Germany has some of the most beautiful castles in Europe. On the route of lovers of this type of construction, those from Eltz, Hohenzollern or Neuschwanstein will not be missed. It’s a little more hidden in these listings, which you can see in the main photo. It is simpler and certainly more beautiful when viewed from the air, but it is still an impressive Renaissance structure crowning the Alme Valley.

It may not be that exaggerated due to some taboos, because II. During World War II, this palace was the World Center of Nazism; It was a complex that served as a place of worship for the SS and demonstrated Himmler’s passion for Nazism. esoteric

Wewelsburg. North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the 16 states of Germany. Besides Düsseldorf as the capital, we also have cities here that we enjoy visiting, such as Bonn, Cologne, Leverkusen or Aachen, among others. The latter was where the German kings were crowned, but just on the opposite side of the site is Wewelsburg. And inside it is the castle.

An engraving from 1616

The history of the building, which was built with a triangular plan in 1609, was turbulent from the beginning. Built over the previous fortifications during the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedes razed it and destroyed most of the structure. They rebuilt it in 1650, adding the domes that show off its three towers today, and it is speculated that it was used to lock up military prisoners and burn witches.

Himmler steps in. In the 18th and 19th centuries the castle was almost abandoned. In 1802, it was taken over by the Prussian state and used as a grain warehouse, and at the beginning of the 20th century, it gained a new life as a meeting hall, restaurant, hikers’ hostel and museum. But in 1933, things got darker. Heinrich Himmler was already the leader of the fearsome SS, the paramilitary arm of the Nazi Party, and was seeking a headquarters for the organization in a symbolic location in Germany.

life lease. After some failed negotiations, a Nazi leader in the area encouraged Himmler to visit Wewelsburg Castle, and the Nazi leader fell in love with him. On his first visit, he decided to take over the castle and after difficult negotiations, a 100-year lease was signed in 1934.

Price? Annual Reichsmark. Making the conversion is very complicated because Germany’s pre-war economy was very different from other parts of the world, but if we set it equal to $4.2 at the time, the current dollar would be almost $100, taking inflation into account. As I said, doing the calculation is complicated.

all the way. Things have changed a lot in Wewelsburg since the arrival of the Nazis. In 1935 all public visits to the castle were banned, so its former social value was lost and the castle was renamed SS-Schule Haus Wewelsburg, or “SS School, Wewelsburg House”. The Völkischer Beobachter (“Popular Observer”), the official newspaper of the NSDAP, edited by Alfred Rosenberg, one of the important writers on Nazi ideology at the time, published the following:

“As of today, the SS of the NSDAP has taken over the ancient and formidable castle of Wewelsburg, located in a historical area in the former region of Saxony, and will thus serve in the future as the Reichsführerschule of the SS. This means that it has a long history and a glorious place in the history of Germany.” Since Wewelsburg was also assigned a place of historical importance in the Third Reich, the men who were called to leadership positions in the SS in their country needed to be trained in ideological, mental and physical integrity, models and leaders who would parade in front of the core of healthy German youth. They should serve as

“In the old knight’s hall of the castle, which has been a silent but influential witness to many great events over the centuries, Baron von Solemacher, ruler of the Büren district to which Wewelsburg belonged, handed over the castle to the Reichsführer SS. He focused particularly on the history of Wewelsburg and said that the new destiny of the castle is a proud Reichsführer Himmler took over the castle as the historical Reichsführerschule of the SS. In his speech, Reichsführer Himmler especially praised the natural beauty and fortunate location of this castle.

It is the small triangular goal we see a little to the left in the midfield. The black buildings are part of plans to create fortifications in the town

Plans and reality. The idea at the time was for Wewelsburg to become a full-fledged academy that would educate students in the ideology and politics of new members of the SS. But plans changed and they moved from a more global education to a much more specific one. Thus, young SS scientists were trained in pseudoscientific theories and research, as well as in everything that interested Himmler so much: Germanic prehistory, folklore and genealogical studies, rune studies, racial doctrines, and the cult of the past.

This is where the “Center of the World” moniker comes into play. The SS would become the ideological vanguard of Nazism to indoctrinate the rest of the population, and since members of all layers of the paramilitary group gathered in this castle, it was the epicenter of festivals and ceremonies for the baptism of new high-ranking members. Wewelsburg was the most important point for the Third Reich.

