Nuremberg rallies

The Totenehrung (honoring of the dead) at the 1934 Nuremberg rally. SS leader Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Hitler and SA leader Viktor Lutze (from L to R) on the stone terrace in front of the Ehrenhalle (Hall of Honor) in the Luitpoldarena. In the background is the crescent-shaped Ehrentribüne (the Tribune of Honor).

The Nuremberg rallies (officially Reichsparteitagⓘ, meaning Reich Party Congress) were a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first Nazi Nuremberg rally took place in 1923.[1] This rally was not particularly large and did not have much impact; however, as the party grew in size, the rallies became more elaborate and featured larger crowds. They played a seminal role in Nazi propaganda events, conveying a unified and strong Germany under Nazi control. The rallies became a national event once Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, when they became annual occurrences. Once the Nazi dictatorship was firmly established, the party's propagandists began filming them for a national and international audience. Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl produced some of her best known work including Triumph of the Will (1934) and The Victory of Faith (1933), both filmed at the Nazi party rally grounds near Nuremberg.[2] The party's 1938 Nuremberg rally celebrated the Anschluss that occurred earlier that year.[2] The 1939 scheduled rally was cancelled just before Germany's invasion of Poland and the Nazi regime never held another one due to the prioritization of Germany's efforts in the Second World War.

  1. ^ Burleigh, Michael (2000). The Third Reich: A New History. London: Pan Books. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-330-48757-3.
  2. ^ a b Sinclair, Thornton (1938). "The Nazi Party Rally at Nuremberg". Public Opinion Quarterly. 2 (4): 570–583. doi:10.1086/265232. ISSN 0033-362X. JSTOR 2745103.