Taking a stone-cold look at preserving Nazi architecture

The Zeppelin Grandstand in the German city of Nuremberg was once the scene of huge Nazi rallies, where Adolf Hitler and his cohorts roused hysteria with their vision of a Third Reich. Photos: Timm Schamberger/dpa

It is a gaunt embodiment of fallen empire: The giant stone slabs where Nazi leaders once held military parades and addressed seething crowds are today crumbling and missing whole sections, with weeds and bushes sprouting from myriad cracks.

This is the Zeppelin Grandstand in the southern German city of Nuremberg, scene of the huge rallies of the 1930s where Adolf Hitler and his cohorts roused hysteria with their vision of a Third Reich.