Die Glocke

Die Glocke (pronounced [diː ˈɡlɔkə], German for "The Bell") was a purported top secret Nazi scientific technological device, secret weapon, or Wunderwaffe. Described by Polish journalist and author Igor Witkowski in Prawda o Wunderwaffe (2000), it was later popularized by military journalist and author Nick Cook as well as by writers such as Joseph P. Farrell and others who associate it with Nazi occultism and antigravity or free energy research.

According to Patrick Kiger writing in National Geographic magazine, Die Glocke has become a popular subject of speculation and a following similar to science fiction fandom exists around it and other alleged Nazi "miracle weapons" or Wunderwaffen. Mainstream reviewers such as former aerospace scientist David Myhra express skepticism that such a device ever actually existed.

History

Discussion of Die Glocke originated in the works of Igor Witkowski. His 2000 Polish language book Prawda o Wunderwaffe (The Truth About The Wonder Weapon, reprinted in German as Die Wahrheit über die Wunderwaffe), refers to it as "The Nazi-Bell". Witkowski wrote that he first discovered the existence of Die Glocke by reading transcripts from an interrogation of former Nazi SS Officer Jakob Sporrenberg. According to Witkowski, he was shown the allegedly classified transcripts in August 1997 by an unnamed Polish intelligence contact who said he had access to Polish government documents regarding Nazi secret weapons. Witkowski maintains that he was only allowed to transcribe the documents and was not allowed to make any copies. Although no evidence of the veracity of Witkowski’s statements has been produced, they reached a wider audience when they were retold by British author Nick Cook, who added his own views to Witkowski’s statements in The Hunt for Zero Point.

Die Glocke (Bremen)

Die Glocke (The Bell) is a concert hall in the centre of Bremen, Germany. Standing on the site of a building from the Middle Ages, it was designed by Walter Görig (1885–1974) and completed in 1928. Its elegant Art Deco design and excellent acoustics have been praised by a number of artists including Herbert von Karajan.

History

In the Middle Ages, an octagonal bell-shaped building (hence its name) belonging to the cathedral chapter stood south of the cathedral on the Domsheide in the Dombezirk, an enclave under the sovereign and legal control of the cathedral. It was the venue for the meetings of the chapter and, from 1648, for the deliberations of the court. In 1737, a new octagonal building was constructed on the site, coming under the authority of the City of Bremen in 1803. From 1857, it belonged to the Künstlerverein (Artists Association).

After a fire in 1915, the old Glocke building was demolished, making way for a new concert hall with the same name, designed by Walter Görig (1885–1974) and completed in 1928. Built of dark brick with limited use of stone, the building's imposing stepped gable faces the Domsheide while the facade overlooking the Grasmarkt has modestly designed oriel bays in deference to the cathedral. The building underwent comprehensive refurbishment between 1995 and 1997 when the architects Gerhard Müller-Mencken and Klaus Rosenbusch combined the need for preservation with the demands of a modern concert hall. While maintaining the hall's unique acoustics, they restored the original Art Deco finish and installed up-to-date technical equipment.