The Nuremberg Rallies (SQA National 5 History): Revision Note

Summary 

The Nazis held huge rallies in Nuremberg to impress Germans and foreign visitors. They began small in 1923, but from 1933 they were staged every year at purpose-built grounds.

Hundreds of thousands took part in the rallies, including party members, soldiers, and youth groups. The aim was propaganda: to show Germany as powerful, ordered, and fully controlled by the Nazis.

Features of the rallies included immaculate uniforms, soldiers marching with flags to drumbeats, torchlight processions at night, and long speeches by Hitler and other top leaders.

Nuremberg rallies

• From 1933, the rallies were held every year at the purpose-built grounds in Nuremberg, such as the Zeppelinfeld

• Hundreds of thousands of people attended, including:

  • Party members

  • Soldiers

  • The SS

  • The SA

  • Hitler Youth

• The huge size of the rallies made the regime look strong and united

• March-pasts with flags and drums, torchlight parades at night, and precise formations created a show of order

• Albert Speer designed grand stages and the “cathedral of light” using searchlights, turning politics into a theatre that impressed crowds

Speeches

• Hitler and top leaders gave set-piece speeches that praised:

  • Unity

  • Obedience

  • Loyalty

Propaganda

• The aim was to convince Germans and foreign visitors that Germany was:

  • Powerful

  • Disciplined

  • Fully behind the Nazi leadership

• Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl recorded the 1934 rally in “Triumph of the Will,” spreading the image of Nazi power across Germany and abroad

• Posters, newsreels, and radio repeated the message, so people who did not attend still saw the display