Guided tour
online

The “Capital of the Movement”

How did the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) come to be formed in Munich and why did the city known as the “Capital of the Movement” play such an important role in the Nazi dictatorship? How has Munich addressed this history since 1945? These are all questions we will explore during our tour.  

Adolf Hitler conferred the title “Capital of the Movement” on Munich in August 1935. As the place where the Nazi Party was founded and where Hitler’s failed putsch took place in 1923, Munich was to remain a key component of the Party myth as well as the seat of the Nazi movement. The NSDAP headquarters were located in the “Brown House” on Brienner Straße. They formed the nucleus of the new power center that emerged after 1933 on and around Munich’s Königsplatz. 

During the tour we will explore the question of why it was Munich where the NSDAP formed and rose to power and why after the Nazis took over in 1933 it continued to play a special role in the Nazi dictatorship. What were the Nazis’ plans for Munich?  How was this special role reflected in the city’s administration and in its architecture and what was everyday life like in the “Capital of the Movement”?

A special focus of the tour will be how Munich has dealt with this history and how it is continuing to do so today.

Three armed soldiers walking along a road carrying a place-name sign with the title “Capital of the Movement. Munich”

US soldiers enter Munich, 1945 | © Scherl/Süddeutsche Zeitung photo

Send an inquiry

Information

Place
Munich Documentation Center or online via Zoom (other platforms on request)

Duration
On site: 90 to 120 min
Online: 90 min

Number of participants
On site: max. 15 people (larger groups will be divided)
Online: 1 school class

Suitable for
The tour is suitable for 9th to 11th grade students.

Cost
Free of charge for schools

Languages
German, English, French, Italian (other languages on request)