Munich’s 3rd Reich Walking Tour

Being in Munich, even during Oktoberfest, isn’t ALL fun and beer.

The city has a lot of history as well, both as the long-time Bavarian capital and as the cradle of the National Socialist party pre- World War II.

I managed to do one tour gig while I was in Munich, and I was happy to have it be an overlook of Munich’s Third Reich History.

We wandered through the city’s Old Quarter, much of which was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt in the same style in the post-war period. Interestingly, though, many of the Nazi buildings in town were spared the brunt of the damage. Our guide, Sazi, postulated that this was so the Allies could sweep in and collect evidence for legal action after the war. As a tourist in town, though, the most exciting stop was the Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall. Site of the first major meeting of the National Socialist party, the history adds yet another reason to add it to tourists’ must-visit list in Munich.

Sazi offered interesting info across town, though, including in restored old quarter buildings where ‘historic’ facades were painted rather than carved as a cost-cutting but atmosphere-preserving measure.

This being Oktoberfest, we were predictably interrupted by wagons of beer parading through the streets of Munich towards the Festival site. After a super-tourist freakout, though, we all regained our chill and went back to paying attention to Sazi.

I had to skip out at the very end of the tour to catch another appointment, but on my way back through the Marienplatz as I was reflecting on the often profound banality of evil I stumbled across a street performer that was anything but unoriginal.

I took it as a sign that there was still some good in the world.

—————————
I went on the Munich 3rd Reich Walking Tour as a photographer for GetYourGuide. Though I was there to work, I thought it actually represented a pretty good value and would probably recommend it to friends who were passing through and wanted a more in-depth look at the Nazi history in Munich than a guidebook or website would provide.