Main Prussian Cadet Institute

Main Prussian Cadet Institute
	Main Prussian Cadet Institute
country	Germany
today	Federal Archives
local community	Berlin
Coordinates :	52 ° 26 ' N , 13 ° 18' E Coordinates: 52 ° 25 '53 " N , 13 ° 17' 57" E
Opened	1873-1878
owner	Federation
Old barracks names
Formerly stationed units
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Location of the Prussian main cadet institute in Berlin

The Royal Prussian Main Cadet Institute in Groß-Lichterfelde near Berlin was the central cadet institute of the Prussian Army from 1882 to 1920 .

history

prehistory

Siemens & Halske built the world's first electric tram for the cadet institute in 1881

Roll call in front of the building, 1900

Science class, 1900

Cadets in the great morning parade, between 1900 and 1914

Before the Berlin Cadet Corps relocated to Lichterfelde, it was housed from 1717 to 1777 in the so-called old cadet house on the site of the former Hetzgarten in Berlin-Mitte (located in Bastion 9 of the fortress wall ). The older building there was demolished in 1777 and replaced by a representative new building of the cadet house in the same place.

In 1866 Johann Anton Wilhelm Carstenn bought the Lichterfelde and Giesensdorf estates in order to set up the residential colonies of Lichterfelde-West and -Est near Berlin. He parceled out the area, had avenues and squares laid out and prescribed the development of villas. In order to promote the initially sluggish sale, he donated around 21 hectares of land in Lichterfelde-West to the Prussian state in 1871 to build a new cadet institute . Carstenn relied on the image gain through the move of the highly respected institution to Lichterfelde as well as on the increased demand for land from the officers who came almost exclusively from noble families in the empire . With the donation agreement, he committed himself to developing the barracks site and establishing a transport connection. To this end, Siemens & Halske opened the world's first electrically operated tram from the Lichterfelde train station (later Groß-Lichterfelde B. H. , now Lichterfelde Ost ) on the Berlin – Halle line, initially only for transporting materials to the construction site of the main cadet institute. The Lichterfelde – Kadettenanstalt tram was extended in 1890 to the Groß-Lichterfelde B. M. station (today Lichterfelde West ) on the Berlin – Magdeburg line .

Carstenn's concept was so successful that the villa district of Lichterfelde is still shaped today by the Prussian-conservative upper class that was originally attracted by the cadet institute. He himself lost his considerable fortune as a result of the financial obligations in connection with the construction of the cadet school and died impoverished.

1873 to 1920

On September 1, 1873, in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm I, the foundation stone for the new main cadet institute was laid on what was then Zehlendorfer Strasse ( Finckensteinallee since June 1933 ). Up until 1878 there were splendidly executed buildings based on the designs of August Ferdinand Fleischinger and Gustav Voigtel , including teaching and service buildings, two churches , including the quickly well-known "Cadet Dome", the representative field marshal's hall, dining room, horse stables , gym, hospital and one included a large number of official apartments. In 1878 the cadet institute moved from the cramped buildings in the city to the new building in Lichterfelde-West, where it resided as the most important institution of its kind in the German Reich until its dissolution in 1920.

The Lichterfelde Cadet Institute quickly became the most important training facility for the German armed forces in the years after 1878. Several generations of later top officers in the Prussian and Württemberg Army , the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht received their training on the spacious grounds of the cadet institute. The term “light field” quickly became a synonym for military elite training. The interest of the often noble officers' families was correspondingly great in taking up an apartment in the vicinity of the cadet institute or maintaining a house in order to be able to show an address in Lichterfeld and thus point out the connection to the cadet institute. For the next generation, Lichterfelde also became one of the most frequent birthplaces of the offspring of noble officers. The content of the courses at the Kadettenanstalt corresponded to the training at a secondary school . However, the goal was to become an ensign . Anyone who attended the so-called Selekta class as a pupil or cadet entered the army or the Imperial Navy after successfully completing this training with the officer rank of lieutenant .

Because of the outstanding importance of the Lichterfeld Hauptkadettenanstalt as a military elite training center, the German Reich was forced to abolish the institution after the First World War in the Versailles Treaty . It was dissolved with a final roll call on March 20, 1920, the last cadet classes still in training marched from Lichterfelde to Schloßplatz and handed over the key to the institution in a solemn act to the new Reich government .

