Handover by the city of Braunschweig

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The handover of the city of Braunschweig during World War II took place on April 12, 1945 at 02:59 a.m. after official representatives of the city ​​of Braunschweig , including Mayor Erich Bockler , signed a corresponding protocol and two representatives of the 30th US Infantry Division of the 9th US Army had passed.

The first surrender negotiations took place on April 10th at 7:00 p.m. between Lieutenant General Karl Veith , Braunschweig's last combat commandant, and Leland S. Hobbs , the commanding general of the 30th US Infantry Division. But they failed after only 20 minutes because Veith had refused to unconditionally surrender and surrender the city without a fight. Instead he had offered to withdraw all German combat units remaining in the city to the east. This proposal was again rejected by the Americans.

The second negotiations for the surrender of the badly destroyed Braunschweig without a fight took place in the early morning hours of April 12th and finally led to the signing of the handover protocol and thus to the armistice and the end of the war for Braunschweig.

April 1945: The last days of the war in Braunschweig

Time of National Socialism in Braunschweig

The former academy for youth leadership of the Hitler Youth

Under Dietrich Klagges , NSDAP Prime Minister of the State of Braunschweig , and the Klagges cabinet , there were numerous reprisals and acts of violence against political opponents, Jews and other groups of people shortly after the National Socialists “ seized power ” in 1933 . Braunschweig was developed into an important armaments center of the German Reich . Klagges also brought important National Socialist institutions to the city, such as the Academy for Youth Leadership of the HJ , the leadership school of the German craft , the area leadership school of the Hitler Youth "Peter Frieß" , the Luftflottenkommando 2 , the Reichsjägerhof "Hermann Göring" , the SS Junkerschule and the Troop leadership school of the Reich Labor Service .

Arms location Braunschweig

Braunschweig city center in 1899. The course of the road in 1945 was still the same. The cathedral is located in the center, the blue ring surrounding the city is the Oker . Clockwise along the Oker: In the north: Löbbeckes Insel and Gaußberg ; in the east theater park , state theater , museum park , Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum , Löwenwall , Windmühlenberg ; in the south Holland's garden and station park , next to the station ; in the west the ramparts along the Oker.

Years before the start of the Second World War, Braunschweig was systematically developed by the National Socialists into an important location for the German armaments industry and a traffic junction with numerous research institutes and development facilities at the Technical University of Braunschweig , large companies in the fields of mechanical and plant engineering . The transport infrastructure that was conducive to this was provided by an important railway junction , its own port with a connection to the Mittelland Canal , the new motorway towards Berlin (today's A2 ) and some airfields, including the Waggum research airport with the Hermann Göring aeronautical research institute .

Braunschweig was, among other things, the center of German Jagdpanther production. In March 1945, 32 of a total of 52 tanks of this type were assembled at MIAG throughout the entire Reich. This means that over 60% of this type were handed over to the troops in Braunschweig, ready for use, until shortly before the end of the war. A circumstance that Hitler personally appreciated. On April 7, 1945, the II./Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 took over 35 operational Jagdpanther of the latest production, which were originally intended for the 2nd Panzer Division , as well as 12 heavy Büssing trucks and 12 VW Kübelwagen at MIAG in Braunschweig . In the evening the tanks left Braunschweig for the west. In the area of Edemissen and Wenden , only a few kilometers away, there were violent exchanges of fire with US tanks. The remaining German tanks then settled in the direction of the Elbe. Other Brunswick companies that up until the first days of April war important material produced were: Bussing (heavy trucks), Sparse & Hammer (cannons for the Panzer III ) and the United railway signaling works ( anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun -Geschütze). The Niedersächsische Motorenwerke produced 1003 aircraft engines until the end of March (for example for the Messerschmitt Bf 109 ). At the truck manufacturer Büssing NAG, production was not stopped until April 9, 1945 and resumed under Allied control on May 2, 1945.

Last measures of the Nazi leadership in Braunschweig

Front page of the Braunschweiger daily newspaper from Friday, April 6, 1945, with the inflammatory speech “Better dead as a slave!” By Gauleiter Hartmann Lauterbacher

At the beginning of April 1945 the heads of the 30th US Infantry Division were in the Bielefeld area , 160 km southwest of Braunschweig. The Nazi leadership in Braunschweig, in particular Berthold Heilig , NSDAP district leader , and Hartmann Lauterbacher , Gauleiter of South Hanover-Braunschweig , incited the population in radio addresses and newspapers to "fight to the last man" over the past few days. So appeared on April 6, 1945 the day on which the first US units on the territory of the country Braunschweig appeared on the front page of the Nazi struggle sheet Braunschweiger newspaper of fanatical call Lauter Bachers "Better dead than a slave!". In it he drew an apocalyptic picture if “the Anglo-Americans” should ever invade the city and country of Braunschweig. The last issue of the “Braunschweiger Tageszeitung” appeared on April 10th with the headline “Braunschweig is ready”. On this day Braunschweig was shelled for the first time by American heavy artillery. The bombardment lasted into the morning hours.

In the first days of April, district leader Heilig, on Lauterbacher's orders, had gone to defend the Harz fortress in the Harz region , 60 km to the south . However, when he learned on the evening of April 10th that it was intended to hand Braunschweig over to the Americans without a fight, he immediately went to the district command post in the Nussberg bunker , where he arrived at around 2:30 a.m. on the morning of April 11th. At around 8 a.m., the Americans suspended artillery fire to await a speech by Heilig announced over the radio. At 8:15 am he declared Braunschweig a " fortress " over the radio and called on the population to "fight to the last drop of blood": "... Braunschweig does not surrender and will not be handed over to the enemy without a fight ...". In addition, he threatened all objectors and “ defeatists ” with death. Only 30 minutes later, the listeners learned via the British " enemy station " Radio London that large numbers of US units were gathering in front of the city and that 1000 aircraft were ready to "bomb Braunschweig, ready to hand over". Fearing a siege and the uncertain future, the civilian population began to plunder food stores and freight trains with food and supplies. US artillery fire began again at around 10:00 a.m.

In the last days before the end, the Nazi officials destroyed a large number of official documents and records of the NSDAP and its affiliated organizations. On April 10, the Braunschweig police issued an order to destroy all files, including the civil register documents and various card files that had been collected over the years . Police officers who belonged to the NSDAP were asked to destroy documents at home as well.

