Night of the Amazons

The Night of the Amazons (German title: Nacht der Amazonen) was the name of a Nazi propaganda event that was held annually in Munich in the Nymphenburg Palace Park in the 1930s.

[3] The International Racing Week at Munich-Riem was invented in 1934 to present world-class equestrian sports in Munich and attract visitors to show off the new Nazi society.

Together with Paul Wolfrum, the head of tourism of Munich and Southern Bavaria, they created the "Night of the Amazons", an evening event with 10,000 spectators.

Concerns of the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes also had to be addressed, e.g., fire hazards due to large fireworks shows, and damage caused by horse hooves, crowds of people and underground installations.

During a stay in New York City in 1936, the electrical engineer had studied the various lighting systems on Broadway theaters and the night illumination of Niagara Falls.

Hermann Fegelein, award-winning jump jockey and ambitious protégé of Christian Weber and head of the SS Main Riding School Riem since 1937, trained them as well as the "Amazons".

Every year, internationally renowned stars participated in the event, such as Margaret Severn from New York and Eugene Iskoldoff with dancers from the Covent Garden Ballet Russe in 1936.

Christian Weber increasingly made use of the insight he had gained during his 1937 visit to the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne - and the relevant establishments in Paris - that "our naked German girls are better looking than the French women.

"[4] His conclusion for the Night of the Amazons was: "All we have to do is take off the clothes of the girls right here at home, put them into the spotlight, and men with money to spend will forsake Paris for Munich.

For the first time, 150 bronzed male and female participants were shown, who were covered with bronze-colored theatrical make-up from the crown to the sole, thus bearing considerable health risks.

Every year members of the Gestapo combed the extensive area of the Nymphenburg Palace with great care as the presence of Adolf Hitler was hoped for.

Illustration from 1937 program for Die Nacht der Amazonen , designed by Albert Reich .
Postcard promoting Munich as Hitler's "Capital of German Art", designed by Ludwig (Lutz) Ehrenberger, in the Olympia-Sommer 1936. In the foreground the amazon with longbow and victory wreath. The award of the horse races was The Brown Ribbon of Germany.
The German sculptor and painter Franz Stuck created 1914 the bronze casting of a nude amazon. This recast from 1936 was a gift to Adolf Hitler .
Detail of the illustrated program of the 1939 show. The artist, Albert Reich (1881–1942), was art director of the shows and created the cover for the first edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf .