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​​Annelies 'Anne' Marie Frank was born in Frankfurt/Main on 12 June 1929, and died in Bergen-Belsen in 1944. She became known through the posthumous publication of her diary by her father. Since then she has been perceived as representing persecuted and murdered children.Anne's private records cover a time period from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944. Not only do they give the reader insight into the adolescent's daily life in hiding in Amsterdam, but they also describe the life of the Jewish Frank family before their long and carefully planned escape from Germany in 1933. The city of Aachen played a central role in this journey. Since 1932, Anne's parents, Otto and Edith Frank (née Holländer), had been considering leaving Germany as their daily lives and professional opportunities were increasingly affected by the strengthening National Socialist policies. Otto, who worked in the banking industry, decided to follow the advice of his brother-in-law. He gave up the apartment in Frankfurt and left to build up a new professional existence in Amsterdam, in order to be able to offer his family a new livelihood there.To this end, the family separated for several months. During this time, Anne and her older sister Margot initially lived with their mother in Frankfurt at Otto's mother's house. Then, from September 1933 to 7 December 1933, they lived on the 1st floor of the house at Pastorenplatz 1 in Aachen with Edith's mother, Rosa. Anne herself stayed longer in Aachen, remaining at the house with her grandmother until 16 February 1934, even after her sister and mother moved to Amsterdam to join her father in December 1933. Although in her diaries Anne later described strong affection for her grandmother Rosa, according to a former neighbouring Jewish boy her stay in Aachen was determined by loneliness, especially in the period after her sister had left.​After the Reichsprogromnacht in 1938, the family also tried to get grandmother Rosa out of the country to Amsterdam. In March 1939 they succeeded in doing so. In January 1942, after a long illness, Rosa Holländer died in Amsterdam.

Germany

Anne Frank's stay in Aachen

​​After Aachen was liberated in October 1944, the US occupation authorities tried to get everyday life in the city going again. For them, this also included ensuring that the local population could once again keep themselves informed via a German-language newspaper.​So while in the rest of Germany the propaganda of the National Socialists still prevailed until May 1945, in Aachen a first newspaper controlled by the US occupying power appeared from 24 January 1945: the Aachener Nachrichten. Media history was thus written in Aachen. There was no comparable local newspaper permitted during this immediate post-war era in any other German city.The licence to publish the newspaper was given by the US authorities to two people who were far removed from National Socialism. Alongside the journalist Otto Pesch, the Social Democrat and printer Heinrich Hollands acted as editor. A conscious decision had been made against Catholic or bourgeois people in order to counter the city administration. It was also clear that the new editors were to contribute to the development of a democratic culture with their newspaper. And indeed, there were frequent conflicts between the city government and the Aachener Nachrichten.Nevertheless, the Aachener Nachrichten remained the only newspaper permitted in Germany in the immediate post-war period. However, remarkably Hollands' name was not allowed to appear in the paper because his son was still fighting in the Wehrmacht and acts of revenge against him had to be feared.

An Independent Newspaper in Germany

​​After long, heavy fighting, the city of Aachen was occupied in October 1944. Just ten days later, the US military authorities installed a new city government with German civilians at its head. The large city, which by then had only about 10,000 inhabitants, was ruled by Mayor Franz Oppenhoff, who was assisted by nine other Mayors. However, they all belonged to bourgeois circles with strong Catholic beliefs. Workers, on the other hand, were not represented at the top of the city - this applied even to representatives of the Catholic labour movement.The military government initially had no problem with this composition, as the proposal for Oppenhoff's appointment had come from the Bishop of Aachen. Since the American authorities saw the Catholic Church in particular as the bearer of resistance against the Nazis, they had great confidence in the new city leadership. This was especially because it could only work under American supervision anyway and, above all it was important for the occupying power to ensure an orderly everyday life behind the front.​However, it did not take long before fundamental criticism of the work of the newly appointed Aachen city government arose. Above all, the Department of Psychological Warfare of the 9th Army of the US Armed Forces took offence at the circumstances. Saul K. Padover, a history professor who had emigrated from Austria to the USA as a child in the 1920s, was particularly bothered by the lack of diversity in Aachen's city leadership. It did not reflect Padover's understanding of democracy, as it did not reflect the whole composition of the population. He saw it instead as a clique of upper-class notables, most of whom had been active in political Catholicism before the Nazi era. A democratic spirit, which the PWD wanted to establish in Germany, was not evident in the city's leadership.​Therefore, numerous American newspapers reported on the "Aachen Scandal". According to the reports, readers in the USA must have thought that under a disinterested occupying power, a group of anti-democratic forces was trying to prevent the occupied city of Aachen from becoming democratic. It was only after these newspaper reports that the military authorities removed numerous former Nazi bigwigs from the administration. However, they left Oppenhoff in the position of Mayor, until his assassination by a Werewolf-Kommando from the leftover Nazi Germany on 25 March 1945.

