Nordhausen in the shade of history: a film about the horror of the Nazi era

Nordhausen in the shade of history: a film about the horror of the Nazi era

Nordhausen, Deutschland - A dark look back into history: The film "The second thousand years" produced in 1991 on the initiative of the city of Nordhausen, highlighting the shocking events that the Thuringian city shaped during the National Socialism period. With urgent archive recordings and moving interviews with contemporary witnesses, the horror of this era comes alive. The documentary shows how a once flowering city got into the whirlpool of hatred and violence.

Before the rise of the Nazis, Nordhausen was a flourishing city, known for its flourishing economy and a lively Jewish community. Rautenstraße was the heart of business life, where numerous Jewish retailers, including the fashion house Kleimhar, were based. However, from 1933 the National Socialists began to enforce their discriminatory measures, which culminated in the public humiliation of Jews and the boycott of Jewish business. The creeping radicalization of society led to a climate of fear and oppression.

The Reichskristallnacht and their horrors

Another cruel climax was the Reich crystal night in November 1938 when the synagogue in Nordhausen burned down and Jewish business was devastated. Contemporary witnesses report the terrible scenes when Jewish families were brutally dragged and abused from their houses. The deportations in concentration camps such as Buchenwald led to the almost complete extinction of the Jewish community until 1942. During the war, Nordhausen became the center of the National Socialist war economy, with a gigantic armaments factory in the Kohnstein and the nearby Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, where thousands suffer and died under inhuman conditions.

The Allied air strikes in April 1945 demanded over 8,000 lives and led to the almost complete destruction of the city. These bombing were not only a military necessity, but also a retaliation for the atrocities committed from Nordhausen. "The second thousand years" ends with an urgent reminder that is reminiscent of the responsibility not to forget the past and learn from it to prevent future disaster.