The Nazi Party Grounds were to form the architectural backdrop for the staging of the social and political order of the Third Reich. With his plans for Nuremberg, architect Albert Speer aspired to unprecedented dimensions. In 1938, the estimated building costs were in the region of 600 million reichsmarks – and rising. At the beginning of the war, construction was largely halted. Only the Luitpold Arena and Zeppelin Field were completed.

To achieve the desired effect at the rallies, the architecture was elaborately highlighted by light, fire and flags. Hundreds of different types of floodlights were used for the staging of the Zeppelin Field and Zeppelin Grandstand. As the climax of the Roll Call of the Political Leaders, Albert Speer positioned anti-aircraft lights around the field whose light beams shot far into the sky to create the so-called Cathedral of Light. So impressive for the time, it prompted artist Robert Sluka to paint the scene in 1938.