Defense measures

News for the Force , No. 358, dated 9 April 1945 a. Propaganda - leaflet of the Allies . The headline refers to the foreseeable capture of Braunschweig on April 12, 1945.

From April 7, 1945, by order of the party leadership, the systematic construction of barricades began on the main roads from the west. Building rods that had been hastily erected by the district management in the Nussberg tunnel began planning defensive structures against the approaching US troops. So obstacles and anti- tank trenches planned by 70-80,000 people, including civilians, prisoners of war and foreign workers , should be built around the city and within it. In addition, the demolition of 28 canal bridges was prepared. Some of the anti-tank barriers were designed so senselessly that they hindered their own traffic and thus supplies for the population to such an extent that they had to be removed several days before the American invasion.

On the morning of April 11th, sirens sounded again with "tank alarms". The population fled one last time to the city's bunkers . At around 9:00 a.m., the first motorized US units moved under machine gun fire from the Wedtlenstedter Schleuse via Hildesheimer Straße towards the city center. At the same time, only about ten kilometers southeast of Braunschweig, the largely undestroyed city of Wolfenbüttel was handed over to the US troops by its mayor Fritz Ramien (NSDAP) without a fight. As a result, US associations now also moved from the south towards the city center. Around 3:00 p.m., US tanks and infantry gathered at Stöckheim and Leiferde , about seven kilometers from the city center. Artillery was deployed at Leiferde and in the evening began to fire across the village into the city, especially into the southern and eastern urban areas.

Combat commander Veith was still available to defend the “Braunschweig Fortress”: the “ Hirschhausen March Battalion”, consisting of around 600 men, a unit of the SA, around 200 men of the Volkssturm , most of them over 60 years old, and two Companies of the so-called Jugendvolkssturm under the leadership of the Hitler Youth Hauptbannführer Hein Stünke .

An American advance guard reached Mascherode , about seven kilometers to the southeast, followed on the 12th by tanks and heavy artillery. In the evening hours, numerous US patrols infiltrated the city without meeting any resistance. At around 7:00 p.m., the first tanks were sighted near the Petritor . On the night of April 11th to April 12th, US armored spearheads slowly moved from the west via Madamenweg , Kreuzstrasse and Hildesheimer Strasse towards the city center. Between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., three US soldiers entered the sack bunker in the city center and instructed the numerous bunker occupants not to leave it until further notice.

Since the early morning hours of April 12th, seemingly endless columns of US vehicles came from Rüningen in the direction of Mascherode and into the Elm.

Final fighting and casualties

On April 9, the order was issued to all anti-aircraft , air raid and police units in the city to withdraw from the approaching US troops to the Elm, about 25 km to the east. During this retreat, however, the units disbanded very quickly because the members, often consisting of the last contingent of the Hitler Youth and Volkssturm, did not want to die shortly before the end of the war. On the night of April 10, the order was also given to the police force to withdraw with all vehicles and weapons in the direction of Tetzelstein im Elm and to form a battle line there. In view of the inadequate armament and the hopeless situation - American fighter-bombers and artillery attacked the police several times, the cavalry squadron had already suffered heavy losses - the remaining police units quickly disbanded and separated - among other things because they were confronted by permanently disbanding Wehrmacht units .

Memorial stone for 35 children and two of their carers in Langeleben

In the late afternoon of April 10, American low-flying aircraft dropped a few bombs over the city. In the eastern ring area , the houses on Marienstraße 7, 8 and 9 were hit, killing ten people and injuring two. Not far from there, on the corner of Kastanienallee and Helmstedter Strasse , near the Felten restaurant, a bomb also exploded and killed two people. From 9:00 p.m. until the evening of April 11th, the city was bombarded by artillery. During the day, heavy detonations could be heard continuously when military installations and bridges over the Oker and the Mittelland Canal were blown up by retreating German units.

In the evening hours of April 11th, several American low- flying aircraft attacked the small town of Langeleben im Elm with bombs and on-board weapons . In the attack on the forest restaurant there, in which 150 children from Braunschweig were staying at the time, 53 people were killed, including two carers for the children and 35 children between the ages of four and six who were playing outside after dinner. The Braunschweig Municipal Clinic evacuated the children to protect them from bombing attacks in Langeleben, where they probably got caught between the fronts, because the attack was probably aimed at the German units under Karl Veith, who had withdrawn to the Elm.

Last Nazi murders

In the last few days, District Manager Heilig had given District Administrator Friedrich Bergmann the order to have all bridges over the Mittelland Canal and the Oker and all motorway bridges blown up. Bergmann did not obey this order. Instead, he attempted suicide on the evening of April 11th, but it failed. Bergmann was found seriously injured and should be rushed to hospital. When Heilig found out about this, he ordered Paul Wollmann, one of his followers, with the words “I am sentencing him to death. Take him somewhere outside the city and shoot him, “Killing Bergmann. Wollmann and the SA men Karl Scheil and Alwin Glindemann then drove with Bergmann to Riddagshausen , where Wollmann shot him. Bergmann's body was found two days later. On the same day as Friedrich Bergmann, his 19-year-old son was found murdered .

After Heilig declared Braunschweig a "fortress", he threatened to have "traitors" and "apostates" shot. He had "Einsatzkommandos" formed, which acted against looters and defeatists and murdered numerous officials at the "last minute". On the orders of Heilig, SA-Obersturmführer Wilhelm Ogilvie was shot in the cemetery of the Kreuzkloster . As with Bergmann, there was also a note in one of his boots that read "The Werewolf ". Fritz Jürgens, mayor of the small town of Schandelah , and the local doctor Fritz Zschirpe were also murdered "for sabotage and defeatist behavior" by members of the Academy for Youth Leadership , because they had prevented the construction of anti-tank traps and barricades.

Appointment of Erich Bockler as Lord Mayor

Hans-Joachim Mertens , incumbent NS mayor of the city since April 1, 1943, because his predecessor, NSDAP and SS member Wilhelm Hesse , had volunteered for the war, shot himself on April 11, 1945 at around 4:30 p.m. in his office in the town hall, after he had previously refused, as ordered by Heilig, to implement Hitler's Nero order in the city and to have all supply facilities and bridges over the Oker and the Mittelland Canal blown up. All residential buildings in Boelckestrasse (today Grünewaldstrasse) were also to be blown up in order to give the artillery a clear field of vision and fire on the approaching US troops. However, these commands were also not carried out.