“Aachen Scandal”: Aachen Town Hall

​​In the shadow of the UNESCO World Heritage Aachen Cathedral is St. Foillan&nbsp;City Church. From the 12th century onwards, this was the church for the citizens of the city, and throughout this time it was repeatedly affected by fires. During the Second World War, however, the building was almost completely destroyed.St. Foillan&nbsp; was quickly rebuilt in the early post-war years, and by 1958 the shape that is visible today had been created. However, on the front of the church, directly on the narrow lane leading to the cathedral, there is still visible damage that was caused by violence during&nbsp;the Second World War. The building damage, which was inflicted during bombardments and fighting during the liberation of Aachen, was deliberately left unrepaired.​Today, they are wounds of the martial past. Chipping on the plinth shows how badly the church was damaged in the fighting. However, because most of the damage is at ground or knee level, most people no longer notice these traces of the Second World War.

Wounds of the past: St. Foillan Church

​​​The judiciary system played a significant role in National Socialist Germany, steadily expanding and strengthening the power of the Nazis. Once the war started,&nbsp;judges working in the judicial system were invoked as soldiers of the "Inner Front". The concept and legitimisation of Special Courts was taken from the Weimar Republic. The purpose of them was mainly to try political crimes, and they thus became instruments to eliminate political opponents quickly and confidently.Based on the Sondergerichtsverordnung (Special Courts Ordinance) of 21&nbsp;March 1933 (which after the Reichstagsverordnung was a step further towards eliminating the rule of law), Special Courts were established in every higher regional court district. The aim of this was to secure and stabilise the Nazi regime. Initially, this made Cologne the next competent court for the Aachen district. However, due to the increasing number of judicial cases a separate Special Court was established in Aachen in 1941.Following the steady expansion of the courts' jurisdiction, the start of the war and the Kriegssonderstrafrechtverordnung (Special Wartime&nbsp;Criminal Law Ordinance (KSSVO)), which had already been passed, finally led to an almost unlimited expansion of special jurisdiction. This included draft evasion, incitement to desertion and self-mutilation, as well as decomposition of military strength. Other political punishment provisions followed. In addition to the expansion of jurisdiction, procedures were also increasingly 'simplified'. For example, arrest warrants could not be challenged, and the accepting of evidence could be refused if the court concluded that it was no longer relevant to the clarification of the incident.Towards the end of the war, due to the Allies'&nbsp;approach the Aachen Special Court was transferred first to the nearby city of Düren, and then to Siegburg. The last surviving document from the court office is dated 30&nbsp;January 1945. A unique feature of the files from the Aachen&nbsp;Special Court is that some of them were continued after the end of the war, continued in another court, re-evaluated, or closed.​​

