The Most German of Towns: Creating an Ideal Nazi Community in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Abstract

During the Nazi period, Rothenburg ob der Tauber served to exemplify Nazi ideas of landscape and nation. This article focuses on the manner and circumstances under which Rothenburg was manipulated to advance what Nazi ideology held to be the fundamental characteristics of the German nation and its history. The first section of this article examines attempts to politicize and reorganize tourism in Rothenburg led by Kraft durch Freude (KdF). The KdF aimed to promote a sense of national belonging, demonstrate the regime's commitment to improving the material, physical, and spiritual well-being of the German nation, and project a positive image of the regime in Germany and abroad. The second section moves beyond KdF to explore efforts to transform the town into a type of Nazi utopia through more stringent preservationist and commercial policies designed to eliminate non-German elements from the town's built environment, while reinforcing the themes of cleanliness, health, and traditional ways of life and consumption. Finally, anti-Semitism emerged as an important factor within this broader campaign to restructure the town in accordance with Nazi ideology. The aim is to see Rothenburg not merely as a symbolic representation of Nazi beliefs, but also to see local residents and the town itself as an active force in reshaping and framing these beliefs into a form that could be seen, experienced, and consumed.