Prime Minister Dietrich Klagges actually planned on the evening of April 11th to flee the city, which was enclosed on three sides. In addition, he wanted to hand over the official business to the Lord Mayor. Since Mertens was dead, Klagges city planning officer wanted to sign Bernhard Mewes as Mertens' successor. Mewes, however, had already gone unnoticed with his family to Bad Harzburg to wait for the war to end. So Klagges resorted to the non-party attorney Erich Bockler . He commissioned him with immediate effect to take care of the business of the vacant position of the city's mayor.

Bockler had been in command of the Braunschweig police force since December 1943 . Together with police captain Karl-Heinz Stahl, who acted as acting police chief , he tried in the last days of the Second World War in Braunschweig to maintain public order in the city, as far as this was still possible under the conditions of the final phase of the war. Both goals were primarily to protect the already badly destroyed city from further destruction and the civilian population from house-to-house fighting or Allied bombing and to prevent looting and excesses of violence, for example against concentration camp prisoners.

The Nussberg with the visible remainder of the district command post in its current state ⊙

The last meetings of the NS leadership, combined with orders for the executing municipal and military organs, took place in the evening hours of April 11 in the district command post in the bunker on the Nussberg . Among others, the following were present: Prime Minister Klagges, District Leader Heilig, Lieutenant General Karl Veith , Braunschweig's last combat commandant , the Lord Mayor Erich Bockler, who was just appointed a few hours ago, State Councilor Kurt Bertram, Police Captain Karl-Heinz Stahl and SA - Obersturmbannführer Timm. Heilig and Veith were of the unanimous opinion that Braunschweig should by no means be surrendered unconditionally and without a fight - on the contrary. Bockler, on the other hand, tried to have a soothing effect on both and thus to save the civilian population and what was left of the city. In a fit of rage, Heilig called him a “traitor to the people”. Soon after, Heilig ended this meeting. At around 8 p.m. there was a final meeting in the bunker; then further documents were destroyed and the command post was blown up.

In the last few days and despite the armed forces organizations still in and around the city, most of the top and most senior Nazi officials and politicians have sat down against the slogans they have expressed in pithy words and calls for resistance, sabotage and guerrilla warfare to the civilian population Secretly hours before the handover, especially Heilig and Lauterbacher. Heilig fled to Berlin on April 11 between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. On his escape he was taken prisoner by the Soviets , from which he was able to escape. Lauterbacher went unrecognized to southern Germany.

Surrender negotiations and surrender

April 10, 1945: Surrender negotiations at the Wedtlenstedter lock

The Wedtlenstedter lock today ⊙
April 10, 1945: Lieutenant General Karl Veith (left), Combat Commander of the City of Braunschweig and General Leland S. Hobbs (right) from the 30th US Infantry Division

Units of the 30th US Infantry Division came from the west via Hildesheim and Hameln , both on April 7, and via Hanover and Peine , both of which had been captured on April 10, to the area of ​​the state of Braunschweig. The division included the 117th US Infantry Regiment, which was located in the north of Braunschweig, the 120th in the south and the 125th cavalry squadron, which served as the vanguard . The 125th had a loudspeaker van in which a German-speaking lieutenant called on the opposing units to give up. The German resistance as they advanced was very low. In the late afternoon of April 10, the first members of the 125th squadron reached the Salzgitter branch canal , which, however, could not be crossed immediately because of a blown bridge. At Vechelade they met a German medical officer who informed them that Braunschweig's combat commander was ready to surrender . A US soldier was escorted through the German lines to set up a meeting at 7:00 p.m. While the US troops were gathering on the canal, German units, unnoticed by the Americans, prepared the remaining bridges in the north and west of the city to be blown up.

The fire officer Rudolf Prescher reported the following sequence of events on April 10th: “Around 2:00 p.m., the Americans who remained in front of the city sent a first lieutenant as a parliamentarian to Lieutenant General Veith in the building of Air Fleet Command 2 on Franzschen Feld in the eastern ring area . The US officer asked for the city to be surrendered, but Veith refused because he refused to negotiate with someone of lower rank. However, it was agreed to meet for negotiations on the same day at 7:00 p.m. at the Wedtlenstedter lock ”.

At 7:00 p.m. Veith arrived at the Wedtlenstedter lock in a car with a white flag . He was accompanied by five people, including Police Captain Karl-Heinz Stahl (* March 22, 1887; † November 15, 1945) and the leader of the Braunschweiger Volkssturm , Major d. R. Ernst Webendoerfer (member of the board and from 1921 to 1945 managing director of the publishing house Vieweg und Sohn ). One of Veiths companions acted as interpreter . All were in dress uniform and unarmed. On the American side, the following were present at the negotiations: General Hobbs, General Harrison, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart L. Hall, Lieutenant Schmidts (as interpreter), 1st Lieutenant John Henderson, from the 4th Information and Historical Service of the 9th US Army and Lieutenant Karrigan.

Hobbs opened the negotiations by pointing out that he was expecting the general and his troops to surrender. Veith replied that he wanted Braunschweig to be understood as an open city in order to avoid civilian casualties and therefore offered to withdraw all troops from the city by 7:00 p.m. on April 12th. Hobbs then made it clear that the Allies always demanded unconditional surrender . Veith replied that he was aware of this , but that the Geneva Conventions allowed it. Hobbs said no, to which Veith replied that while he intended to fight from soldier to soldier, he on the other hand preferred to withdraw from the city to spare civilians. Hobbs rejected this again, to which Veith replied: "... if the civilian population suffers, it is your will." ("... if the civilian population suffers, that is your will."). Then Veith asked for five minutes to consult with his companions. Veith then continued the negotiations with the question of what conditions Hobbs set. He replied that he was demanding the surrender of the area and the troops under Veith's command, whereupon Veith replied: “Braunschweig and vicinity will surrender unconditionally at 1200 tomorrow. I will withdraw my troops before the town and those that are in the town. ” ("Braunschweig and the surrounding area will surrender unconditionally tomorrow at 12:00. I will withdraw my troops in front of and those in the city.") Hobbs simply replied with "No." The 30th Division Deputy Commander General Harrison added, “We don't care about the town. We want your troops. " ("We don't care about the city. We want your troops.") Hobbs' last words to Veith were: "I am not here to bicker. I want unconditional surrender or we will continue the campaign. " ("I'm not quarreling here. I want unconditional surrender or we will continue the fight.") Thereupon Veith only shrugged his shoulders to signal that he did not accept this. Then the Americans left the room. They gave the German delegation 30 minutes to return to Braunschweig before hostilities resumed. During the negotiations, detonations from the blasting of the bridges could be heard.