Aachen Special Courts

​​Oppenhoff was born on 18 August 1902, and from 1933 was a lawyer in Aachen, known for defending priests and Jews. The Nazis were unhappy with Oppenhoff and he had been warned by high-ranking National Socialist officials several times because of his actions. Oppenhoff also worked for the armaments company Veltrup, which helped him avoid being drafted into the military. In September 1944, when the American troops were near Aachen and the city was largely destroyed, Oppenhoff reached out to the American forces. After the withdrawal of German troops on 31 October 1944, he was appointed as mayor by the military.Oppenhoff knew that, as long as the war was not yet over, his life was in danger. Despite this he chose to cooperate with the victorious powers. Unfortunately, on 25 March 1945 he was murdered in front of his home on Eupener Straße by a Werewolf-Kommando squad. The five attackers included a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. Although the attackers were caught, the exact individual responsible for the kill was never discovered, but Oppenhoff was surely a victim of the National Socialist dictatorship. He was buried in the Aachen Eastern Cemetery.To remember him, a monument made of 13 concrete pillars was built in his memory, with the following quotes:​"Judge not, that ye be not judged." - New Testament&nbsp;​"Man is free. The individuality of man is transformed into freedom." - G. Büchner&nbsp;​"Love thy neighbour as thyself." - Leviticus&nbsp;​"Silence can become a crime." - Kurt Schumacher&nbsp;​"Our generation is a guilty generation to a very great extent." - Alfred Oelp&nbsp;​"The dignity of man is inviolable." – §1 Grundgesetz (Basic Law Germany)&nbsp;​"One can only overcome fate through understanding." - Hermann Hesse&nbsp;​"Not only the deed but also suffering is a path to freedom." - D. Bonhoeffer&nbsp;​"The imprisoned truth torments." - Rosa Luxemburg&nbsp;​"Sixth Commandment: Thou shall not kill." - Hebrew Bible&nbsp;​"If he has not fought alone and is defeated, the enemy has not yet won." - Berthold Brecht / C. v. Ossietzky&nbsp;​"Love your enemies, bless those who curse you." - New Testament​&nbsp;

Oppenhoffallee Monument

​​​Haus Löwenstein, located on Aachen's market square, is one of the city's most famous buildings. It was likely built in the 14th century and is one of the few buildings from that period still standing today. It is believed that the house was once used both for residential purposes and as an Inn.​At the beginning of the 20th century, the house was united with the neighbouring house, Zum Wolf. During the Second World War, Haus Löwenstein was damaged. In 1969, the house was acquired by the city and restored by the city conservator Leo Hugot, who made significant structural changes. In the process, Haus Löwenstein and the house Zum Wolf were again visually separated, although today they still share the same entrance. Hugot strove to restore the house to its Gothic form, although he had no historical plans or illustrations. For this reason, his renovations were viewed quite critically at the time. The historic facade, however, stands in marked contrast to Hugot's interior design of Haus Löwenstein which is, in keeping with the early seventies trend, done in brutalist style.This approach is characteristic of the reconstruction of destroyed cities in Germany. Immediately after the end of the war, reconstruction was influenced by a lack of space and was subject to the maxim of restoring important infrastructure and creating housing as quickly as possible. As a result, many historic buildings initially underwent only makeshift repairs and were not comprehensively renovated and restored until the 1960s or 1970s. &nbsp;​Subsequently, they were often re-purposed, as was the case with Haus Löwenstein. The new design of the interior made it possible to use the building for the city administration, a purpose which it still serves today along with a large hall for press conferences and space for the marketing department.Haus Löwenstein is thus emblematic of a particular era of German reconstruction: historic building fabric was preserved after the war, but at the same time changed and re-purposed.

Löwenstein House (Haus Löwenstein)

​​During the Nazi regime, the city health department of Aachen was housed alongside the city administration in the Haus Grenzwacht. It was responsible for implementing the Nazi's law for the prevention of genetically diseased offspring, which aimed to promote Nazi racial hygiene and included compulsory sterilisations of people with disabilities.The government doctors in Aachen requested hundreds of such sterilisations for those they deemed "inferior". From 1941 to 1945, with the help of the health department, people with disabilities and sick individuals from Aachen were deported and then systematically murdered in operations such as Action T4. Many were also abused in cruel human experiments, disregarding ethical principles. The Wege gegen das Vergessen (Ways Against Forgetting) project remembers the participation of Aachen government doctors in these crimes with a memorial plaque attached to the western tower facade of Haus Grenzwacht.​

