- Thingplatz
A Thingplatz also known as Thingstätte was a specially-constructed outdoor
amphitheater built for the conferences and gatherings ofNazi Germany .Here, the
volk would gather forVölkisch meetings and to view theater and propaganda presentations byJoseph Goebbels . A "Thing" was an ancient Nordic/Germanic gathering of the people, in an outdoor setting. The "Thing" sites were to be built as much as possible in a natural setting, incorporating rocks, trees, water bodies, ruins, and hills of some historical or mythical significance.The first "Thingplatz" was built in 1934 near Halle. Some 1200 "Thing" sites were planned, but only about 40 were built, as the movement was never particularly popular with the people [ [http://www.thirdreichruins.com/thingplatz.htm www.thirdreichruins.com] ] . Hitler himself was not a big believer in the "
Blut und Boden " aspect of Goebbels' propaganda, and outdoor propaganda performances were not popular in the commonly cold and damp German weather. After 1936, most "Thing" sites were used as "Feierstätten" (festival sites) or "Freilichtbühnen" (open-air theaters), for outdoor plays and normal folk festivals such as those celebrating the summer solstice.Following the end of
World War II many of these sites have come to be used as venues for outdoorrock concert s and other musical presentations.See also
*
Nazi architecture References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