Combat commander Veith must have left Braunschweig shortly after the negotiations, but was captured by Americans at a road block at the Schöppenstedter Tower near Braunschweig around midnight from April 12th to 13th .

  • Minutes of the negotiations of April 10, 1945 between General Leland S. Hobbs and Lieutenant General Karl Veith

  • page 1

  • page 2

  • Sheet 3

  • Sheet 4

April 12, 1945: Handover of the city of Braunschweig

Main entrance to Café Lück and Park-Hotel. On the right the “glass box”, here Germans and Americans met on the night of April 11th to April 12th, 1945. ⊙
Former police bunker on Münzstrasse (2013). Here on April 12, 1945 at 02:59 in the morning, the handover protocol for Braunschweig was signed by Mayor Erich Bockler and Police Captain Karl Stahl. ⊙

The leader of Platoon L of the 117th Infantry Regiment was meanwhile with a few other US soldiers in the city center, at the corner of Steinweg 22 / Theaterwall 1, in Café Lück and spoke to the owner Hans Joachim Kalms, one of Erich Bockler's A police patrol was sent and announced that the mayor, who had not been in office for twelve hours, wanted to hand over the city. Then Kalms Lieutenant (Ltn.) Jerome Burkett and the Private First Class (PFC) Rex Mabry first led to the state government building on the nearby Bohlweg to negotiate with Klagges. But since this could not be found, one went on to the police bunker of the police headquarters in the Münzstrasse . Lord Mayor Bockler, Police Captain Stahl, two assessors and the secretary Alfred Achilles were already waiting there .

Achilles described several pages that Ltn. Burkett cut down to two and finally signed at 02:59 for the city of Braunschweig by the provisional mayor Erich Bockler and the provisional police chief, Captain Karl Stahl.

The protocol bears the heading “Protocol. April 12, 1945 2.59 a.m. Handover negotiations from the city of Braunschweig to the American Wehrmacht on April 12, 1945 at 2.59 am. ”The list of those present on both sides follows: On the American side, the“ Commissioner of the American Wehrmacht ”Lieutenant Jerome Burkett and PFC Rex Mabry were present on pages of the city of Braunschweig, the acting Lord Mayor Erich Bockler, captain of the police force Carl Stahl and the secretary Alfred Achilles. In addition, police officer Bruno Stövesandt and sales manager Walter Dietrich were on site as witnesses.

Braunschweig Handover 12 April 1945 Page 1 E 10 (Braunschweig City Archives) .JPG
Protocol. April 12, 1945 2.59 a.m. Handover negotiations from the city of Braunschweig to the American Wehrmacht on April 12, 1945 at 2.59 a.m. ,
Page 1
Braunschweig Handover April 12, 1945 Page 2 E 10 (Braunschweig City Archives) .JPG
Handover protocol , page 2, signed by Lord Mayor Erich Bockler , Police Captain Karl-Heinz Stahl and handwritten addendum from Secretary Alfred Achilles.


SHAEF flyer of April 13, 1945, with the headline "Brunswick captured, Elbe crossed."

“The agent of the American Wehrmacht wanted the city of Braunschweig to be handed over to the American Wehrmacht, the hostilities to cease and the American soldiers to be properly accommodated, and asked the Acting Lord Mayor whether the city would be ready. ... "

- Minutes, p. 1

Under the signatures of Stahl and Bockler there is the handwritten addition: “Note: The original was handed over to Lieutenant Jerome Burkett on April 12, 1945. 3 more copies were made on 4/16/45 2 American. Officers handed over. Achilles"

The two Americans then returned to the Park Hotel, which they and the other US soldiers left around 4:15 a.m. to return to their unit. Shortly after the end of the war, Erich Bockler reported that at the time of the handover of Braunschweig, combat units of the Allied air fleets were already approaching Braunschweig in order to finally lay the city in ruins. At the last minute, however, these associations were redirected to another destination.

At 8:00 a.m., Klagges, who obviously knew nothing of the events of the previous night, had Kalms brought to the town hall as an interpreter in order to hand over the city to the American Major Ackerman (s) who were there. In a short conversation in which only Klagges and Secretary Löhr, the only official who appeared on duty, as well as hotelier Kalms on the German side were present, Ackerman (n) stated that there was nothing to negotiate, because the city was in fact already in American hand. Finally, a night curfew was imposed for the duration of the American troop march through. Shortly afterwards, the first British officer, Lieutenant Colonel DG Brodie, appeared for this conversation and asked Klagges to remain in office until further notice. However, on the morning of April 13, Klagges was arrested by the American Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) and imprisoned in Rennelberg prison. According to the hotelier Kalms, Ministerialrat Lehmann is said to have been entrusted with running the business on April 16, but was himself arrested on April 18 or 19 in Rennelberg. According to Karl-Joachim Krause, however, this information is based on an error by Kalms. According to Krause, Gerhard Marquordt (DVP), former Prime Minister of Brunswick from 1924 to 1927, was deployed by Lieutenant Colonel Brodie. However, he only stayed in office for eight days until he was also arrested by the Americans due to unexplained circumstances. He was finally followed by Hubert Schlebusch ( SPD ), who was appointed by the British and remained in office until May 1946.

Erich Bockler was confirmed by the Americans as Lord Mayor on April 12th and commissioned "to carry out the replacement and implementation of civil servants' and salaried employees of the city administration immediately following further instructions, taking into account the guidelines of the military government". On this basis, he dismissed around 350 “incriminated” employees, with employees returning who had been banned from working by the National Socialists from 1933 onwards. The primary goal was to guarantee public safety, maintain the supply of food and rebuild Braunschweig. Bockler remained in office until May 31, 1945. On that day he was followed by Ernst Böhme, who was ousted from office by the National Socialists in 1933 .

