Editing Bayreuth (section)

====Nazi era (1933–1945)====
A stronghold of right-wing parties since the 1920s, Bayreuth became a center of [[Nazism|Nazi]] ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi [[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]] [[Gau Bayreuth|Bavarian Eastern March]] (''Bayerische Ostmark'', in 1942 ''Gau Bayreuth''). Nazi leaders often visited the [[Bayreuth Festival|Wagner festival]] and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of [[Winifred Wagner]] after she took over the festival. Hitler frequently attended Wagner performances in the [[Bayreuth Festival Hall]].

Bayreuth was to have received a so-called ''Gauforum'', a combined government building and marching square built to symbolise the centre of power in the town. Bayreuth's first [[Gauleiter]] was [[Hans Schemm]], who was also the head (''Reichswalter'') of the [[National Socialist Teachers League]], NSLB, which was located in Bayreuth. In 1937 the town was connected to the new ''[[Reichsautobahn]]''.

Under [[Nazi dictatorship]] the [[synagogue]] of the [[Jewish Community]] in ''Münzgasse'' was desecrated and looted on [[Kristallnacht]] but, due to its proximity to the Opera House it was not razed. Inside the building, which is once again used by a Jewish community as a synagogue, a plaque next to the [[Torah]] Shrine recalls the persecution and murder of Jews in the [[The Holocaust|Shoah]], which took the lives of at least 145 Jews in Bayreuth.<ref>''Gedenkstätten für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. Eine Dokumentation'', Vol. 1. Federal Office for Political Education, Bonn 1995, {{ISBN|3-89331-208-0}}, p. 119 f.</ref><ref>A list of the victims' names is found in "Denk / Steine setzen", published by the Bayreuth History Working Group (''Geschichtswerkstatt Bayreuth''), Bumerang Verlag, Bayreuth 2003. Bayreuth's Jews are considered to be those people who had lived for some time in Bayreuth, were born in Bayreuth or who were deported from Bayreuth.</ref>

During the Second World War, a [[List of subcamps of Flossenbürg|subcamp]] of the [[Flossenbürg concentration camp]] was based in the town,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.tartanplace.com/tartanhistory/concentrationcamps.html| title = O'Keefe, Christine, ''Concentration Camps''}}</ref> in which prisoners had to participate in physical experiments for the [[V-2]]. [[Wieland Wagner]], the grandson of the composer, [[Richard Wagner]], was the deputy civilian director there in late 1944 and early April 1945.<ref>{{cite news |title= How Wieland Wagner, once Hitler's friend, lifted the Nazi shadow from Bayreuth|date=2017-07-20|url= http://www.dw.com/en/how-wieland-wagner-once-hitlers-friend-lifted-the-nazi-shadow-from-bayreuth/a-39856191|work= Deutsche Welle|access-date= 2017-08-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Cleaver|first=Hannah |date=2003-08-02 |title=Wagner's son 'was in charge of Nazi slaves' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1437820/Wagners-son-was-in-charge-of-Nazi-slaves.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1437820/Wagners-son-was-in-charge-of-Nazi-slaves.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2017-08-23}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Shortly before the war's end branches of the [[People's Court (Germany)|People's Court]] (''Volksgerichtshof'') were to have been set up in Bayreuth.<ref>Source and details → [[People's Court (Germany)|People's Court]]</ref>

On 5, 8 and 11 April 1945 about one third of the town, including many public buildings and industrial installations were destroyed by heavy air strikes, along with 4,500 houses. 741 people were also killed. On 14 April, the U.S. Army occupied the town.