Munich—for many, it is the city of Oktoberfest, magnificent architecture, and Bavarian coziness. However, the city also has another, darker side.
Munich was the birthplace and ideological center of the Nazi dictatorship. It was here that the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) was founded in 1919/20, and the city served as its official headquarters until 1945. The political careers of Adolf Hitler and many other key political figures of that era began in Munich. This history remains visible in the cityscape today—if you know where to look.
We wanted to face this past and explore the sites that bear witness to that time. While there is an official “Historical Theme Path,” we decided to forge our own path. Our tours are designed slightly differently, focusing on the themes of Rise, Rule, Crimes, and Resistance. The tours last between 1.0 and 2.0 hours, and most of the routes can be explored on foot.
The Party Quarter at Königsplatz
This tour leads us directly into the “Heart of Darkness”—the former administrative and ideological center of the Nazi movement.
- Duration: approx. 1.5 – 2 hours
- Route: Between Karolinenplatz and Königsplatz
NS Documentation Center – A Place That Gets Under Your Skin
A simple concrete structure with plenty of glass—optically a stark contrast to the surrounding area of magnificent villas and imposing buildings—this is the Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism.
Exactly here, at Brienner Straße 34, once stood the “Brown House,” the party headquarters of the NSDAP. After their previous rooms became too small, the party purchased this representative Neoclassical building and moved in in 1930.
Following several renovations, the Palais Barlow was transformed into a modern office building with numerous administrative offices and prestigious rooms for the party leadership. The “Brown House” evolved into the symbolic heart of the movement.
The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing raids in January 1945, and the ruins were completely cleared in 1947. After the site remained vacant for years, the decision was made to build the Documentation Center there.
The permanent exhibition, “Munich and National Socialism,” is free of charge and spans several floors. Visitors start at the top and work their way down chronologically. The exhibition explores unsettling questions: Why Munich, of all places? How could a radical fringe group become a mass movement? A special focus is placed on Munich’s role as the “Capital of the Movement.”
I was deeply impressed and moved by the visit. The exhibition presents large-format black-and-white photographs, documents, and texts. Reading the biographies of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders gave me a chilling insight into the inner workings of the Nazi state and the gradual marginalization, persecution, and murder of Jews, political opponents, and other minorities.
Particularly interesting was the section dealing with the difficult process of confronting the Nazi past after 1945.
For us, the visit was the perfect, profound prelude to our subsequent walking tour.
Our Personal Tip:
There are regular free public tours. We listened to a group for a while and were impressed. The guide managed to convey complex topics in an engaging, concise, and interactive way. You can find the dates on their website.
Visitor Information:
- Address: NS-Dokumentationszentrum München, Max-Mannheimer-Platz 1, 80333 Munich
- Getting There: The center is centrally located and easily accessible via public transport. The U-Bahn station “Königsplatz” (Line U2) is in the immediate vicinity.
- Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Closed on Mondays.
- Admission: Entry to the permanent and special exhibitions is free.
- Accessibility: The entire building is barrier-free.
From Temple of the Muses to Parade Ground: Königsplatz
During the 19th century, Greek-Neoclassical buildings were erected around Königsplatz under the Bavarian Crown Prince (later King) Ludwig I. With the Glyptothek, the State Collections of Antiquities, and the Propylaea, a center for art and culture was intended. The spacious green areas invited people to linger.
Strolling across the expansive Königsplatz today, surrounded by magnificent buildings, it is hard to imagine how this place was once abused.
With the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, the character of the square changed fundamentally. They removed the green spaces and paved the entire square with 20,000 granite slabs. It became a massive, stone parade ground for marches and propaganda rallies. The Neoclassical museums served merely as a backdrop for the staging of Nazi power.
Directly on Brienner Straße, two “Honor Temples” (Ehrentempel) were built. In these open, pillared structures, the sarcophagi of the 16 Nazis who died during the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch were laid out. A permanent SS guard of honor stood before the temples.
After the end of WWII, the “denazification” of the square began. The American military government ordered the demolition of the two “Honor Temples” to prevent any future use as a cult site. The sarcophagi had been removed previously, and the remains were buried anonymously in Munich cemeteries. The foundations remain today as visible witnesses of that era.
The Twin Buildings of Power: The “Führerbau” and Administrative Building
On the eastern side of Königsplatz, arranged symmetrically, stand two almost identical monumental buildings designed by Hitler’s architect, Paul Ludwig Troost.
The northern building is located today at Arcisstraße 12. It is referred to as the “Führerbau,” as it served as Hitler’s personal office and representative building in Munich.
