Potsdam Day

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels selected the site of Potsdam, as it was the centre of the old Kingdom of Prussia of Frederick the Great, as well as the German Empire of Otto von Bismarck.

Protestant members of the Reichstag, including Chairman Hermann Göring, held services at the Church of Saint Nicholas presided over by Otto Dibelius.

Famously, Hitler, who was dressed in civilian clothes, bowed his head deeply during the handshake with Hindenburg, who was wearing his full military uniform.

[1] That evening, celebrations ended with a torchlight parade and a performance of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Berlin State Opera with Hitler in attendance.

[3] A year later, two- and five-Reichsmark coins showing the church and the date "21 März 1933" were minted.