Current photos

While we have been away, life in Fürth has continued on. Here we will see some of the changes that have taken place long after we returned to CONUS. My thanks to all that have provided the photos below.

As you can see, we found NHS undergoing a happy facelift -- the school is now the "Hans-Bockler School" & is a wonderfully vibrant, award-winning place for kids in late elementary through high school years ... the main building inside is much as I had left it in my memory from the early 60's & pristinely maintained -- a peek inside showed things very little changed: even the same glass-covered bulletin boards were still in use on the 1st floor landing ... the auditorium/gym out back is still in use & looks much like it did when Dianne Weist starred in Guys & Dolls on its stage in '59- '60. As you look at former NHS from the front, most of the athletic space to the left remains (although the baseball diamond is now a soccer field). To the right, the dorm buildings remain in great condition, serving primarily as classrooms -- all the formerly open areas behind the school have been built out for additional classroom space. The new additions are designed sensitively & don't interfere with what we'd remember. The only material change in the area: the old movie theater down at the corner is now a mini-mall with a convenience store. On balance, and put simply, NHS is not an old forgotten place -- it is current, fresh, and lively complex which does NHS memories great justice: time has expanded its physical presence, wrapping respectfully what we knew in a modern, expanded hug. I arrived expecting weeds and a run down building; Jan & I left feeling uplifted by what has happened to NHS ... far from being "gone", the NHS site has evolved graciously & gracefully, just like its former students. Thanks again, Jeff
Used with permission from Jeff Hart '63 - Webmaster

In the late 50's/early 60's, NHS had no track of its own & no US football field (it did have a soccer field) -- the photos here are mostly for us "old jocks" who, for a short instant in time, felt like "Mighty Eagles" as we played in green & white for NHS. Back then, what was so unique about NHS football and track & field was that our contests were held at what are today called "The Nazi Rally Grounds" ... we played in front of glistening white marble Nazi steps where Hitler once stepped proudly out upon the Fuhrer's Podium to address stridently thousands of troops sanding in silent formation -- if you watch the History Channel at all, you've seen this place ... and, in the 50's & 60's, minus the Reich's Nazi Eagle-on- Swastika overlooking the fields, we did our sports things, mostly oblivious to the historical significance of the site (we were, after all, merely adolescent jocks). Back then, our track & fields were set between rows of bleachers & the Fuhrer's Podium area, with its expansive white steps. Today, there's a modern sports complex in the area & the playing fields themselves are lighted for night play ... but the old cinder track is now paved over with asphalt, and an isolating fence is up around the Fuhrer's Podium area -- combined with a few man-made lakes, the overall area visually de-emphasizes the Podium structure & it is falling into what seems "calculated disrepair" ... the steps are starting to blacken from the city's soot & even more fencing was being installed during our visit. Where I had my first beer in Dambach/Furth is still open & serving -- while I no longer run track or football, good German beer remains on my agenda. --Jeff Hart '63