1In 1938, the Munich Agreement was signed here, sealing the annexation of the Sudetenland to the German Reich and paving the way for further expansion.
The southern building at Katharina-von-Bora-Straße 10 is identical in design. It housed various party offices and the central membership registry of the NSDAP.
Miraculously, both buildings survived the war almost unscathed. In an irony of history, the US military government used them after 1945 as a “Central Collecting Point” to gather art looted by the Nazis across Europe and return it to its rightful owners. Today, they house the University of Music and Performing Arts and the Central Institute for Art History.
From Putsch to Seizure of Power – Old Town Walk
This path leads you not only to historical sites but also to the visible and invisible scars that National Socialism left in the heart of Munich. It is a search for traces, ranging from the burgeoning hatred in the Hofgarten to the brutal takeover at Marienplatz and quiet commemoration.
- Duration: 1 – 1.5 hours
- Area: Old Town (Altstadt)
Marienplatz – Old and New Town Hall
Marienplatz has always been the civic and political center of Munich. Here, where life bustles today, freedom was trampled upon on March 9, 1933.
Just weeks after Hitler was appointed Chancellor, SA units occupied the New Town Hall. The democratically elected Mayor was forced to resign, and the swastika flag was raised on the town hall tower amid the cheering of supporters. This symbolic act marked the visible beginning of the dictatorship in Munich.
The Old Town Hall, also located at Marienplatz, was the scene of an event with nationwide consequences on November 9, 1938. The Nazi leadership had gathered here to commemorate the failed 1923 Putsch when news arrived of the death of a German diplomat in Paris, who had been shot by a young Jew.
Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels used this as a pretext for a hateful speech against the Jewish population. His words were the spark that unleashed an orgy of violence: Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass). That night, synagogues burned throughout Germany, businesses were destroyed, and countless Jewish citizens were humiliated, abused, or murdered. Here, in the Old Town Hall, hatred became official state policy.
Feldherrnhalle and Odeonsplatz
The Feldherrnhalle at Odeonsplatz was originally built in 1844 as a monument to the Bavarian Army. The Nazis reinterpreted this historic site for their own founding myth.
Exactly here, on November 9, 1923, Hitler’s amateurish coup attempt failed in a brief but bloody firefight with the Bavarian State Police.
After the seizure of power in 1933, the Nazis stylized the killed putschists as “Blood Martyrs of the Movement.” A memorial plaque with their names was attached to the east side of the Feldherrnhalle, guarded by a permanent SS honor guard. Every passerby was required to honor the plaque with the Nazi salute
Viscardigasse
The small, inconspicuous alley behind the Feldherrnhalle, now officially called Viscardigasse, quickly became known by locals as “Dodger’s Alley” (Drückebergergasse).
Many Munich citizens who rejected the Nazi cult surrounding the “martyrs” at the Feldherrnhalle used this shortcut to bypass the memorial plaque and the mandatory Nazi salute. This quiet form of protest was a small but courageous gesture of civil disobedience at a time when open resistance was life-threatening.
Hofgarten
The nearby Hofgarten (Court Garden) was not only a popular place for recreation but also a site of early political agitation.
As early as the 1920s, various political groups, including the then-insignificant NSDAP, held meetings and speeches under the old trees. Hitler himself spoke here several times to small groups, attempting to win new followers for his radical ideas.
Square of the Victims of National Socialism
After visiting the sites of the perpetrators, the path now leads us to a place of silence and remembrance. Its location is no coincidence, but an indictment: it is situated in the immediate vicinity of the former Wittelsbacher Palais, the command center of terror and Munich Gestapo headquarters.
The centerpiece of the memorial is a granite stele containing an eternal flame. This flame burns day and night, protected by a bronze cage.
- Symbolism of the Flame: The continuously burning flame stands for the eternal memory of the victims. It symbolizes human life, the soul, and hope.
- Symbolism of the Cage: The bronze bars enclosing the flame can be interpreted as a symbol of imprisonment, oppression, and the violence of the Nazi regime. Simultaneously, it shows that the light of humanity continues to shine even within the “prison” of a dictatorship.
Behind the stele, a long, low bronze plaque was set into the ground. It bears the simple yet all-encompassing inscription: “In memory of the victims of the National Socialist tyranny.”
This intentionally broad dedication includes all victim groups—Jews, Sinti and Roma, the politically persecuted, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, people with disabilities, so-called “asocials,” and all others who fell victim to the regime’s racial madness and persecution.
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