In 2006 a memorial to the Third Reich opened its doors on American soil. It was built by a retired German SS officer who was not only a registered member of the Nazi party, but fought on the Eastern Front. Five years after World War II ended, he immigrated to America, where he eventually built this memorial because he believed that history is written by the victors, and that the Nazis were unfairly portrayed as the bad guys. It was abandoned after the owner died in 2013, one day after his 94th birthday.
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The plaque in the front of the building reads "BEFORE YOU PASS JUDGEMENT, GIVE CAREFUL AND EQUAL CONSIDERATION TO BOTH SIDES. It is my duty as an American to inform my fellow citizens about the truth of events that occured [sic] between the years 1920 and 1950."
The plaque on the left side of the building reads "THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exersise therof [sic]; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to patition [sic] the Government for a redress of grievances."
The plaque on the left was too overgrown to read, while the one in the center was so damaged it is illegible. I was able to use photos from the site prior to its abandonment to figure out what they said.
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Above the main building sits a memorial to all those who died fighting for Nazi Germany. The memorial opens with the phrase "THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED TO THOSE GERMAN AND OTHER EUROPEAN HEROES WHO FELL IN WORLD WAR II, AS WELL AS TO ALL VICTIMS OF ALLIED PERSECUTION AND GENOCIDE. MAY GOD EVER BE WITH THEM."
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The inside of the main building was originally intended to be a museum, meeting center, and shrine to Adolf Hitler. Much of the Nazi paraphernalia is now gone, though the plaques that flanked the shrine and much of the pro-nazi literature remains. Though the city could not forbid him from building this, they were able to invoke zoning ordinances to prevent him from hosting neo-nazi meetings here as he intended to do.
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The memorial and museum building itself was built right next to the owner's house where he kept more nazi propaganda, as well as some German culture society newsletters. He also kept several boxes of notes and calculations related to rocket design and aerospace propulsion prototypes- though as I believe those belonged to his son, there appears to be no ties to Operation Paperclip. Oh, and porn. The floor was a carpet of hardcore pornography.
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This site was not constructed to be some secret project- it was well publicized, to the point it was featured in TIME Magazine. He intended for this site to be open to the public in order to spread his pro-Nazi, Holocaust denier ideology. To this extent he published a website about his memorial, claiming that the Holocaust never happened, the death camps were run by the Allies to exterminate the Germans, and that the war started when "the World Jewish Organization declared war on Germany." From this website I was able to pull several photos of the site prior to its abandonment.
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On a personal note, I've never felt visceral disgust at any other abandoned location like I felt here. This place is an abomination that never should have been built in the first place. That being said, it's important to remember that the hatred espoused by the Nazis did not end when Hitler shot himself- it persevered well into the modern day, and we must be ever vigilant to not let it get a foothold in our society again.
In closing, fuck the Nazis.
[last edit 8/25/2019 4:24 PM by Aran - edited 2 times] "Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 1 on 8/25/2019 5:11 PM >
Posted by Aran n by the victors, and that the Nazis were unfairly portrayed as the bad guys. It was abandoned after the owner died in 2013, one day after his 94th birthday.
Wow, only the good die young.
I'm surprised Bill Riccio or someone didn't move in there afterward and turn it into a new compound. I don't normally advocate for arson, but if I were in your shoes, I'd probably be messaging some friends asking what they thought.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 2 on 8/25/2019 5:18 PM >
Great post. I really appreciate the research and effort you put into this post.
I'm appalled that this is even a thing but not at all surprised.
[02:33:56] <Valkyre> Astro your whole life is ruled by the sentence ' life is better without clothes on' [22:16:00] <DSomms> it was normal until astro got here Astro: Patron Saint of Drains
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 6 on 8/25/2019 8:46 PM >
Man, thanks so much for posting this. What a crazy place! I find it kind of scary though how some people can be so brainwashed... "Hitler did not start WWII."
Um, so his imperialistic tendencies didn't cause the war?
Also, saying he protected Paris during the war is a complete lie. He basically ordered the destruction of Paris. Read up on Dietrich von Choltitz: https://en.wikiped...trich_von_Choltitz "He is chiefly remembered for his role as the last commander of Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, when he disobeyed Adolf Hitler's orders to level the city, but instead surrendered it to Free French forces." Thanks to this guy, a lot of great culture and history was preserved.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 8 on 8/27/2019 10:56 AM >
This is one of the more eye-opening posts I've seen in Photography in a while. It's terrifying and disturbing that a place like this would ever exist, I'm glad to see the thing rotting away.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 9 on 8/27/2019 12:37 PM >
What an absolutely disgusting exhibit. It just goes to show no matter how evil or disgusting a person is, there will always be people making excuses for them and justifying their actions. Like you said, fuck nazi's; the ones in history and the modern ones.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 10 on 8/27/2019 5:04 PM >
This is an impressive explore for its historical significance given its abhorrent political nature. This is one of the most interesting places I've seen shared on UER. Good work!
