Děkuji za zajímavý článek, jen bych opravil pár nepřesností - pokud má autor na myslí Říšskou pracovní službu, tak ta měla zkratku RAD, nikoliv FAD(?), pokud ne, tak postrádám smysl toho linku na odznaky...
Také neznám pana Speara, ale zato znám Alberta Speera;-)
WEWELSBURG CASTLE: THE MYSTICAL SEAT OF THE NAZIS
Categories: Wars
Thanks to the Nazi obsession with "everything" mystical, Wewelsburg Castle has become one of the most famous buildings on the old continent. The history of this building dates back to the 17th century, when Theodor von Fürstenberg used it as a holiday home...
The site of the mysterious Wewelsburg Castle became an important historical point at a time when Roman legions and Germanic tribes fought against each other. Another castle is said to have stood on this hilltop, but the Roman legions destroyed it in defiance of the enemy. It was not until 1603 that Baron Theodor von Fürstenberg began building a new structure. The building was completed six years later and became a holiday resort, as he had his seat at Neuhaus Castle. For many years afterwards the Wewelsburg remained empty and unused, except for the apartment for the Catholic priest.
In fact, it is said that it was not used until 1925, which is when it was thought to be reconstructed, otherwise the castle would have become a ruin. However, another seven years passed before anything was done. During this period, 80 men from the FAD unit (an organisation for the unemployed that tried to find work for people, see http://www.lovecpokladu.cz/home/galerie-odznaku-reichsarbeitsdienst-rad-1383) began to work on the restoration of the castle. Hermann Bartels (Himmler's architect) wanted the building to become the Reichsführerschule SS. Courses in prehistory, mythology and archaeology were to be taught here.
As the NSDAP itself had gained a lot of political potential thanks to good election results, Hitler himself became interested in Wewelsburg Castle and supported Himmler in this initiative.He set his first visit for 3 November 1933 and agreed to the project on the spot. In 1934 he signed a 100-year lease with the Paderborn district. Manfred von Knobbelsdorff, the brother-in-law of Richard Walter Darré (the creator of the Nazi blood ideology), who I have already mentioned in my article: the Nazis and archaeology http://www.lovecpokladu.cz/home/naciste-a-archeologie-1287, was appointed administrator of the castle. Von Knobbelsdorff moved into a suite in the south wing with his wife Ilse and children. His functions included arranging marriages for SS officers, which also occurred in this Nazi lair. Prospective spouses first had to provide proof of Aryan descent, which was supported by a family tree. At the same time, Himmler forbade SS officers from having Christian weddings, as he did not want priests to interfere in this communion. But despite these instructions, there were also "black sheep" who married in the Christian spirit.
Today, part of the castle serves as a museum, bar and hotel. But the Nazis didn't just use it as housing for the SS or as a social facility either; it housed a huge library with a large number of study rooms, each with its own name: Grail, King Arthur, Richard the Lionheart, King Henry, the Aryan, Christopher Columbus, Westphalia, etc.
The focus of the reconstruction, however, was the south tower, which was the core of the sanctuary. It measured 1.27 km in diameter and also became the starting point for the entire isosceles triangular design of the castle, to which the main access road led perpendicularly. This is the same road, which is flanked by a magnificent four-row avenue of trees. An exclusive residential quarter for high-ranking SS officials was then to be built near the barracks, to the south-west of the castle. The entire housing concept was then to be based on a form of scattered settlement with approximately 3 to 4 units around the road junctions. Residents from the nearby villages had to be evicted because they simply did not fit the plan of these criminals, and furthermore, 98% were Catholics who strictly disagreed with the pagan rituals that were held at the site.
When Spear first showed Hitler the plans for the new complex in Vienna, his leader was completely amazed. He even said that it would be a new Jerusalem, which is why in 1941 the building was named: CENTRE OF THE WORLD.
You can search for artefacts from this time using our metal detectors.
In 1943, the project had to be temporarily halted, only the famous south tower was completed, leaving the upper floors unrestored (originally intended as an assembly hall for the entire SS Gruppenführer Corps). The tower from the bottom
started with a crypt, which contained a water tank. However, this eventually served as a "cellar" after reconstruction, with twelve seats, in reference to King Arthur. Instead of a round table, an eternal flame was to be lit here. A swastika was then placed in the centre of the ceiling as a symbol of Nazi society. The room was then labelled as HIMMLER'S Crypt because it was to become his tomb. Because Himmler believed that he was the reincarnated Heinrich I (the first founder of the medieval German state), he was to be buried outside the castle.
The tower was also to be reached by a staircase more than nine metres high, which led down to the cellar. In 1933, however, the building permit was refused by the authorities, and so construction began "in the black". Nine years later, they submitted the plans again and this time successfully, the project was approved. Himmler allocated 112,800 Reichsmarks from the state budget for the entire construction of Wewelsburg Castle. Eventually, however, Bartels in 1944, said that the project would cost at least 250 million marks and would take at least twenty years to complete. Construction was halted and never resumed during the SS era.
On Good Friday, March 30, 1945, Himmler summoned Heinz Macher to his house. He ordered him to destroy the Wewelsburg. The very next day, at around ten o'clock in the morning, Macher arrived at the castle together with three jeeps. As he did not have enough fuel, he and the other men who accompanied him had to go down to the cellar of the south tower and set the explosives there. The tower was partially destroyed and the fire damaged only the outside of the masonry. Macher sent information about the fire to Himmler and by Sunday afternoon he was promoted to SS Sturmbannführer.
After the war, an artistic memorial was installed in the cellar to commemorate the cruelty of the regime. However, the locals wished to have it removed again, and since this did not happen, there were frequent sabotages. On 29 June 1950, the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel. In 1973, a new two-year project to save the south tower began, and in 1977 it was decided to restore the entire building as a war monument. The opening took place on 20 March 1982.
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FAD byla předchůdkyní RAD a v článku se o ní zmiňuji....
Tam je původně Spear, ale míněno v překladu jako oštěp, protože na tom plánu hradu se rýsoval obrazec ve tvaru oštěpu, když ho Hitler viděl, byl unešen (byl totiž posedlý oštěpem osudu, který měl prý zasáhnout Ježíše Krista, zmiňuje se o něm evangelium Jana)..... je to chyba překladu... dík za upozornění
viki: aha, to s tou FAD jsem si vůbec neuvědomil:_-))) omlouvám se, a jinak ještě jednou díky za zajímavý článek!
v pohodě, od toho tu ta diskuze je :)
Moc pěkný a zajímavý článek.
Pěkné. O tomhle hradě jsem se poprvé dozvěděl z knihy ČERNÝ ŘÁD od Jamese Rollinse (momentálně mi zbývá přečíst asi tak 30 stránek). Mám rád, když je fiktivní děj románu zasazen do skutečného prostředí i událostí a tak mě potěšilo, že informace v knize se shodují s fakty uvedenými v tomto článku i v takových detailech jako je muzeum nebo ubytovna pro mládež. Měl jsem v úmyslu zjistit si o tomto místě víc, ale netušil jsem, že to bude tak snadné, že odrazový můstek najdu tady na lovci:). Měl bych ale i drobnou výtku. Přijde mi škoda, že všechny obrázky jsou otitulkovány stejně - jako ilustrační. Zvlášť když ilustrační vůbec nejsou, naopak se k tématu vztahují přímo a zobrazují konkrétní, v článku zmiňovaná místa... Označení "ilustrační" je tak zbytečně degraduje na úroveň dekorace:)