Zieten barracks
 Zieten barracks
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Staff building PzGrenBrig 4 with main guard |
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| country | Germany | ||
| today | Zieten terraces | ||
| local community | Goettingen | ||
| Coordinates : | 51 ° 31 ' N , 9 ° 58' E | ||
| Opened | 1936 | ||
| Formerly stationed units | |||
| Infantry Regiment 82nd 1st Border Regiment 2nd Panzer |
 
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Location of the Zieten barracks in Lower Saxony |
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The Zieten barracks was a barracks in Göttingen .
The years 1936 to 1945
The Zieten barracks in Göttingen were planned in the spring of 1936 as part of the large-scale expansion of the Wehrmacht . It is named after the Prussian hussar general Hans Joachim von Zieten , who served under Frederick the Great.
During construction, standardized building plans were used to a large extent, which were also used in other new barracks of those years.
Therefore, construction work on the multi-storey barracks buildings could begin as early as June 1936. Up to 1,500 workers were deployed on the construction site, so that the topping-out ceremony could take place on October 17, 1936. At the same time, the artillery barracks in Göttingen-Weende and the airfield of the air force were built. With these new barracks, Göttingen, where the 1st Battalion of the 20th Rifle Regiment of the Reichswehr had been stationed since 1923 , became one of the largest garrison towns in Germany.
The 3 rider regiment was initially housed in the Zieten barracks. From 1936 to 1938, the 82nd Infantry Regiment was reorganized there.
The outbreak of World War II began an odyssey across Europe for the soldiers in these units. The war took them through France, Poland and finally to Russia, where they were almost completely wiped out in the summer of 1944 when Army Group Center collapsed.
On April 8, 1945 the war also reached the urban area of Göttingen when the first units of the 23rd US Inf. Via Friedland and Rosdorf . Regiment invaded the city. At 1.30 p.m., the city was handed over to the Americans in the mayor's office. An attempt by an SS Panzer formation to retake the city from the north on the night of April 9th to 10th failed in a fierce battle near Bovenden , which ended the war for Göttingen. At this point in time the almost incapacitated, 900-man "Stomach Ill Battalion" was stationed in the Zieten barracks and had only about 450 rifles and one machine gun per company. The Army Weapons Office, which had been housed here for a few days, had around 100 officers, NCOs and civil servants. Substitute Reconnaissance Unit 3 had been withdrawn in the direction of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. There was no noteworthy resistance against the American troops from the Zieten barracks.
As early as the afternoon of April 8, 1945, the citizens of Göttingen, released prisoners of war and forced laborers had started to get the most necessary things in the provisions, clothing and medicine stores of the Zieten barracks.
Occupation 1945 to 1957
The Zieten barracks was occupied by American troops and used as accommodation from 1945 to 1947. Many refugee families were also sheltered here.
In the summer of 1947, the barracks were handed over to the British, who significantly reinforced their troops there during the Berlin crisis. It wasn't until March 1957 that the 1st Bat left. The British Border Regiment entered the city of Göttingen as the last British unit and moved to Berlin to provide part of the Allied protection forces there for many years.
Bundeswehr in Göttingen from 1957 to 1994
After the establishment of the first military units in the GDR and the reinforcement of the Soviet troops in the border region, the Western Allies approved and actively supported the establishment of the Federal Border Guard .
In 1955 the Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO and in 1956 the first plans for the development of the Bundeswehr began . Negotiations with the city of Göttingen began as early as the spring of 1957, as the city had been selected as a base for the Bundeswehr because of its close proximity to the border and the large barracks that still existed.
On March 21, 1957, the British cleared the first two barracks blocks in order to be able to provide accommodation for the first soldiers of the Bundeswehr.
In April 1957, the advance command of the 1st Kp Fernmeldabbt was the first Bundeswehr unit to move. 711 of the Luftwaffe entered the Zieten barracks. On May 20, the complete company followed with approx. 100 soldiers from Bückeburg followed and began operations.
On May 21, 1957, the federal flag was hoisted for the first time in the Zieten barracks.
As early as June 1957, the Fla-Bat squad moved. 41 after. In December 1957, the advance commandos of the 1st and 4th companies of Grenadier Battalion 41 were added.
In January 1958 the first 130 recruits were drafted and on February 19, 1958, soldiers of the Bundeswehr were sworn in for the first time in the Zieten barracks.
As early as April 1958, GrenadierBtl 41 was renamed GrenadierBtl 12 and detached from combat group A 1 of the 1st Grenadier Division. At the same time, the Panzer Reconnaissance Btl 2 was moved from Kassel to the Zieten barracks and renamed GrenadierBtl 62.
Together with the subordination to the 2nd Grenadier Division in Gießen, the staff of Combat Group C 2 was set up in Göttingen in May 1958, which later developed into Panzer Grenadier Brigade 4 .
The first commander of Combat Group C 2 was Colonel Graf Baudissin , who designed the concept of " inner leadership " of the Bundeswehr and the model of the " citizen in uniform ", which shaped the conscription of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bundeswehr for over 40 years.
In the autumn of 1959, Kampfgruppe C 2 was renamed Panzergrenadierbrigade 4 , which was stationed in the Zieten barracks until its dissolution in 1994.
The Zieten barracks had been the seat of Defense District Command 232 (Göttingen), which was subordinate to Defense District Command 23 , since it was set up . The Defense District Command was responsible for the territorial defense and the management and support of the AKRO (reserve officers working group) at the University of Göttingen.
The soldiers nicknamed the barracks "Zieten-Ranch".
After the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr: The Zieten Terraces
After the site was closed, the Zieten-Terrassen area was built as a residential and commercial area. Today the terraces are largely a residential area; the vehicle hangars were almost completely demolished. Almost all older barracks blocks were extensively renovated in the years up to 2006 and converted into high-quality residential areas. The proximity to the Göttingen Forest including the former military training area on the Kerstlingeröder field contributes to its attractiveness. In addition, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology of the HAWK Hochschule Hildesheim / Holzminden / Göttingen , which is dedicated to engineering teaching and research, was located on the barracks site .
Many streets on the site were named after women pacifists ( Bertha von Suttner , Alva Myrdal ), resistance fighters against National Socialism ( Grete Henry-Hermann ) or after the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 and personalities involved in its preparations (such as Julius Leber and Erwin von Witzleben ) named.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manfred Hildenbrand: AKRO visited the exhibition about the change in the German armed forces. Association of Reservists of the German Armed Forces , March 10, 2010, accessed on May 15, 2019 .