The Nazi Manhole Mystery - 5 Years Later

One of the greatest things about doing this blog is that it serves as a kind of diary; as well as a record of books which I’m reading and also what I might be involved in concerning local politics; community events; or in this case, solving a mystery and also effecting a change. And I’m usually successful to some extent, but when it comes to the Nazi Manhole Mystery I’m afraid to say that nothing has changed. A brief recap is in order here.

Tuesday night I was wandering through my posts from March and April of 2010; just taking a “look-see” at what I might have been doing 5 years ago. I was considerably more mobile at the time, and so there was no telling where I was going to wind up each day. My daughter, Sarah, told me about a picture she had received on Facebook and I was surprised to see this manhole cover.

I went to look at it in the parking area of this building on the corner of West and West G Streets in Kannapolis, and posted a photo of it. I also wrote about manholes in general; how they are ordered, and the cultural differences which; even today; have some manholes manufactured with swastikas on them. You can read that post here if you like;

  

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/04/nazi-manhole-mystery.html

I then followed up with a call to the town of Kannapolis to see what they could tell me about the history of these manhole covers; and also why this one was still there after so many decades. You can read about that here;

http://robertwilliamsofbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2010/04/follow-up-nazi-manhole-mystery_24.html

Both of those posts have drawn tens of thousands of hits. I don’t know how, or why. Just like the post on the Vance Hotel in Statesville, certain posts take on a life of their own.

Still, the manhole remains and nothing has changed. And I’m not sure I want it to. Let it stand as an example of just how far an ideology can travel. The Nazi’s began their journey in Munich in 1925. In 1933 they engulfed all of Germany; poised to take the rest of Europe before they were stopped.

But; for a brief bit of time at least; that insanity was gaining ground here in America. Let this manhole serve as a testament to that; lest we forget.