Day 1: Nazi Party Walking Tour - Munich

On our first tour in Germany, we were able to see many important sights concerning the rise of the Nazi Party. We started our tour at the sight of the former Sternekerbräu, the beerhall that was the birthplace of the Nazi Party. The second was the Hofbräu Haus, where the goals of the Nazi Party were laid out. Finally, we saw the Feldherrnhalle, where Hitler started his "Beerhall Putsch" and became a parade ground for the SS.
One of the most outstanding parts of the walk was when we stopped in front of a matress store. We students were all wondering what we where doing here. We thought we should be looking at a Nazi monument, yet we stopped at a matress store.
As Mr. Malanga went on, we learned the store was once an early 1900's a beer hall called Sternekerbräu, a place where Hitler conducted many Nazi party events. We all stood in amazement and confusion; how would others know that something this awful happened here? That beer hall was where the Nazi Party was born. Now it is just an ordinary matress store.
Another part of our tour was seeing the Feldernhalle, a marching ground for the putschists in Munich. We learned that Hitler created the whole Feldernhall just for the marches, and to inagurate all SS soilders. We also got to see the official marking of a plaque of all the dead putschists. The plaque is no longer there, but the discolored brick lets us know that it was once on display for all to see.
Also we all noticed that throughout the tour we saw no evidence of Hitler or his Germany. Is Germany trying to erase all thought or memory of Hitler? I found that very intresting because it seemed like the Germans were just trying to erase the past and what happened during the Holocaust. In addition, it is illegal to be a member of the Nazi Party. After reflecting on this, we feel that Munich simply does not want to be linked to the Nazi Party.