Illesheim Germany. Oct. 9, 1945.

Dear Mother,
      A little late in writing
to you this week, but I think
this letter will be good news
to you. I have to turn in all
my surplus clothing this morning.
I will leave here tomorrow
or Thursday morning.
     I will be sent to a replace-
ment pool and proccessed and
get my records checked. Then
just wait to board the boat.
     Sunday afternoon I went to
Nurenburg. I saw the big
stadium where Hitler held
so many big German parades.
Nurenburg is bombed damaged
as same as other German cities.

I don't think it is as bad as
some of the cities I have traveled
through before. The liuetant
that rode up here with me
is scheduled to go home also.
He took about five rolls of
film comeing up here. He took
my name and address and said
he would send me a set of
the pictures. I gave him my
home address.
      Well this is about all for
now. I hope I am on the boat
when you receive this letter.
Goodbye for now.
                          Love Ralph.


The next letter will be posted on October 14th.

Background Information (and comments):

• Here is some information and photos I found of the Nuremberg stadium. I have also included a link to a 2-minute WWII newsreel which states that of all cities "none reflects greater destruction than Nuremberg" It also shows the stadium with the American flag replacing the Nazi swastika.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE2T8rq3P00

Nazi party rally 

The Nazi party rally grounds covered about 11 square kilometres in the southeast of Nuremberg, Germany. Six Nazi party rallies were held there between 1933 and 1938.

Hitler planned to build the world’s largest Olympic stadium in Nuremberg …

Apr 9, 2016 Ian Harvey

Source:Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände

One would think that if you’re the most powerful dictator in the world at the time, the last thing you’d want to do is build a stadium. Well, not so with Hitler; he wanted it all.

On September 7, 1937 German construction workers began laying the cornerstones for what Hitler hoped would become the world’s largest stadium. This particular stadium would hold over 400,000 spectators. It was designed by one of Hitler’s closest friends, Albert Speer. Speer was inspired by the Greek Panathenaic Stadium of Athens, as well as by Hitler’s brazen megalomania. However, the stadium never saw its completion because the project was cut short by the demands of World War II and the eventual demise of the Third Reich.

In a groundbreaking ceremony, Hitler unveiled a model of the Deutsches Stadion (German Stadium). The ceremony had brought in a crowd of 24,000 people. He described to the spectators how  it would speak words of stone, which were meant to be stronger than anything that could ever be spoken.