No surrender, but surrender

The two-page document, which meant the entry of the US troops into the city without a fight and thus a ceasefire, is not a declaration of surrender under international law and in accordance with the Hague Land Warfare Act , but rather the handover of the city of Braunschweig to the US troops. The signed document then also bears the heading “ Protocol. April 12, 1945 2.59 a.m. Handover negotiations from the city of Braunschweig to the American Wehrmacht on April 12, 1945 at 2.59 a.m. ". It does not contain any conditions, but a list of the events in the city in the previous hours. The Lord Mayor of Braunschweig, Hans-Joachim Mertens , had shot himself in his office the day before at around 4:30 p.m. His successor, Erich Bockler, who had not been in office for twelve hours at the time of the handover, promised to provide accommodation for the US troops, to disarm the local police and to set up an unarmed “city watch” to ensure peace and order guarantee.

In the meantime, the majority of the American associations had bypassed Braunschweig and quickly moved towards the Elbe in order to capture the last major German city on the way to Berlin , Magdeburg , 90 km to the east , which also happened on April 19 after days of shelling. From there it was only 140 km to the capital of the Reich and only a few days left until the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945 at 11:01 p.m. CET .

Concentration camp inmates and prisoners of war

Evacuation of the concentration camps in and around Braunschweig

April 17, 1945: Aerial view of the Schillstrasse subcamp . In the foreground the rails of today's main station , at the upper edge of the picture the army headquarters building Schillstrasse .

Towards the end of the war, there was a close-knit network of labor camps and concentration camps in and around Braunschweig , including some satellite camps of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg. In the final phase of the war, these camps were gradually closed and the inmates transported to other camps or sent on death marches .

At Hans-Porner-Strasse 20 / the corner of Schefflerstrasse 2 in what is now the Viewegsgarten-Bebelhof district, there was the SS riding school for female prisoners , which had only existed for about three months . It was dissolved from February 25, 1945. The Schillstrasse subcamp , which was also set up in November 1944 and contained around 2000 people who had to work primarily for Büssing-Nutzfahrzeuge AG (NAG), was closed on March 26, 1945. These inmates were also distributed to other concentration camps. The maternity home for Eastern workers , Broitzemer Strasse 200, apparently existed until the Americans marched in on April 12th.

In the vicinity of Braunschweig, the city were especially south camp for forced laborers of the Reich Hermann Göring in Salzgitter , the concentration camp Salzgitter Watenstedt , the concentration camp Salzgitter Drütte and the concentration camps Salzgitter-Bad . All were evacuated by the SS on April 7, 1945 . In addition, there was still the notorious Camp 21 , which was only closed in April 1945. The Vechelde subcamp had been in the west of the city since September 1944 and was closed in February 1945.

The “dissolution” of these camps and concentration camps usually consisted in the inmates still able to work and walking being taken to other concentration camps on death marches or by train, such as the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp , the Beendorf concentration camp , the Hanover-Stöcken concentration camp or the Ravensbrück concentration camp . During these transports there were numerous excesses of violence and murders on the part of the guards .

Officers camp 79

April 12, 1945: US troops liberate “Oflag 79”.
A US soldier takes a photo of allied officers who have just been liberated.

Oflag 79 , short for officers' camp 79 , was the largest German prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers. It was set up in December 1943 and was located about six kilometers from the city center between Querum and Waggum , near Waggum airfield and the premises of the Lower Saxony Motor Works . On April 12, 1945, the more than 2,000 Allied prisoners, most of them from the British Commonwealth , were liberated by US troops after the German guards had fled. As early as April 15, many of the officers formed smaller groups in order to register the more than 45,000 foreign former prisoners and forced laborers who roamed through the city and its surroundings and to return this group of people, now known as Displaced Persons ( DP ), to their respective groups Organize home countries. This was done, among other things, to prevent the sudden increase in attacks on the German civilian population as well as theft, break-ins, looting and the like. The liberated prisoners and forced laborers as well as the local population began to loot. Several farmers were murdered on some farms in the area. On April 14, a villager in Mascherode was shot dead by a Soviet officer, which resulted in the residents setting up an (unarmed) guard. “Oflag 79” was finally dissolved at the end of April. 31 officers initially stayed in Braunschweig to help the DPs. Numerous former prisoners of "Oflag 79" have processed their war experiences, including the events in the camp, in autobiographies , etc. a. the future Israeli transport minister Yitzchak Ben Aharon or the British professional cricketers Bill Bowes and Freddie Brown . The double agents Ronald Sydney Seth and Douglas Berneville-Claye were also temporarily imprisoned there.

Immediate post-war period

A US plane flies over the destroyed Braunschweig in June 1945. (For the exact flight routes, see notes.)

Destruction of living space, industrial facilities and infrastructure

At the beginning of the Second World War, Braunschweig had 202,284 inhabitants. By the end of the war, this number had decreased by 26% to 149,641. According to contemporary information, 2905 people, including 1286 foreigners, died as a result of the war. Estimates by today's historians assume slightly higher numbers.

In the final phase of the Second World War, Braunschweig was badly destroyed, 90% of the city center and around 42% of the city as a whole were uninhabitable. Allied bombing raids, especially the most devastating one on October 15, 1944 , had left tens of thousands homeless . Large areas of industrial plants and infrastructure were destroyed. The amount of debris was estimated at 3,670,500 m³. On June 17, 1946, just under a year after the end of the war, the rubble clearance officially began in Braunschweig. It was not until 1963, 17 years later, that the city officially declared the cleanup work over.

Supply and health situation

Since the final phase of the war in the Braunschweiger Land extended over the spring of 1945 and thus over the time of sowing and cultivating the fields , there were delays in sowing or the sowing was completely canceled due to the fact that arable land was caused by the construction of tank ditches and -locks had been made unusable. The late cultivation of the fields led to the first shortage of fresh vegetables in autumn 1945 . This initially had minor consequences for the overall food supply situation in 1945, but it did so in the winter after next, the so-called hunger winter 1946/47 , to which many people in Germany fell victim to malnutrition and malnutrition .

