Summary of the historical article “Der Braunschweiger Thingplatz” (The Thing site in Brunswick) by Baurat (building commissioner) Robert Dirichs, published on October 9, 1935 in the “Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung vereinigt mit der Zeitschrift für Bauwesen, issue 41, p. 81-85”. The journal contained news of the Reich and state authorities during National Socialism, it was published in the Ministry of Finance.

In March 1934, construction of a Thing site began in Braunschweig. At that time, the Thing movement was still very young, which is why the then Brunswick building commissioner and author of the article Robert Dirichs attributed special importance to the construction of the site for the further development of the Thing idea. A quarry on the Nußberge, whose stones were used for church buildings in the Middle Ages, was chosen as the location for the site. At this place all historical, geographical and propagandistic demands of the National Socialists were fulfilled.

After 1.5 years of construction, the Thingplatz opened. The architecture essentially corresponded to the Nazis’ ideal conception of the Thingplatz movement. It was divided into three parts: the square for the spectators, the stage and the parade ground for the participants. The magazine report particularly emphasizes the fact that the individual sections were not clearly separated from one another; rather, the subsections merged into one another. As a result, the focus was not on the spectacle, but on the gatherings as a “Volksgemeinschaft.”

Further information from the point of view of the National Socialists on the Braunschweig Thingplatz can be found in the article “Der Braunschweiger Thingplatz” (The Braunschweig Thing Square) of October 9, 1935, written by the then building councilor Robert Dirichs. Archive: Katharina Bosse