Between military and civil use

1940: One of the two SS Rottenführer statues at the entrance gate. These have been encased in concrete since 1945

Andrews Barracks US barracks , 1958

For the period after the main cadet institute was closed, there were considerations to relocate the Reichsarchiv, founded in 1919, here. However, the community of Lichterfelde pleaded for the cadet school to be converted into a civilian school. This was granted, and “20 days after the main cadet institution was closed, a government decree ordered it to be converted into a state educational institution (Stabila). The curriculum as a Realgymnasium was retained - previous cadets were able to continue their training up to the Abitur. "

With effect from April 14, 1920 Fritz Karsen was appointed senior director of studies at the State Educational Institute, who appointed Erwin Marquardt as alumnate inspector . Fritz Karsens was supposed to convert the formerly military institution into a civil one, which turned out to be very difficult. The predominantly military-conservative student body still existed, who opposed Karsen's democratic educational style.

“After the opening ceremony on May 5, 1920, former cadets tried to remove the newly hoisted black, red and gold flag. They continued to independently carry out drill exercises and appeals and rebelled against the decision of the school management to dissolve the companies and change the room occupancy. "

Fritz Karsen was forced to resign as headmaster after only three months. His interim successor, Director of Studies, Privy Councilor Hartung, “allowed the students to regain their previous self-administration in the boarding school”.

Hans Richert took over the management of the secondary school, upper secondary school and boarding school in 1922 . It followed on from Karsen's reform ideas, but also had to accept a sharp decline in the number of students. Richert arranged for “the large dining room to be closed and meals to be taken in smaller dining rooms. In 1929 the Stabila was renamed the Hans-Richert-Schule, Staatliche Bildungsanstalt Berlin-Lichterfelde, in honor of the school director . “It existed until 1934.

Remilitarization between 1933 and 1945

Shortly after the takeover of the Nazis renewed military use began the building of the former main military academy. “In April 1933, the 'SS-Sonderkommando Berlin', which had emerged from the 'Stabswache Berlin', and the state police group Wecke moved into the building. The state police group, later renamed “Landespolizeigruppe Hermann Göring”, and the SA staff guard called “Hermann Göring”, who were drafted in autumn 1933, occupied the two western barracks until they moved out in December 1934. “The SS special command in Berlin moved into the eastern barracks , from which the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler emerged on November 9, 1933 . From 1934 this was the sole user of the entire building complex. In memory of the main cadet institute and its young graduates, many of whom had died in World War I, the Sternstrasse leading to the cadet institute was renamed Kadettenweg in 1935 and a memorial stone was erected there to commemorate the cadet corps. The renaming was also ideologically justified, because Julius Stern was Jewish.

In June 1934, during the alleged Röhm putsch, SS execution squads in cooperation with the SD and Gestapo shot numerous people, mainly from the SA leadership .

From 1937 to 1938, renovations and new buildings were carried out for the new function by Karl Reichle and Karl Badberger . Gate buildings, farm buildings and storage rooms as well as a large swimming pool were built according to the most modern aspects of the time. The main entrance was relocated to Finckensteinallee.

Until 1945 the court of the cadet institute was the location of the Idstedt lion . It was originally based in Flensburg, Denmark, until 1864. The Allied occupation troops returned it to Denmark in 1945. He has been back in Flensburg since 2011.

From the barracks to the Federal Archives

Berlin memorial plaque on the house at Finckensteinallee 63–87 in Berlin-Lichterfelde

The other buildings from the 19th century - including the enclosing wall - were destroyed in the Allied air raids and the fighting over Berlin or demolished by the US occupation forces after 1945. The swimming pool and parts of the entrance courtyard of the SS barracks have been preserved.

In July 1945 the US Army took over the barracks. The Berlin US armed forces gave it the name Andrews Barracks . The new barracks of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was slightly damaged in the Second World War . In 1953, the Americans built a church on the site; the remaining parts of the historical cadet dome from the 19th century were demolished. More new buildings followed, although the old views and floor plans were not adhered to. The southeastern barracks wing, individual residential buildings and the commandant's house in the west have been preserved from the originally extensive complex.

Since the withdrawal of the Allies in 1994, the grounds of the main cadet institute have been used by the Federal Archives ; Today the central archives of the German Reich ( Kaiserreich , Weimar Republic , Nazi dictatorship ) and the GDR are brought together there.

In 2010, a new warehouse building was put into operation in the center of the property, in which the holdings of the Berlin offices of the archive are to be centralized. In total, the building offers space for 110 running kilometers of archive material.

