of the places of importance to that dark time are gone or have been transformed into something else. The politically-charged area of Bavaria would make for a more difficult context for such a museum, yes, because some would travel from far beyond Germany to treat the Nazis sites as shrines. Similarly, the upkeep of a photographic museum spread over such a wide geography would pose challenges different from what our village in France has faced. Still, if a museum in the streets could be done in and around Munich, what sites would make the most sense? Let’s propose five.
Dodgers’ Alley
When Hitler took power in 1933 he quickly turned the Feldherrnhalle (Feild Marshalls’ Hall) into a sort of shrine to the Nazis’ failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Hitler posted guards outside of the Feldherrnhalle to make sure every passerby gave the Nazi salute. If the person walking past the guards did not give the Nazi salute they ran an immediate risk of even severe punishment. Munchiners who wanted to avoid having to offer the Nazi salute found a way to use the geography of their city to their advantage. “Dodgers’ Alley,” a small street behind the Feldherrnhalle, became the favored way to circle around the back of the Odeonplatz for people who were not enthusiastic about the Nazi regime, letting them move through this politically dangerous part of their city without walking by the S.S. honors guards.
Sophie and Hans Scholl Memorial, Ludwig Mazimilian University of Munich
Sophie and Hans Scholl were a brother and sister who were active in the non-violent resistance to the Nazi party. Both were members of a student group called the White Rose. After distributing fliers from a balcony in the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich they were reported to the Gestapo by a maintenance man who witnessed their bold act of sedition. Both Sophie and Hans were sentenced to death by beheading along with another white rose member, Christoph Probst. All members of the White Rose where eventually beheaded, sentenced to time in prison or released for lack of evidence. To enter the grounds of their university today and stand under the stately dome where their leaflets fell on that fateful day so long ago is to experience something important in understanding the geography of the Nazi past.
The Hofbräuhaus
The Hofbräuhaus is not only one of Munich’s most popular tourist destinations but also it is a place where Hitler gathered his Nazi adherents on many occasions to give inflammatory and hateful speeches. (It is said that one of the many beer steins that are kept for the Patrons of the Hofbräuhaus belongs to Adolf Hitler himself. This however, has never been proved.) Aside from the history of the Third Reich the Hofbräuhaus holds a rich history all its own. Brewing its own beer since 1589 — when it was chartered as a brewery for the royal Residenz, it is one of Munich’s oldest beer halls and one of the most sought-after Oktoberfest tents each fall. To understand the Nazis and where they first began to gain power, it’s crucial to experience the energy and dynamism that are associated with the Bavarian traditions of beer, politics and public sociability.
The Nuremberg Courthouse
After the war ended and it came time for the trials of the surviving members of the Nazi leadership, it was decided that the courthouse in Nuremberg, Germany would be the place to put Hitler’s lieutenants on trial for war crimes. The four major allied powers sent two judges each to Nuremberg, and the witness stand held the likes of Goering and Hess accountable for the “orders they had followed” and the many that others had put into policy in their names. Nazi suicides stole the feeling of justice away from many of the regime’s victims, even after some — like Goering — had spent many hours in front of the court. To understand just how far beyond the cope of human ethics the Nazis had gone in their 12 years of power, Nuremberg and the seat of its famous war crimes trial is a critical place to study.
The Entrance Gate to Dachau Concentration Camp
Dachau Concentratiion Camp was the first ever concentration camp. This Camp served as a model for all concentration and extermination camps to come. This camp help political prisoners, prisoners of war, and others the Third Reich deemed a threat. Later the prisoners expanded to include jewish prisoners. Forced labor also played a large role at Dachau. History will never forget what the universe of concentration and extermination camps ultimately did to its Jewish and other victims. To understand this history firsthand is part of why a trip to Dachau is so important.
