On October 10, 1937, NS propaganda minister Goebbels inaugurated a Nazi parade ground on the Kalkberg in Bad Segeberg. Today the open-air arena is known for the Karl May games.
The Karl May Games in Bad Segeberg, who doesn't know them? Tens of thousands of visitors have made the pilgrimage to the Kalkberg Stadium every year since 1952 to see the stories about the Apache chief Winnetou and his blood brother Old Shatterhand. The Nazi past of the stadium, on the other hand, is unknown to many people.
Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels personally inaugurates the "Nordmark Celebration Site" in 1937.Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels inaugurates the "Nordmark Celebration Site" in Segeberg on October 10, 1937. At the time, the newsreel reported 20,000 spectators, cheers and shouts of "Heil Hitler" at the opening of the new amphitheater. According to Nazi plans, a total of 400 such meeting places are to be built throughout Germany. In the end not even ten are built.
Ttwo years of construction
At that time there was real competition for the meeting place between Bad Segeberg and Haithabu near Schleswig, according to the Bad Segeberg historian and author Hans-Peter Sparr:"The mayor at the time, Jeran, immediately sent the draft to Berlin to be one of the first to send it be." With the decision in favor of Bad Segeberg on May 27, 1934, the go-ahead was given for extensive construction work on Kalkberg.
Within two years, the Reich Labor Service ensured that the desolate site was turned into the propaganda arena of the NSDAP with a lot of muscle power. The workers are always struggling with problems. This is how the rows of seats are to be fixed in the rock. But that doesn't work, because the Kalkberg is actually a mountain of gypsum, and because gypsum dissolves in water, the seats only last until the next big rain shower. Expensive granite from Silesia is ordered. The city of Bad Segeberg is left with the costs, the promised grants from Berlin do not come. That's how the construction drags on.
"Nordmark celebration" is hardly used
There are only a few big performances after the opening of the arena. After the beginning of the war, the stadium is occasionally used by the Hitler Youth for meetings and flag raising. On May 8th, 1945, this finally came to an end, the British, as the occupying power, celebrated their victory over the Nazi regime.
But the stadium doesn't stay empty for long. On October 6, 1945, one of the first major boxing events after the war took place on the Kalkberg. Sport idol Max Schmeling acts as a referee and attracts more than 12,000 spectators. The Kalkberg Stadium proves to be an excellent venue. The question soon arises as to how it can be used permanently to boost the economy in Bad Segeberg and attract tourists to the city. This has been achieved with the Karl May Games, which have been taking place on the Kalkberg since 1952. In 2017, the open-air festival celebrated its 65th anniversary.