Border Guard House

​​The deportations of Aachen's Jewish residents began with their forced relocation from their homes and apartments to collection camps. One of these camps was located on Grüner Weg. From there, the Jewish victims were driven under SS and police supervision to the nearest tram stop.They were then taken to Aachen Central Station with special trains. There, the deportation trains, made up of goods wagons, were already waiting for them. Often, the trains first went to Düsseldorf, where trains from various places were assembled into a large transport. Everything was organised, including the transportation costs. According to the third-class tariff, the victims were charged 4 Reichspfennige per person and kilometre. Usually the trains, which consisted of up to 45 goods wagons, were occupied by 1,000 people.​By the end of the war, 2,000 to 3,000 people were crammed into the goods wagons. Four people per square metre. Without adequate nutrition, without toilets. The journeys took days: how the people in the wagons coped is hard to imagine. During World War Two, all Jewish citizens of Aachen who had not fled to safety beforehand&nbsp;were deported. A total of seven transports left from Aachen to concentration and extermination camps. The deportations in Aachen started in March 1942 and ended in September 1944.In October 1944 the central station was heavily fought over&nbsp;during the liberation. The 1st and 30th American infantry divisions had taken the heights south and west of Aachen, leading to an attack on Aachen. After intense fighting that resulted in partial destruction of the train station, on 21 October 1944 the military conflict in Aachen ended. Following this, the central station was quickly rebuilt as it was the needed by the Allies for logistical reasons.

Aachener Hauptbahnhof (Aachen Central Station)

​​The house at the corner of Pippinstraße and Rolandstraße in Aachen is a significant site in Aachen's history, as it is believed that the city's final declaration of surrender was signed there. On 21 October 1944 at 12:05, Colonel Gerhard Wilck signed the city's surrender declaration. The first major German city was thus&nbsp;liberated from the Nazi dictatorship. Wilck was commander of the 246th People's Grenadier Division and the last city commander of Aachen as of 12 October. He had tried in vain to defend the city from the Allied troops. Even though Wilck and his predecessor, General Gerhard Graf von Schwerin, had been trying since 10 September 1944 to convince the supreme army command to abandon the city, this proposal was brusquely rejected. Wilck was obliged not to voluntarily&nbsp;surrender an inch of ground to the enemy and to hold the city to the last man. The battle for Aachen had mainly propagandistic purposes, since strategically speaking the city was almost meaningless.​When the German troops were pushed back to a single bunker, U.S. officer John Corley presented Wilck with an ultimatum: surrender or destroy the city. At Corley's office, on the corner of Pippinstrasse and Rolandstrasse, Wilck initially refused to sign the surrender declaration, fearing for his family, who did not live in Aachen. Corley then poured him a glass of whiskey and again urged him to surrender. But Wilck continued to refuse. Only after the third glass of whisky did Wilck sign the declaration and then, with the remaining 3,473 German soldiers, was placed in captivity. Today, the house is used as a residence.​

