Post by 2nd92nd FA Administrator on Jul 14, 2005 16:18:32 GMT -8
During World War II Giessen
Interacting with Soldiers deployed for Military Depot was home to German infantry troops. There was an aircraft maintenance hanger, and the German army used some of the buildings as detention cells for U.S. prisoners, said Petra Roberts, a spokeswoman for the 284th BSB, which encompasses U.S. military facilities in Friedberg, Bad Nauheim, Giessen, Butzbach and Kirchgoens.
U.S. Soldiers first arrived at the depot in March 1945.
After the war, "many German POWs were detained at the Giessen Depot. They were given the option to leave or sign a contract to work for the U.S. government for one year," said Roberts. "Many whose homes were in what became the communist-controlled East Zone signed the contract and remained with the Americans for many years."
Pendleton Barracks and the post exchange, located right up the street from the 284th BSB public affairs office, are located across the street from where Roberts's family used to live.
"We had a balcony, and I used to stand on it on Sunday afternoons and watch the Soldiers go in and out of the post exchange. That was very unusual to me as a child, because German stores weren't open on Sundays," Roberts said. Her house was later torn down to make way for a highway.
Preserving the Past
Today, a museum on the Giessen installation preserves the Army's history in the area. Newspaper clippings, letters, certificates, photographs and other memorabilia highlight everything from Elvis's time there to the many units that were assigned in the area.
Preserved also have been the stories about, and photos of, countless dignitaries who visited the area, including LTG Colin Powell, commander of V Corps in 1986, said Hedwig Bannwitz, president of Community Associated Retired Employees, a group of local nationals who operate and maintain the museum. Bannwitz has worked for the AAFES main distribution point in Giessen for more than four decades.
Former Installations
Numerous changes have already taken place in and around Giessen, as they have in dozens of other U.S. military communities throughout Germany.
Deserted watchtowers in an overgrown field that was once a firing range are reminders of a different time. The observation towers were used by Soldiers of the 2nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade to spot potential trespassers into the Patriot missile battery's secure area, Roberts said. Today, a shepherd comes periodically with a flock of 400 sheep to "maintain" the grounds. Across the street modem-day brick buildings house the few Soldiers from Giessen who aren't deployed to Iraq.
At the Grand Hotel in Bad Nauheim, formerly the U.S. Army's Officer's Club, GEN George S. Patton Jr. celebrated his 61st birthday on Nov. 11, 1945.
Today, condos have replaced the hotel's lavish rooms. But in the city, locals still enjoy ice-skating on the rink that was constructed by American Soldiers in 1945.
At Schloss Kaseme in Butzbach, an 11th-century castle that once housed U.S. Soldiers, landscapers recreated an historic castle garden where a motor pool stood.
Nearly 900 former family housing units in Butzbach--the largest number of housing units in the 284th BSB area--will soon be returned to the German government, Roberts said. What will be done with them has not yet been decided.
And in Kirchgoens, a hub of U.S. military might in the 1970s when President Gerald Ford visited, a former U.S. facility now provides storage space for a shipping company, Roberts said.
Local Sentiments
Christoph Zorb, a spokesman for Giessen's lord mayor, H.P. Haumann, said: "The U.S. military's departure will affect our community in many ways. The Americans have been here for more than 50 years. They brought the American culture. We're very sorry the Pentagon has decided to withdraw U.S. forces from our area.
"Besides the emotional impact, which will be tremendous," Zorb said, "residents will experience a significant financial impact." Besides leaving hundreds of apartments temporarily vacant--about 600 in the Giessen area alone--the Soldiers' departure will mean that businesses that supported the Army dining facilities will have to find business elsewhere.
"We won't be seeing Soldiers at the local bars and restaurants either," Zorb said.
"The Americans are very much integrated into our society," Zorb continued. "There have been many German-American marriages over the years. The Americans live in our communities, they speak our language and their children attend our schools. We in the central part of Germany never thought there'd come a time when U.S. troops wouldn't be here."
Outlook for the Future
"Other closings of installations across Germany are still rumors at this point, as there have been no official announcements concerning those," said Millie Waters, a U.S. Army Europe spokeswoman in Heidelberg.
U.S. military officials have said that closing some U.S. facilities in Germany and opening new sites in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Morocco and Algeria would fulfill transformation requirements.
But the tough decisions as to where to relocate units have not yet been made, including whether some units in Germany will be moved back to the United States and replaced with rotating units.
One firm decision is that a brigade combat team will be stationed at the Grafenwohr Training Area in southern Germany, said U.S. Army Europe commander GEN B. B. Bell. Millions of dollars have already been allocated for building up the Army's premier European training area, a site that has for decades been used by the Army as a predeployment training center.
