Bohemian Highlights -- Rothenburg

 

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a picturesque town in Bavaria, Germany, known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and charming old town. It is a popular stop along the "Romantic Road", attracting many tourists each year. Above shows the center of town, which features the marketplace and St. James Church.

We stopped in Rothenburg on our way from Prague to Frankfurt on the last day of our two-week tour of Central Europe. By this time I wasn't taking notes or photos, so I'm depending on Google Images and Wikipedia for assistance.

 

The name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" is German for "Red castle above the Tauber", which describes the town's location on a plateau that overlooks the Tauber River.  The town was founded in 1170 as the "Red Castle" (Staufer Castle) was being built. Only the “White Tower” and the Markus Tower with the Röder Arch are preserved from the original castle.  
 

 

St. James (St. Jakobskirche in German) is a Lutheran church (originally Catholic). Built between 1311 and 1484, it is on a medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

 The church contains the celebrated Holy Blood Altarpiece by Tilman Riemenschneider, a master woodcarver and sculptor, as well as a monumental altarpiece painted by Friedrich Herlin.

             

 

 

Rothenburg was a walled city and portions of the wall are still visible--and climb-able, although for me seeing is believing while climbing is not an option. These walls were built in the 13th century.

 

Rothenburg played a special role during World War II. The Nazis believed it was the "most German of German towns", so throughout the 1930s they even organized day trips to the town from across the Reich. In October 1938 townspeople expelled its Jewish citizens. I saw a small medallion in front of a shop on the main street that said the store was owned by Jewish family for several decades.

Newer eastern part of Rothenburg following Allied bombing raid with the still standing outer walls of the buildings which were used in the rebuild, 1945

The most interesting story about Rothenburg occurred during the close of the war in March 1945.  The Nazis stationed soldiers there to defend it as the Allies were bombing many German cities. On March 31, they killed 37 people and destroyed 275 houses (about a third of the cities' houses), several public buildings, and over 2,000 feet of wall. However, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy knew of the historic significance and beauty of Rothenburg, and he ordered U.S. Commanding General Jacob L. Devers not to use artillery to take the town. Instead, six soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Divivision were sent to negotiate a German surrender of the town. As the soldiers encountered a German guard, they held up a white flag and said that the Allies would spare the town from bombing if they gave up in the next three hours. The German commander, Major Thömmes, had been told by Hitler to fight to the end. However, Thömmes ignored the order and gave up the town in order to save it. American troops occupied the town on April 17, 1945. In November 1945, former Secretary McCloy was named an honorary citizen of Rothenburg.

Rothenburg was also rumored to be the setting for a brief shot in one of the Harry Potter films: The Deathly Hallows Part 1 in March 2020. However, another town was used instead. Even the helicopter shots above the town were axed.

Today, many newly-married couples come to the town to take their wedding photos. 

Sources

Wikipedia -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothenburg_ob_der_Tauber 

Harry Potter filming in Rothenburg -- https://geektrippers.com/harry-potter-germany-filming-location/

Bohemian Highlights -- Auschwitz

              Entrance to the camp where the sign says: "Work will make you free."

 

 

An orchestra played classical music at the entrance as the workers left the camp to work in the fields. 

The classification system labeled prisoners so that they were easily identifiable. This system also helped rank among prisoners who would then discriminate against those they believed were beneath them. Rivalries thus helped the Nazis maintain order in the camp.

 

Prisoners came to Auschwitz from all over Europe. The first prisoners were political protesters, criminals, and troublemakers. The Nazis then targeted undesirables: Soviet POWs, Jehovah's witnesses, gypsies, homosexuals, and Jews. Jews were easy to round up because many cities had Jewish ghettos where they were forced to live separately from the rest of the population.

 

The process for Jewish deportation was simple: round them up and put them on trains headed for Auschwitz or some other concentration camp. These official photos were posted in the Auschwitz museum. I display them here to remind viewers that most of these people were killed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whole families were arrested and taken to a train leading to an unknown destination. They arrive as families but were immediately separated and herded into lines where they are selected for life or death.

 

People in line awaiting selection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 SS officers prepare for selection as a crowd of people form a line and await their fate.

 

 

An SS officer decides who lives and who dies with a mere pointing of his finger.

 

After selection, soldiers casually move on to their other duties. People left their belongings in a pile that was later disposed of.

These women and children were among those immediately sentenced to death in the gas chambers.

 

 

A mother leads her children to their deaths. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shower room. The beams were lined with spickets that sprayed the gas on the people.

For me it was the most difficult place to be in. I couldn't even take photos and relied on Google Images for these photos.

 

 

Scratches on the wall made by people trying to get out of the gas chambers. After the gassing, the guards had a difficult time opening the door to take out the bodies; people were crowded at the door also trying to get out.

 

 

A memorial for those who died in the gas chambers.                     

The ovens of Auschwitz were operating all day and all night. The smell must have been horrendous; another inescapable feature about this concentration camp. The town is right next to the camp, so it is doubtful that the villagers didn't know what was going on in their town.

 

The Nazis collected these things, and the museum put them on display.

 

Empty canisters of Zyklon B, a hydrogen cyanide poison used in the gas chambers to kill 1 million people efficiently. It was originally used as a common disinfectant and insecticide.

Dishes, pots, teapots, and basins prisoners brought with them in the hopes that they would leave the camp alive.

 

 

 

    Suitcases with people's names on them, and piles of shoes taken from prisoners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

I was surprised that the buildings were substantial, that is, made of brick. The camp had formerly been the barracks for Polish soldiers, which the Nazis took over after they invaded Poland in September 1939.The buildings housed the workers who were spared from death although they were jammed into small spaces; several people shared the same bed. The room on the right was a bit more spacious. It was reserved for those who performed special duties for the Nazis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Roll call took place between these buildings. It could sometimes take 3-5 hours while people clad only in their prison pajamas stood at attention in all kinds of weather. 

 

Barbed wire was everywhere. You always knew you were a prisoner.

 

The Nazis also sent people to death by hanging and by firing squad. The firing squad wall has become a memorial for those who died there. Ashes collected from the dead are put into a memorial urn. This sculpture captures the essence of the camp with a different version of "Mother and Child" that illustrates the desperation and senselessness of genocide.

 

   "Mother and Child"

 

I had long wanted to visit a concentration camp and was glad that Auschwitz was a part of this tour. It was numbing to be there and sickening to later reflect on it and to put this blog together. I'm glad I went, and I recommend that travelers visit a camp. However, I never want to go to another camp, and I pray that such camps are never built again.

 

Sources

The Horror of the Gas Chamber Poison -- https://www.thoughtco.com/zyklon-b-gas-chamber-poison-1779688