The 1938 Nuremberg Rally

The Rally of Greater Germany (5th-12th September)

This rally marked the annexation (Anschluss) of Austria earlier that year.

For the first time, a US Amassador attended the rally.......all previous ambassadors had refused the invitation

Hugh Wilson attended the 1938 rally on behalf of the United States

Alerted by negative experiences in earlier years with hundreds of thousands of participants and spectators packed into the rally grounds, medical staff were required to manage routine issues like heatstroke, exhaustion and fainting during hours-long standing ceremonies.
The party had 1000 doctors, 1200 nurses and 4000 medical assistants on around the clock duty in 200 temporary hospitals.

A highlight of the Luftwaffe display was a helicopter that descended into the mock battle, delivered a message and then departed vertically.
No images exist of this event but it is most likely to have been the FW 61 ’Deutschland' which flew inside the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin.

Hanna Reitsch demonstrates the FW 61 ’Deutschland’ inside the stadium at the Berlin Motor Show during February 1938.

All observers agreed that the frenzy reached heights never before seen at a party rally.
The excitement was carefully built up by Goebbels' ingenious propaganda machine.
The New York Times' correspondent remarked that, "the enthusiastic participants returned to their home districts charged with new vigor and unlimited trust in their leader, for whom they were invaluable propaganda agents".