Many areas in the Braunschweig city center that were destroyed by the war , including bomb lanes , but also fallow land resulting from the effects of the war, as well as green areas and parks such as the palace gardens , were used by the population - sometimes for years - to grow fruit and vegetables.

refugees

Bunker Madamenweg (2010)

The first refugees and displaced persons from East Prussia arrived in Stöckheim, among others, on April 15. They were followed by others and soldiers who had escaped captivity. Many traveled on; Those who stayed at least temporarily in the city were housed in barracks or bunkers, for example in the bunker on Madamenweg .

Military administration

The Veltheimsche Haus (left) on Burgplatz : from April 14, 1945 the seat of the Allied military administration ( 120 (L / R) Mil. Gov. Det. ). ⊙

On April 13, the US forces confiscated Von Veltheim's house on Burgplatz . On April 15, the military administration moved into the building under British Lieutenant Colonel Brodie. To maintain or restore law and order, an initially unarmed security service was set up and the organization of a police force began, which was directly subordinate to the mayor. On June 5, 1945, command finally passed entirely to the British armed forces . Braunschweig had thus become part of the British zone of occupation .

swell

  • Account of surrender negotiations between Major General Leland S. Hobbs, Commanding General, 30th Infantry Division and General Leutnant Veith, Commander of the Braunschweig Defenses, April 10, 1945, as observed by 1st Lt John Henderson, 4th Information and Historical Service, 9th US Army . ( Sheet 1 , sheet 2 , sheet 3 , sheet 4 )
  • Minutes of the handover negotiations between the city of Braunschweig and the American Wehrmacht on April 12, 1945 at 2.59 a.m. ( Page 1 , page 2 ), Braunschweig City Archives , signature : E 10.

