Campbell Barracks

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Campbell Barracks, ca.1945

Campbell Barracks is the name of a former barracks in Heidelberg . It was built in 1937 when the Wehrmacht was rearming on arable land south of Heidelberg near the Rohrbach district as Greater Germany barracks .

Before 1945

When the 110 Infantry Regiment was set up in Heidelberg as part of the newly formed 33rd Infantry Division in 1936 , there was not enough space in the existing grenadier barracks to accommodate the new unit. That is why a new barracks complex was built in the south of Heidelberg in 1937. In March 1938, after the so-called Anschluss of Austria , it was given the designation Großdeutschland-Kaserne . The construction manager of the barracks construction project was Dr. Ing. Dietrich Lang . The barracks housed after their completion the regimental headquarters , the I. battalion , including the battalion staff and two support companies of Infantry Regiment 110. II. Battalion of the regiment was in Loretto stationed (now called "Hammonds Barracks" known) army barracks and III. Battalion in the existing old grenadier barracks.

post war period

After Heidelberg was taken by the US Army on March 30, 1945, various US units were housed in the barracks. In 1947 the headquarters of USFET (US Forces, European Theater) moved in until it was reclassified into USEUCOM ( United States European Command ) in 1952 . In honor of Staff Sergeant Charles L. Campbell , the barracks were renamed Campbell Barracks on August 23, 1948 . From 1952 the name changed to USAREUR (United States Army, Europe) , in whose headquarters in the Campbell Barracks a NATO planning staff was integrated under the name CENTAG ( Central Army Group ) . In 1959 the planning staff of CENTAG was spun off again and in 1966 the Stuttgart headquarters of the 7th US Army were combined with the existing headquarters in Heidelberg under the name HQ USAREUR / 7A (Headquarters, United States Army, Europe, and Seventh Army) . In 1980, the headquarters of CENTAG were relocated to the Campbell Barracks, as well as the headquarters of AMF ( Allied Command Europe Mobile Forces ) and 4 ATAF ( Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force ) of NATO.

With the end of the Cold War and changes in the strategic situation in Europe, the importance of the units stationed in the Campbell Barracks also waned , which resulted in a reduction and relocation of troops. In 1993 CENTAG and 4 ATAF stopped their work and were replaced by the headquarters of LANDCENT ( Allied Land Forces Central Europe ) , which then moved to JHQ CENT (Joint Headquarters Center Heidelberg) in 2000 , and in 2004 to CC-Land HQ HD (Component Command-Land Headquarters, Heidelberg) and in 2010 it was restructured into HQ FC HD (Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg) . In March 2013, NATO officials were transferred to Izmir , Turkey , the US flag was lowered for the last time in September and the armed forces were relocated to Wiesbaden Army Airfield . The area was then handed over to the Federal Republic of Germany , represented by the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks (BImA). As for the neighboring Mark Twain Village in the South City and other conversion areas in Heidelberg, an extensive place for the re-use of the Campbell Barracks citizen participation instead. The development of plans for future use are more or less advanced. The former barracks are under monument protection .

Events

The area is used for events such as the German-American Friendship Festival , the Heidelberg Citizens Festival and, since 2015, the annual Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival .

literature

  • Melanie Mertens: Art and Barracks. The Großdeutschlandkaserne in Heidelberg. Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg, issue 4/2015, pp. 209–214. Digitized version on the Heidelberg University Library website, PDF file, 469 kB

Web links

Commons : Campbell Barracks  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Entry on the website of the city of Heidelberg. Retrieved February 4, 2016 .
  2. ↑ History on the website of the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks. Retrieved September 29, 2016 .
  3. ^ Entry on the website of the Heidelberg History Association. Retrieved February 4, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Entry on the NATO website. Retrieved February 4, 2016 .
  5. ^ Entry on the website of the Allied Force Command Heidelberg (English). Retrieved February 4, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Article on the New York Times website. Retrieved February 4, 2016 .
  7. ^ Article on the website of the Rhein Neckar Zeitung. Retrieved February 4, 2016 .
  8. ^ Internationales Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg. Retrieved October 9, 2017 .
  9. ↑ Sebastian Riemer: Finally open: Citizens' festival on Sunday at the Campbell Barracks . Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, January 7, 2016 ( rnz.de [accessed October 9, 2017]).

Coordinates: 49 ° 23 ′ 12.6 "  N , 8 ° 41 ′ 2.1"  E