The southern extensions of the barracks, which the US troops had used for workshops, garages, etc. in the post-war period, were built on with single-family houses.

swell

Donation of the site for the construction of the Central Cadet Institute in Groß Lichterfelde to the Prussian military treasury by von Carstenn-Lichterfelde , 1888–1896. Hamburg State Archives , 111-1, 4075 (Findbuch Senate 111-1, vol. 3, p. 360)

literature

Peter Murr (di: Sven Müller): Behind the red walls of Lichterfelde . Amalthea, Zurich et al. 1931.
Ernst von Salomon : The Cadets . Rowohlt, Berlin 1933.
Heiger Ostertag : Education, training and education of the officer corps in the German Empire 1871 to 1918. Elite ideal, aspiration and reality. (= European university publications, series 3 history and its auxiliary sciences , volume 416.) Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1990, ISBN 3-631-42489-2 . (also: Dissertation, University of Freiburg (Breisgau), 1989).
A. v. Crousaz: History of the Royal Prussian Cadet Corps. Schindler, Berlin 1857.
von Scharfenort (arr.): The Royal Prussian Cadet Corps 1839-1892. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1892.
Karl-Hermann Freiherr von Brand , Helmut Eckert: Cadets. From 300 years of the German cadet corps. Volume 1, published by the traditional community of former royal Prussian and royal Saxon cadets, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-88014-072-3 .
Erwin Heckner, Anton Graf Bossi Fedrigotti , Karl-Hermann Freiherr von Brand: Cadets. From 300 years of the German cadet corps. Volume 2, published by the traditional community of former royal Prussian and royal Saxon cadets, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-88014-091-X .
Eberhard Scharenberg: Cadet Generals 1717-1919. published by the traditional community of former royal Prussian and royal Saxon cadets, self-published, Döhle 1979.
Matthias Donath: Architecture in Berlin 1933–1945. Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-936872-26-0 , pp. 162-165.
Marion Papi: One out of office. Walter Staudacher (1900–1968). A documented biography. Metropol Publishing House. Berlin 2018. ISBN 978-3-86331-391-3 . Pp. 8-30.

Web links

Commons : Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Annelen Hölzner-Bautsch: 100 years of Mater Dolorosa Church. History of the Catholic parish in Berlin-Lankwitz 1912 to 2012. Catholic parish Mater Dolorosa, Berlin 2012, p. 17.
^ Meyer's Large Conversational Lexicon. Sixth edition. Tenth volume, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna, 1908, p. 413 (keywords "Kadett" and "Kadettenhäuser (Kadettenanstalten)"); Cadet houses (cadet institutions) .
^ Meyer's Lexicon . Eighth edition. Sixth volume. Bibliographisches Institut AG, Leipzig, 1939, column 676 (keyword “Kadett”).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f From the Hauptkadettenanstalt via the STABILA to the Hans-Richert-Schule
↑ Sonja Petra Karsen: Report on the father . Overall-Verlag, Berlin, 1993, ISBN 3-925961-08-9 , p. 392; reprinted in and quoted from: Gerd Radde: Fritz Karsen. A Berlin school reformer during the Weimar period. (= Studies on educational reform . Vol. 37). Extended new edition. Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-631-34896-7 , pp. 36-44 (in detail on the failure of this attempt at reform).
↑ Key data on the Hans Richert School in the archive database of the BBF Library for Research on Educational History . According to this source, the school was renamed not in 1929, but in 1930. The preceding quote suggests that Richert was still the director of studies at the school in 1929. This is not the case, however, because he was appointed Ministerialrat on September 18, 1923 and was instrumental in reforming the secondary school system from 1924/25.

[1] Annelen Hölzner-Bautsch: 100 years of Mater Dolorosa Church. History of the Catholic parish in Berlin-Lankwitz 1912 to 2012. Catholic parish Mater Dolorosa, Berlin 2012, p. 17.

[2] Meyer's Large Conversational Lexicon. Sixth edition. Tenth volume, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna, 1908, p. 413 (keywords "Kadett" and "Kadettenhäuser (Kadettenanstalten)"); Cadet houses (cadet institutions) .

[3] Meyer's Lexicon . Eighth edition. Sixth volume. Bibliographisches Institut AG, Leipzig, 1939, column 676 (keyword “Kadett”).

[Stabila-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f From the Hauptkadettenanstalt via the STABILA to the Hans-Richert-Schule

[5] Sonja Petra Karsen: Report on the father . Overall-Verlag, Berlin, 1993, ISBN 3-925961-08-9 , p. 392; reprinted in and quoted from: Gerd Radde: Fritz Karsen. A Berlin school reformer during the Weimar period. (= Studies on educational reform . Vol. 37). Extended new edition. Lang, Frankfurt am Main a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-631-34896-7 , pp. 36-44 (in detail on the failure of this attempt at reform).

[6] Key data on the Hans Richert School in the archive database of the BBF Library for Research on Educational History . According to this source, the school was renamed not in 1929, but in 1930. The preceding quote suggests that Richert was still the director of studies at the school in 1929. This is not the case, however, because he was appointed Ministerialrat on September 18, 1923 and was instrumental in reforming the secondary school system from 1924/25.