literature

DVD

  • Braunschweig 1945 - bombing, liberation, life in ruins. Recalled and commented on by Eckhard Schimpf ( Braunschweiger Zeitung and Archiv Verlag , Braunschweig 2005); Contains, among other things, original recordings of the surrender negotiations at the Wedtlenstedter lock as well as aerial and ground photos of the destroyed Braunschweig from the summer of 1945.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rudolf Prescher: The red cock over Braunschweig. Air protection measures and aerial warfare events in the city of Braunschweig from 1927 to 1945. p. 107.
  2. ↑ Account of surrender negotiations between Major General Leland S. Hobbs, Commanding General, 30th Infantry Division and General Leutnant Veith, Commander of the Braunschweig Defenses, April 10, 1945, as observed by 1st Lt John Henderson, 4th Information and Historical Service, 9th US Army. P. 4.
  3. ↑ Braunschweiger Zeitung (ed.): The bomb night. The air war 60 years ago , special issue No. 10, Braunschweig 2004, p. 8.
  4. ^ Norman-Mathias Pingel: Brunswick armaments industry at a glance. In: Gudrun Fiedler, Hans-Ulrich Ludewig: Forced Labor and War Economy in the State of Braunschweig 1939–1945. P. 35 FN 41.
  5. ^ Norman-Mathias Pingel: Brunswick armaments industry at a glance. In: Gudrun Fiedler, Hans-Ulrich Ludewig: Forced Labor and War Economy in the State of Braunschweig 1939–1945. P. 35 FN 40.
  6. ^ Walter J. Spielberger, Hilary Louis Doyle and Thomas L. Jentz : Heavy tank destroyers: development, manufacture, use. Motorbuch Verlag 1993, ISBN 978-3-613-03296-5 , p. 54.
  7. ↑ Eckhard Schimpf: Grenade fire, fear and senseless orders. The last 24 hours of the "Braunschweig Fortress" before the American invasion. In: Braunschweiger Zeitung (ed.): End of the war. P. 66.
  8. ^ Norman-Mathias Pingel: Brunswick armaments industry at a glance. In: Gudrun Fiedler, Hans-Ulrich Ludewig: Forced Labor and War Economy in the State of Braunschweig 1939–1945. P. 36.
  9. ^ Norman-Mathias Pingel: Brunswick armaments industry at a glance. In: Gudrun Fiedler, Hans-Ulrich Ludewig: Forced Labor and War Economy in the State of Braunschweig 1939–1945. P. 37 FN 61.
  10. ^ Britta Berg : Newspapers and magazines from Braunschweig including Helmstedt (until 1810) and Wolfenbüttel (until 1918) , Braunschweiger Werkstück, Volume 93, Braunschweig 1995, p. 74.
  11. ↑ Eckhard Schimpf: Holy: The escape of the Brunswick Nazi leader on the Vatican route to South America. P. 24.
  12. ↑ Eckhard Schimpf: Grenade fire, fear and senseless orders. The last 24 hours of the "Braunschweig Fortress" before the American invasion. In: Braunschweiger Zeitung (ed.): End of the war. P. 65.
  13. ↑ a b Günter KP Starke: The Inferno of Braunschweig and the time after. P. 52.
  14. ↑ Trial files against Heilig, quoted from: Eckhard Schimpf: Heilig: The flight of the Nazi leader in Brunswick on the Vatican route to South America. P. 28, FN 24.
  15. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the city's surrender on April 12, 1945 , p. 55.
  16. ↑ Eckhard Schimpf: Holy: The escape of the Brunswick Nazi leader on the Vatican route to South America. P. 29.
  17. ↑ Rudolf Prescher: The red rooster over Braunschweig. Air raid protection measures and aerial warfare events in the city of Braunschweig from 1927 to 1945. p. 105.
  18. ↑ Volker Dowidat: Police in the rearview mirror. The history of the Braunschweig Police Department. Döring Druck, Braunschweig 2003, ISBN 3-925268-23-5 , p. 199.
  19. ↑ Additional information on the issue of Nachrichten für die Truppe , No. 358, of April 9, 1945.
  20. ↑ Volker Dowidat: Police in the rearview mirror. The history of the Braunschweig Police Department. Döring Druck, Braunschweig 2003, ISBN 3-925268-23-5 , p. 199.
  21. ↑ a b c d Rudolf Prescher: The red rooster over Braunschweig. Air defense measures and aerial warfare events in the city of Braunschweig from 1927 to 1945. p. 106.
  22. ↑ Detlef end of Ward, Fritz Mauss, Joachim Schlüchtermann: Wolfenbüttel to '45. A city tells its post-war story. Lower Saxony State Center for Political Education , Braunschweig 1986, p. 27.
  23. ↑ Eckhard Schimpf: Grenade fire, fear and senseless orders. The last 24 hours of the "Braunschweig Fortress" before the American invasion. In: Braunschweiger Zeitung (ed.): End of the war. P. 68.
  24. ^ Fritz Habekost: Chronicle of Mascherode. Development of a "Rodedorf" in the East Westphalian language area of Braunschweig 1982, p. 113.
  25. ↑ Eckhard Schimpf: Holy: The escape of the Brunswick Nazi leader on the Vatican route to South America. P. 39.
  26. ^ Copy of the conversation between Werner Spieß , Director of the Braunschweig City Archives, and Dr. Barmeyer and U. Weidemann dated May 16, 1945. Typewritten page, signature of the Braunschweig City Archives: H III 2: 85, sheet 2.
  27. ^ A b Wilhelm Bornstedt : Chronicle of Stöckheim settlement geography, social and cultural history of a Braunschweig village. Braunschweig 1967, p. 210.
  28. ↑ Rudolf Prescher: The red rooster over Braunschweig. Air raid protection measures and aerial warfare events in the city of Braunschweig 1927 to 1945. P. 105, FN 42.
  29. ↑ Volker Dowidat: Police in the rearview mirror. The history of the Braunschweig Police Department. Döring Druck, Braunschweig 2003, ISBN 3-925268-23-5 , p. 200.
  30. ↑ Hans Lindemann: ÖLPER - The history of a Braunschweig stake village. Orphanage printing and publishing house, Braunschweig 1977, ISBN 3-87884-008-X , p. 152.
  31. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the capitulation of the city on April 12, 1945 , p. 63 f.
  32. ^ Günter KP Starke: The Inferno of Braunschweig and the time after. P. 54.
  33. ^ A b Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the capitulation of the city on April 12, 1945. p. 63.
  34. ↑ Trial files against Bertholf Heilig, Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Wolfenbüttel , 61 NDS Fb1 ff., Quoted from: Eckhard Schimpf: Heilig: The flight of the Braunschweig Nazi leader on the Vatican route to South America. P. 35, FN 31.
  35. ^ Günter KP Starke: The Inferno of Braunschweig and the time after. P. 63.
  36. ↑ Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Gerhard Schildt (Ed.): Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. A region looking back over the millennia. Braunschweig 2000, p. 1032.
  37. ^ Edith Raim: Justice between dictatorship and democracy: Reconstruction and prosecution of Nazi crimes in West Germany 1945–1949. Munich, Oldenbourg 2013, ISBN 978-3-486-70411-2 , pp. 786-789.
  38. ↑ Memorial stone for Mayor Fritz Jürgens and Dr. Fritz Zschirpe
  39. ^ Bernhard Kiekenap : Schapen - History of a Braunschweigischen Dorfes , Limbach, Braunschweig 1990, ISBN 3-87485-636-4 , p. 197.
  40. ^ Frank Ehrhardt: Dr. Wilhelm Hesse (1933-1945). In: Henning Steinführer, Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 404.
  41. ↑ Hartmut Nickel: Hans-Joachim Mertens (1943–1945). In: Henning Steinführer, Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 412.
  42. ↑ Reinhard Bein : We are marching in Germany. Free State of Braunschweig 1930–1945. 2nd reviewed and expanded edition, Braunschweig 1984, p. 247.
  43. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the city's surrender on April 12, 1945 , p. 65.
  44. ↑ a b Rudolf Prescher: The red cock over Braunschweig. Air raid protection measures and aerial warfare events in the city of Braunschweig 1927 to 1945 , Braunschweig 1955, p. 112.
  45. ↑ Claudia Böhler: Dr. Erich Bockler (1945). In: Henning Steinführer, Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 415.
  46. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the capitulation of the city on April 12, 1945 , p. 59 f.
  47. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the surrender of the city on April 12, 1945 , p. 61.
  48. ↑ Buchardt Warnecke: The Braunschweiger Nussberg and its surroundings. (= Braunschweig City Archives and City Library, Kleine Schriften 28). 2nd Edition. Braunschweig 1996, ISBN 3-930292-53-X , p. 81.