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 11 on 8/27/2019 6:15 PM >
Both abhorrent and intriguing to see it lying abandoned. You'd have thought in it's abandonment it may have become a sort of perverse 'shrine' for neo nazis.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 12 on 8/27/2019 7:08 PM >
WOW, I am finding it hard to find the proper words. Great set and thank you for posting it. A phrase comes to mind....Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.' I think this set of a subject so twisted, cruel and demented is a reminder of the above phrase. This is one subject of history that we must never forget, we can never allow this to happen again.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 16 on 10/7/2019 12:54 AM >
Just to repeat what a number of us have already said, yeah, this place should be burnt to the ground. The only reason to pause on that is to make sure not to cause destruction outside erasing this pile of trash from existence. That said, nice job getting in there and taking photos. And furthermore, glad the piece of shit who was maintaining that abomination is dead. Fuck him.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 17 on 10/7/2019 2:14 AM >
Posted by pastawrangler Just to repeat what a number of us have already said, yeah, this place should be burnt to the ground. The only reason to pause on that is to make sure not to cause destruction outside erasing this pile of trash from existence.
Trust me, I too consider this place an abomination that never should have been built in the first place. I fully understand why some members here want it burned to the ground.
The thing is, I personally see this as a "what you are in the dark" situation. My exploring ethics say that vandalizing and arson are wrong. If I compromise my ethics just because the target is socially acceptable, then how can I claim to have them at all?
To draw some parallels that may be controversial for some, I see this in the same light as Confederate monuments- what they celebrate is monstrous, but they shouldn't be erased- rather, they should be placed in a museum with explanations of what they represented and why they are wrong. I think the best outcome for this location would be renovating it as a memorial to Holocaust victims, with the memorial itself given a plaque debunking the historical revisionism engraved on it. Let the Nazi memorial stand as a museum against everything it was built to praise.
[last edit 10/7/2019 2:16 AM by Aran - edited 2 times] "Sorry, I didn't know I'm not supposed to be here," he said, knowing full well he wasn't supposed to be there.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 18 on 10/7/2019 3:39 AM >
Posted by Aran
Trust me, I too consider this place an abomination that never should have been built in the first place. I fully understand why some members here want it burned to the ground.
The thing is, I personally see this as a "what you are in the dark" situation. My exploring ethics say that vandalizing and arson are wrong. If I compromise my ethics just because the target is socially acceptable, then how can I claim to have them at all?
To draw some parallels that may be controversial for some, I see this in the same light as Confederate monuments- what they celebrate is monstrous, but they shouldn't be erased- rather, they should be placed in a museum with explanations of what they represented and why they are wrong. I think the best outcome for this location would be renovating it as a memorial to Holocaust victims, with the memorial itself given a plaque debunking the historical revisionism engraved on it. Let the Nazi memorial stand as a museum against everything it was built to praise.
I can sympathise and have been in a similar situation numerous times. Vandalism really is not the answer in this case either.
Re: Memorial to Adolf Hitler <Reply # 19 on 10/7/2019 2:27 PM >
Posted by nitrogen Man, thanks so much for posting this. What a crazy place! I find it kind of scary though how some people can be so brainwashed... "Hitler did not start WWII."
You won't find many serious historians that will ever speak in absolutes such as blaming a whole war on one guy. If it hadn't been that grifter it would have been somebody else selling the Germans a dream of resurgence. Besides, Germany was not the only aggressor in the 30's and early 40's, not by a long shot. Also Europe is not the whole world. Historians chart the beginning of World War 2 with the Japanese invasion of China in July of 1937.
Not saying this to redeem Nazi Germany so much as to condemn every other country too. All of the world's powerful countries did genocide. The United States has done several.
This little building is the same as most of the monuments in Washington DC just a lower budget is all. I find it scary how many Americans are brainwashed into thinking they don't live under fascism and have long before Trump.
[last edit 10/7/2019 2:34 PM by uLiveAndYouBurn - edited 5 times] "Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
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