Symbolism and spirituality. Kirsten John-Stucke, the current director of the Kreismuseum Wewelsburg, stated in a report published by the BBC a few years ago that Himmler did not choose this castle by chance. Himmler was very much obsessed with the occult, and the fact that the castle was close to the Teutoburg Forest, where Germanic tribes had defeated the Roman army 2,000 years earlier, was something that excited the SS leader.

“It was very important for him and the SS to have ties to the past, because they could say, ‘We are like German warriors,'” commented John-Stucke. Renovations were made to the castle: a building for the SS guards was created, a concentration camp was built about 600 meters from the castle, and the idea in the mind of Himmler’s architect Hermann Bartels was to create a network of castles throughout the castle. city.

field model

Nazis of the round table. But more importantly, Himmler was obsessed with the German Middle Ages and, above all, with the figure of Henry I. In doing so, he wanted the Third Reich to conquer the eastern lands and give the palace a more medieval Renaissance appearance. He ordered the stucco covering to be removed and a moat created. It’s useless, just aesthetic, but hey, you had to pamper yourself.

His Camelot, and the symbolism that Karl Maria Wiligut had in mind, led to the design of a large room known as the Obergruppenführersaal, or “Hall of the Leaders of the Higher Factions,” a reference to the 12 extra generals. High rank of the SS with 12 niches and 12 columns for windows and doors. It’s all very… empire, with the Black Sun on a marble background, symbolizing the center point or kilometer 0 of the Germanic World Empire.

Obergruppenführersaal

If I don’t have it, no one can have it. Everything was planned perfectly, but not everything was going to be about invading countries and destroying their people, so the allies counterattacked and the funds and strategies for Wewelsburg were not completed. After the defeat at Stalingrad, non-combat construction work was paralyzed and the surrounding concentration camp was reduced in size, becoming independent on the same level as Sachsenhausen or Dachau. It was used as a training camp for “ethnic Germans” and the Hitler Youth. They needed cannon fodder, wow.

By April 1945, Germany had nothing left to do, and Himmler revealed the extent of his toxic relationship with the fortress. American troops were at the gates despite Himmler’s moat, and the German leader ordered the last occupants of the castle to blow it up. Eventually the castle burned down, but parts of the structure, such as the outer walls and the north tower, remained without much damage. The Americans arrived, found the concentration camp, rescued 42 survivors, and also found the fort badly damaged.

confronting the past. It is clear that Wewelsburg Castle was one of the cornerstones of the Third Reich. If the war had lasted longer, if it had taken just a little longer for the Allies to reach the heart of Germany, or if things had turned out differently in the Nazis’ favor, perhaps the town of Wewelsburg as we know it today would have been very different. However, the country needed to move on and it was decided to restore the castle.

Part of the permanent collection in the castle museum

After the Wewelsburg Palace fell to the Nazis, it fell into the hands of the Büren district, which renovated it in 1948. In the 1950s it once again became a contributor to society: both the youth hostel and the local museum moved back into the building. The castle and a monument to violence and war were erected in the North Tower Crypt. Research work is also being carried out in the castle and more exhibitions are being opened, but perhaps the most important exhibition was the one called “Ideology and Terror of the SS”.

Show, don’t hide. In the BBC report, John-Stucke says it is better to “show rooms rather than hide them”. “It is very important for us to allow visitors to enter the rooms on their own. We try to educate people about the history, violence and terror of the SS,” says the director. There are also many original objects that are not fully displayed, such as manuals or Nazi uniforms. “For example, you might see a swastika on the sleeve of a uniform, but only part of it,” he says.

People reading Black Sun in the generals’ room

They do not want it to be a place of worship, and some of those objects are deliberately adorned with signs containing information. They contextualize all objects, but when they show something about the prisoners, they show it in its entirety.

Ultimately, an exhibition showing the corruption of this paramilitary group at the heart of the Nazi world is now a structure that tries to add something to both the region and those who want to visit it.

Pictures | Public domain, Carsten Steger, Wolfram Czeschick, Templermeister, KreisMuseum Wewelsburg

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