The "Party Day of Peace"

An Award for the Rally that never was.

Pictured with this article is one of the more unusual award medallions prepared by theThird Reich. It was never given to anyone. It celebrated a non-event.

This slver medallion weighs 7 ounces and is 9.5 cm in diameter. (Don't confuse this piece with the ''tinnys'' of similar design). It was found in a black, hinged case with gray velveteen interior and labeled ''Carl Poellath, Schrobenhausen''. Professor Klein's (the designer) trademark ''RK'' can be seen on the medallion just above the ankle of the reclining female fgure. This piece is now in my collection.

The story of the Nazi Party Rallies in Nuremberg has captured the imagination of all who witnessed them, and generations later, of those who read about them and experienced contemporarily footage including the classic ''Triumph of the Will''.

Each year in Nuremberg, for about ten days, tens of thousands of Nazi Party faithful gathered for a combination sports fest, Heer and Luftwaffe maneuvers and motivationional session, all rolled into one. The blood-red, white and black flags by the thousands, the martial music, the uniforms of practically everyone involved, left all present in a grand state of euphoria precisely the effect desired by Hitler and his comrades. Nine hundred and fifty thousand of Hitler's followers attended the 1938 Party Rally. They expected almost two million for 1939, the rally titled ''The Party Day of Peace''. It was scheduled to begin on September the second, and was to be a truly grand rally. By early August 2,500 participants had set out on an ''Adolf Hitler March'' to attend the rally. All summer thousands of laborers worked on the grounds, finishing a new concert hall and completing a wide avenue linking the Luitpold Arena and the Marzfeld to the great stadium.

Five large restaurants had been set up to feed the workers. According to the VOLKISCHERBEOBACHTER of August 15, 1939, a special force of 26,000 SS men had been delegated to keep order, help with traffic, and keep everyone in line.

More than a thouand streecar conductors were yanked from their jobs in Vienna, Hamburg, Berlin and Breslau to run the special streetcar lines in Nurmberg - they even went underground near the rally area. Four hundred flags were made, each bearing the heraldic figure of the city of Greater Germany.

In late August, special camp for a least 350,000 visitors were set up. Workers built a special train station and opened twenty-eight special post offices.

It could all have been happening on the moon, because just a little more than 500 kilomiters away World War II was about to start on September first.

In Nuremberg, however, everything was ready. But with only 6 day to go, the German news bureau abruptly announced: ''According to the press office of the NSDAP, the planned party rally from September 2 to 11 this year will not take place. Whether the meeting will be held later depends on political circumstances.

They folded the flags, struck the tents and as the streetcars stood silent Hitler crashed across the border into Poland. So much for the "Day of Peace".

The Nuremberg one sees on the films and in the pictures looks quite different today. The Luitpold hall and field were destroyed by Allied bombs; only the memorial to war dead survived and still looks almost exactly as it did when Hitler and his colleagues stood in front of its central flame and saluted. When you stand in the remaining field, as I did last year, you become disoriented, as most of the pictured landmarks are gone. The Luitpoldhain its most famous picture perhaps for the Standartenweihe) is only a smallish park, surrounded by shrubs and trees. In recent years, to help the confused visitor, a signboard has been erected near the site of the Luitpold hall (and those tall flags) explaining what happened there and orienting the viewer with a large map of the entire Party Rally area as it was in the 1930's.

The familiar Zeppelinwiese, of course, was changed at the end of the war. The long columns atop the stands were destroyed, along with the huge swastikas on top, leaving only the seating area and the reviewing stand. All are in poor condition. When I was there last year there were soft drink cans and trash lettering the stands. A schoolmaster stood where Hitler once reviewed his troops and instructed a class of about 30 high students, who were seated in the stands, on the history of the area. I stood for about 3o minutes listening in awe to his frankness. He pulled no punches. Where tanks had rumbled on the field fifty-five years earlier, several simi-trailers practiced parking between red pylons.

If you can and one of these medallions, obtain it if you can, as you will own a particularly unique item. It was designed by Professor Richard Klein and was produced in gold, silver and bronze and would have been awarded in the sports competition. As things turned out, it was never awarded to anyone.

Mickey Huffman, "The 'Party Day of Peace' ", Der Gauleiter, 1991