Interacting with Soldiers deployed for Military Depot was home to German infantry troops. There was an aircraft maintenance hanger, and the German army used some of the buildings as detention cells for U.S. prisoners, said Petra Roberts, a spokeswoman for the 284th BSB, which encompasses U.S. military facilities in Friedberg, Bad Nauheim, Giessen, Butzbach and Kirchgoens.
U.S. Soldiers first arrived at the depot in March 1945.
After the war, "many German POWs were detained at the Giessen Depot. They were given the option to leave or sign a contract to work for the U.S. government for one year," said Roberts. "Many whose homes were in what became the communist-controlled East Zone signed the contract and remained with the Americans for many years."
Pendleton Barracks and the post exchange, located right up the street from the 284th BSB public affairs office, are located across the street from where Roberts's family used to live.
"We had a balcony, and I used to stand on it on Sunday afternoons and watch the Soldiers go in and out of the post exchange. That was very unusual to me as a child, because German stores weren't open on Sundays," Roberts said. Her house was later torn down to make way for a highway.
Preserving the Past
Today, a museum on the Giessen installation preserves the Army's history in the area. Newspaper clippings, letters, certificates, photographs and other memorabilia highlight everything from Elvis's time there to the many units that were assigned in the area.
Preserved also have been the stories about, and photos of, countless dignitaries who visited the area, including LTG Colin Powell, commander of V Corps in 1986, said Hedwig Bannwitz, president of Community Associated Retired Employees, a group of local nationals who operate and maintain the museum. Bannwitz has worked for the AAFES main distribution point in Giessen for more than four decades.
Former Installations
Numerous changes have already taken place in and around Giessen, as they have in dozens of other U.S. military communities throughout Germany.
Deserted watchtowers in an overgrown field that was once a firing range are reminders of a different time. The observation towers were used by Soldiers of the 2nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade to spot potential trespassers into the Patriot missile battery's secure area, Roberts said. Today, a shepherd comes periodically with a flock of 400 sheep to "maintain" the grounds. Across the street modem-day brick buildings house the few Soldiers from Giessen who aren't deployed to Iraq.
At the Grand Hotel in Bad Nauheim, formerly the U.S. Army's Officer's Club, GEN George S. Patton Jr. celebrated his 61st birthday on Nov. 11, 1945.
Today, condos have replaced the hotel's lavish rooms. But in the city, locals still enjoy ice-skating on the rink that was constructed by American Soldiers in 1945.
At Schloss Kaseme in Butzbach, an 11th-century castle that once housed U.S. Soldiers, landscapers recreated an historic castle garden where a motor pool stood.
Nearly 900 former family housing units in Butzbach--the largest number of housing units in the 284th BSB area--will soon be returned to the German government, Roberts said. What will be done with them has not yet been decided.
And in Kirchgoens, a hub of U.S. military might in the 1970s when President Gerald Ford visited, a former U.S. facility now provides storage space for a shipping company, Roberts said.
Local Sentiments
Christoph Zorb, a spokesman for Giessen's lord mayor, H.P. Haumann, said: "The U.S. military's departure will affect our community in many ways. The Americans have been here for more than 50 years. They brought the American culture. We're very sorry the Pentagon has decided to withdraw U.S. forces from our area.
"Besides the emotional impact, which will be tremendous," Zorb said, "residents will experience a significant financial impact." Besides leaving hundreds of apartments temporarily vacant--about 600 in the Giessen area alone--the Soldiers' departure will mean that businesses that supported the Army dining facilities will have to find business elsewhere.
"We won't be seeing Soldiers at the local bars and restaurants either," Zorb said.
"The Americans are very much integrated into our society," Zorb continued. "There have been many German-American marriages over the years. The Americans live in our communities, they speak our language and their children attend our schools. We in the central part of Germany never thought there'd come a time when U.S. troops wouldn't be here."
Outlook for the Future
"Other closings of installations across Germany are still rumors at this point, as there have been no official announcements concerning those," said Millie Waters, a U.S. Army Europe spokeswoman in Heidelberg.
U.S. military officials have said that closing some U.S. facilities in Germany and opening new sites in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Morocco and Algeria would fulfill transformation requirements.
But the tough decisions as to where to relocate units have not yet been made, including whether some units in Germany will be moved back to the United States and replaced with rotating units.
One firm decision is that a brigade combat team will be stationed at the Grafenwohr Training Area in southern Germany, said U.S. Army Europe commander GEN B. B. Bell. Millions of dollars have already been allocated for building up the Army's premier European training area, a site that has for decades been used by the Army as a predeployment training center.
