Hey everyone,
I’ve recently read about a stadium that Albert Speer was in the process of building, but never finished, due to the outbreak of the Second World War, which was to be called the Deutsches Stadion. It was being built in Nuremburg, as the city was used every year for the growing Nazi Party Rallies. This stadium caught my attention as it was being built to have a capacity of some 400,000 people. Currently, the largest stadium in the world only holds 150,000 people (this being the Rungrado May Day Stadium in North Korea.) There are currently 67 countries whose entire populations could have sat in this stadium. While planning out this monstrosity, Speer grew concerned that people at the top of the bleachers would not be able to see down to the bottom. Although all that currently exists of the Deutsches Stadion is a lake, which is actually the foundation of what was to be the stadium, there are photographs and remnants that can give some idea of what this thing would have looked like. To test his design Speer created a full-sized model of one section of the stadium on the side of a mountain! Apparently, the design would not have been problematic in terms of visibility. What I am wondering from you all is what other problems could this design have. Certainly, there would be issues with accommodating 400,000 people, especially if many of them were from another city, and transportation to and from the stadium would be an issue. What about water and plumbing, or electricity? Feeding this many people in one place, and dealing with the garbage aftermath would also be a problem. What do you think?
Wow, this is a fascinating example of how radical the Nazi planners were. Imagine 400,000 Nazi supporters listening to Hitler speak about Pan-Germanism, and preach about Anti-Semitism, scary thought.
Like you said, there would definitely be problems of plumbing, electricity, food, and garbage disposal, but there are potentials of other issues as well.
As in many sports stadiums, especially soccer, there has been violent outbursts, riots, and fighting. In political rallies, severe tensions and passionate outbursts would not be uncommon. Is it possible for a police force to try to control an angry mob of close to half a million people? How would a government ensure order among so many people?
Also, people would need to travel from all around the country in order to be at these events, so where would they stay? Would the stadium be able to house this large amount of people in a safe and hygienic way?
In a sense, this stadium would have to act as though it was its own country; it would have to have a large military or police force, thousands of doctors and nurses, and enough man power to necessitate the guests. I believe it’s a good thing that this was never built, it seems impossible and could only spell disaster.
Those are very good points. I hadn’t considered soccer riots, but that could have been a very real possibility. Another scenario could have been something like what happened at the German-American Bund Rally in Madison Square Garden in 1939, when 20,000 pro-Nazi’s clashed with protestors. Yet another problem could have been something like the Bradford City Stadium fire, in which 56 people were killed and 265 injured. This stadium only had a capacity of 18,000, which is just a drop in the ocean compared to the Deutsches Stadion.
Wow, this is extremely interesting especially in terms of the dreams and ambitions of the Nazi Party. If anything such a construction or at least the intention to create a stadium along such lines, actually scares me tremendously. But certainly providing amenities for 400 000 people would prove especially difficult. One such element would be simply sanitation. I think it would be extremely difficult to provide both bathrooms, and other sanitary facilities for such a large crowd. Another problem would be sheer security, policing such a crowd would be nearly impossible. Especially in light of all the problems such facilities have had in the past. With sports riots being a serious problem, and having participated in one in Montreal two years ago, i would argue that policing such a possibility would a extremely important goal of any such facility. I would add though, that the Nazi’s probably wouldn’t have had a problem with that. They would have probably just sent anyone away who dissented, like they did to the 12 million individuals unfortunate enough to be Jewish, Gypsy, Homosexual, Black, or politically opposed to the Nazi Party.
I agree that the Nazi’s would have had a strong grip on the security of the stadium, considering their obsessions over control. One can only wonder what the stadium would be used for now, if it ever had been completed, considering it had been planned to last for, literally, thousands of years. Sports riots could have been a very real possibility, such as the incident in Germany during the 2006 World Cup. Concerts could have also been a problem. In 1979, when the Who performed at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum, 11 people died, while many others were seriously injured. The Riverfront only has a capacity of less than 20,000. What if a Kraftwerk, Rammstein or David Hasselhoff concert had caused this kind of tragedy at the Deutsches Stadion? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6d_gGlguMM
The sound, the atmosphere, and witnessing the true size of this stadium, would have been a truly fantastic experience. Within the discussion over the Security and control of the massive population within the theater, I have to agree with everyone above me. However much like the exhaust port that doomed the Death Star, the Deutsches Stadion would also have a small weakness; Any artist who acts and performs like Axl Rose. That man can start a riot anywhere, at anytime. Ex. Vancouver 2002, and Riverport 2002.
True story…