NUREMBERG, Germany — It’s an eerie feeling, standing above the actual courtroom where possibly recent history’s most infamous trial took place. Through the years there have been attempts to keep the ‘40s structure suitable for visitors’ tours, but there’s evidence some of the improvements didn’t take place until possibly the past two decades.

We’re in Nuremberg, Germany (locals elide the “re” and pronounce it simply “Numberg,”) the site of a trial of some of history’s best-known operatives in World War II. In a trial that lasted months, of the dozen defendants, some were acquitted, some received mild sentences, some more severe punishment such as hangings, and others — like the greatest villain of modern times — Adolf Hitler, spared the government time and trouble by committing suicide.

Although we weren’t around in the ‘30s, many people know about conditions leading up to and away from WWII. Things were rationed; coupons, stingily doled out, enabled families in America to a modest amount of sugar, lard and flour. Once, in my pre-teen years, I recall being given a sip of coffee from Mom’s cup. I gagged one time when the spoonful of sugar suddenly had a familiar taste of — salt! Mom said that was the only condiment available that week, and she’d rather stir something into her coffee than nothing at all.

My mother-in-law, the late Velma Coppock, once told us of a war-time family who hoarded some of their foodstuff which, if not unethical, was certainly selfish. Apparently rats got into the neighbors’ stash, causing Mrs. Coppock to remark, “serves them right.”

Walking through the Numberg museum in the downtown area, we see a black-and-white photo of Walter Cronkite, called “the most trusted man in America.” There’s a photo of John Dos Passos, a writer, painter and political activist, novelist John Steinbeck, known for “Tortilla Flats” fame, and Rebecca West, a writer who provided Nuremberg trial coverage for The New Yorker.

Although modern facilities and accommodations like elevators now allow easy access to the courtroom site, there are attempts at keeping the courtroom in pristine ‘30s and ‘40s condition. Visitors can take in the ambiance by peering through one of four scratched, almost opaque windows, which have been placed above the courtroom, allowing a view of the courtroom.

The courtroom site isn’t the only “attraction” to this historic city. I admit my recollection of Numberg didn’t go far beyond having seen the movie, “Judgment at Nuremberg,” starring Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximillian Schell, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, William Shatner and Montgomery Clift. Other tidbits of WWII atrocities came from reading about the war while in grade school.

During our just-concluded Viking tour to central Europe, we saw far-away places with strange-sounding names. One site was Zeppelin Field, a giant football field designed to allow Der Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler a perch to stand above thousands and thousands of admirers, most of them giving him the straight-armed salute.

One wonders how Hitler’s forces had the energy and resources to invade countries like Poland, as much of their time and effort had to have been prepping for parades. Countless photos and newsreels show tens of thousands of soldiers bearing arms and in full military dress, marching down streets in Nazi rallies throughout Nuremberg. A blown-up, wall-sized photo of Hitler on one of his quite frequent parade routes shows literally thousands of devotees displaying the Hitler salute. What if just one person failed to provide the Hitler salute? Would he or she be made to suffer consequences?

To the uninitiated, it’s a mystery how an individual warmonger could influence so many of his countrymen; how Hitler could create such a mind-set that’s tantamount to fanaticism and even insanity.

My wife, Bonnie, and I tried to keep a mental tab of the many photos that show German solders standing at attention, rapt as their hero speaks. Had I been inclined to thievery, or perhaps borrowery, I could have left the museums with hundreds of photos of Hitler wooing the crowds — and I wonder whether the photos would even be missed.

Our Nuremberg guide, a young man named Johannes, was asked what was happening in the old courtroom, now filling up with suited men and women prepping to be televised, for a 70th anniversary film of the trials. That evening, a number of web sites posted that information. It was fortuitous that, unbeknownst to most of us, the actual anniversary was on that day, the 20th.

The Nuremberg trial came about because the conquering armies wished to show the world that previous treaties had validity, and Germany had signed pacts with other countries, that Germany broke. The conquering armies wanted to show the world that the victors were obeying not only the letter of the law, but the spirit as well. Some Germans may have believed that the conclusion was inevitable; however, some defendants walked, some drew short sentences, and only those proved to be in the German hierarchy were hanged.

The four countries that pushed for the trial were the United States, France, England and the Soviet Union. Our Nuremberg guide said that the fact that the trial was conducted openly and according to legal procedure, may have alleviated suspicions that the German hierarchy was being railroaded.

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Except for the times we’ve lived outside of Las Vegas, we’ve inevitably been drawn to warmer climes when taking winter trips. Somehow, the weather generally cooperates and lets us enjoy tepid weather away from home.

But not this time. We’ve spent the last two weeks in central Europe, in places like Vienna, Austria; Munich and Nuremberg, Germany; and Budapest, Hungary. Sunday, the Nuremberg temperatures dipped to about 32 degrees, with snow and ice still clinging to the cars.
What kind of people schedule their vacations for late fall in central Europe?