  49. ↑ Braunschweiger Zeitung (ed.): End of the war. Braunschweig 2005, p. 68.
  50. ^ Robert L. Hewitt: Workhorse of the Western Front. The Story of the 30th Infantry Division. Part five - The Battle of Germany. , P. 259.
  51. ^ A b Robert L. Hewitt: Workhorse of the Western Front. The Story of the 30th Infantry Division. Part five - The Battle of Germany. , P. 260.
  52. ↑ Volker Dowidat: Police in the rearview mirror. The history of the Braunschweig Police Department. Döring Druck, Braunschweig 2003, ISBN 3-925268-23-5 , p. 205.
  53. ^ Birgit Pollmann and Hans-Ulrich Ludewig : National Socialist Economic Policy in the Land of Braunschweig 1930–1939: Part 2: 1933–1939. In: Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch. Volume 66, self-published by the Braunschweigischer Geschichtsverein , Braunschweig 1985, p. 163.
  54. ^ Account of surrender negotiations ... of April 10, 1945, page 1.
  55. ^ Account of surrender negotiations ... of April 10, 1945, page 3.
  56. ^ Robert L. Hewitt: Workhorse of the Western Front. The Story of the 30th Infantry Division. Part five - The Battle of Germany. , P. 261.
  57. ^ Account of surrender negotiations ... of April 10, 1945, page 4.
  58. ^ Account of surrender negotiations ... from April 10, 1945, page 2.
  59. ↑ Jan Temann: On April 10, 1945 there was another heavy fighting in Broistedt . In: paz-online.de May 7, 2018
  60. ↑ Bernhard Friedrichs: Klein Schöppenstedt in the last days of the war in 1945 . In: Der Tetzelstein , No. 20, 2017, pp. 6–9
  61. ^ Robert L. Hewitt: Workhorse of the Western Front. The Story of the 30th Infantry Division. Part five - The Battle of Germany. P. 263.
  62. ↑ a b Copy of the conversations between Werner Spieß , director of the Braunschweig City Archives , with hotelier Hans Joachim Kalms around May 1, 1945. Two typewritten pages, signature of the Braunschweig City Archives: H III 2: 85, sheet 1.
  63. ^ Robert L. Hewitt: Workhorse of the Western Front. The Story of the 30th Infantry Division. Part five - The Battle of Germany. , P. 262.
  64. ^ City of Braunschweig, Office for Statistics and Elections (Ed.): Administrative report of the city of Braunschweig. Braunschweig 1954, p. 105.
  65. ↑ One of the copies of the protocol is now in the Braunschweig city archive under the signature "E 10".
  66. ↑ Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the capitulation of the city on April 12, 1945 , p. 78.
  67. ↑ a b Copy of the conversations between Werner Spieß, director of the Braunschweig City Archives, with hotelier Hans Joachim Kalms around May 1, 1945. Two typewritten pages, signature of the Braunschweig City Archives: H III 2: 85, sheet 2.
  68. ↑ Klaus Erich Pollmann : Beginning and end at the same time. The Braunschweigische Landtag 1946. In: Sources and research on the Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte , Volume 35, Self-published Braunschweigischer Geschichtsverein , Wolfenbüttel 1999, ISBN 978-3-928009-16-4 , p. 12.
  69. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the city's surrender on April 12, 1945. p. 76.
  70. ↑ Claudia Böhler: Dr. Erich Bockler (1945). In: Henning Steinführer, Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. P. 417.
  71. ↑ Gerd Biegel : Ernst Böhme (1929–1933; 1945–1948). In: Henning Steinführer, Claudia Böhler (Hrsg.): The Braunschweiger Mayors. From the establishment of the office in the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. Pp. 391-400.
  72. ↑ Minutes of the handover negotiations between the city of Braunschweig and the American Wehrmacht on April 12, 1945 at 2.59 a.m. P. 1.
  73. ↑ Since the German Reich , the DST was, the truce appeared actually only on May 9 at 00:01 in force, see declaration of surrender: The paper, which ended the war , Spiegel Online , Panorama , May 8th of 2005.
  74. ^ Norman-Mathias Pingel: Appendix: List of camps in the state and city of Braunschweig 1939–1945. In: Gudrun Fiedler, Hans-Ulrich Ludewig: Forced Labor and War Economy in the State of Braunschweig 1939–1945. Pp. 403-473.
  75. ↑ Bernhild Vögel: ... and in Braunschweig? Materials and tips for exploring the city 1930–1945 (= JURB materials. Vol. 2). 2nd updated edition. Published by the Braunschweig Youth Ring, Braunschweig 1996, ISBN 3-9801592-2-1 , p. 132 f.
  76. ^ Karl Liedke: Braunschweig (SS riding school). In: Wolfgang Benz , Barbara Distel (eds.): The place of terror . History of the National Socialist Concentration Camps. Volume 5: Hinzert, Auschwitz, Neuengamme. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-52965-8 , p. 360 f.
  77. ↑ Bernhild Vögel: “Maternity Home for Eastern Workers”. Braunschweig, Broitzemer Straße 200. Small historical library, Volume 3, ed. from the Hamburg Foundation for Social History of the 20th Century, Hamburg, 1989, ISBN 978-3-927106-02-4 PDF edition 2005
  78. ↑ Axel Richter: The Vechelde sub-command of the Neuengamme concentration camp. For the use of concentration camp prisoners in arms production . Ed .: Vechelde municipality . Vechelde 1985.
  79. ↑ Pierre Vallée: Prisonnier à l'Oflag 79 , Les Éditions de l'Homme, Montréal 1964.
  80. ^ A b c Günter KP Starke: The Inferno of Braunschweig and the time after. P. 67.
  81. ↑ a b Reinhard Bein and Bernhardine Vogel: Post-war period. The Braunschweiger Land 1945 to 1950. Materials on the country's history. P. 11.
  82. ^ Fritz Habekost: Chronicle of Mascherode. Development of a »Rodedorfes« in the East Westphalian language area of Braunschweig 1982, p. 114.
  83. ^ Karl-Joachim Krause: Braunschweig between war and peace. The events before and after the city's surrender on April 12, 1945 , p. 83.
  84. ↑ Yitzchak Ben Aharon : Listen, gentile! The story of a life. , Staples Press Ltd., London 1947.
  85. ↑ Rudolf Prescher: The red rooster over Braunschweig. Air raid protection measures and air war events in the city of Braunschweig 1927 to 1945 , p. 114.
  86. ↑ Rudolf Prescher: The red rooster over Braunschweig. Air raid protection measures and air war incidents in the city of Braunschweig from 1927 to 1945. P. 112 ff.
  87. ^ Wolfgang Eilers, Dietmar Falk: Narrow-gauge steam in Braunschweig. The history of the rubble railway. , In: Small series of publications by the Braunschweiger Verkehrsfreunde eV Association , Issue 3, Braunschweig 1985, p. 66.
  88. ↑ Volker Dowidat: Police in the rearview mirror. The history of the Braunschweig Police Department. Döring Druck, Braunschweig 2003, ISBN 3-925268-23-5 , p. 199.
  89. ^ Chronicle of the city of Braunschweig for 1945
  90. ↑ Braunschweiger Zeitung (ed.): End of the war. , Braunschweiger Zeitung Spezial, No. 2 (2005), p. 63.

Remarks

  1. ↑ High German translation of the Frisian motto Liewer düd aß Slaawe .
  2. ↑ 1954 was a certified copy of the contract [es] on the handover of the city of Braunschweig to the American armed forces on April 12, 1945 handed over to the Braunschweig City Archives . The original is considered lost .
  3. ↑ the first flight route from north to south : Andreas cemetery , Hamburger Straße , Gaußbrücke , Bammelsburg , Löbbeckes Island , Island Wall , Rehn romp bunker , Nickelnkulk , Kaiserstraße , wool market , St. Andrew's Church , Liberei , Kröppelstraße , Old scales , Long Street , New Town Hall , Packhof , Meinhardshof , brethren , Kannengießer road , Schuhstraße , coal market , home to the sun , home to Rose , house of the Golden star , goat market , banking center , Oberpostdirektion , Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz
    second flight route from east to south : water tower on the Giersberg , Park street ,     Museum     park , Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum , Magniviertel , Magnikirche , Municipal Museum , Gaußschule , Bunker Ritterstraße , Ackerhof , Ölschlägern , Klint , Kuhstraße , Auguststraße , Aegidienmarkt , Aegidienkirche , Aegidienkloster , Garrison School , Lessingplatz
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on January 5, 2016 .