House on the corner of Pippinstraße / Rolandstraße

​​After the first air raids on German territory in 1940, an "urgent programme for the protection of the civilian population" was initiated. This classified Aachen as a particularly endangered city due to its location. On this basis, in January 1941 the first work on air-raid shelters began. High bunkers were preferred as they required less costs and materials. For camouflage reasons, the bunkers needed to blend in with the surrounding buildings as much as possible. With 15 high bunkers, some of which were built as a ring around the medieval city centre, Aachen was the city with the highest bunker density in terms of population among the cities surveyed in the German Reich.The bunker at the corner of Scheibenstraße and Wittekindstraße, within sight of the medieval Ponttor, was built from 1941 onwards according to designs by the Finance Construction Office. For this construction, as for all other bunkers in the city area, prisoners of war were used from December 1941 onwards (at the latest). In this case, they came from the Prisoner of War Construction and Labour Battalion 25. From 1942, the three-storey building with a pentagonal base was used as a civilian shelter. Due to the unusual ground plan for bunker buildings, the often polygonal rooms were grouped around a triangular staircase. However, with only 250 berths in an area of 655 m2, the bunkerwass one of the smallest but at the same time most expensive shelters of this kind in the city. Why the shelter was still built in this form is not documented.From 1946 to 1948, the building served as emergency accommodation for about 40 families. Later, the building was intended for de-sheltering (the removal of protection installations to make it&nbsp;fit for modern-day alternative use, for example as an event venue). The plans and estimated costs for this de-sheltering are known (approx. 520,000 DM), but the work was never carried out, for unknown reasons.​In 2003 the building, which is privately owned, was listed by the city of Aachen as an example of Germany's architectural history under Nazi rule. The floor coverings, air-raid doors, metal doors to individual rooms and some sanitary rooms have been preserved to this day. Later additions can be easily recognised as such. Wall breakthroughs and demolitions on the upper floors have created larger rooms. Of the original technical installations, the heating system and a turbine of the ventilation system have been preserved to this day. The building can usually only be visited from the outside.​

​​High-rise bunker

​​Shortly after the war began, on 12 May 1940 the first air raid on Aachen took place. By the time the fighting for Aachen began on 12 September 1944, (with the crossing of the western border and the attack on the Westwall on 15 September), a total of 2,364 people had been killed in 64 smaller and five large attacks. In addition, the city itself was also severely damaged.After more than five weeks of fighting in the city, some of which was fought from street to street with tanks and artillery, 43% of the city's approximately 14,000 houses were completely destroyed, and another 40% damaged. Of Aachen‘s 68 churches and chapels, 25 were destroyed and 43 others severely damaged. The historic town hall was also in ruins, as the last medieval residential buildings had fallen victim to the destruction. Although Aachen Cathedral had been badly damaged by bombing, its basic substance had been preserved.For the buildings in Annastrasse, the destruction of the Annakirche, Aachen's oldest Protestant church, was particularly well documented. The church burnt out in a bombing raid on 14 July 1943, and in April 1944 the pastor's house and parish hall were hit. However, the greatest destruction in Annastrasse, to which the south wall and tower of the church also fell victim, was the result of artillery fire during the Battle of Aachen.​Reconstruction of the city began as early as November 1944. The first priority was to rebuild housing, initially on a makeshift basis, as up to 5,000 people a week returned to the city very soon after Aachen's surrender. Discussions about the goals and implementation of reconstruction, especially the treatment of architectural monuments, continued into the 1980s. By then, most of the destruction of the war had been erased from the cityscape. However, where no new buildings were erected and areas were instead used as, for example, car parks, the remains and imprints of destroyed buildings can still be seen today.​

A gap in the buildings on Annastraße: Remnants of Wartime Destruction

In September and October 1944, American troops have already failed two attempts to slip around the Siegfried Line from the north to attack the Germans from the rear, take the plateaus of the northern Eifel and push through to the River Ruhr. The impenetrable forests, incessant rain and heavy resistance by the German Wehrmacht caused delays and great losses. Far behind the front lines, at the headquarters of the American 12th Battalion led by lieutenant-general Omar Bradley, high-ranking officers draft new attack plans for the American 1st Army and the American 28th Infantry Division fighting in the Hürtgen Forest. They rely on maps, radio traffic and phone calls, but no one really knows what the Hürtgen Forest looks like or what to expect in terms of opposition. The battle in the Hürtgen Forest is a disaster. Jeeps and tanks get stuck in the mud, battalions get lost and retreat back to Vossenack under a continuous barrage of shell fire. Supply routes are cut off, retaken, cut off again and retaken. The battle continues day and night, and many soldiers are close to exhaustion. After five days, it is complete chaos. General Hodges finally orders a full retreat. The catastrophe in the Hürtgen Forest, later dubbed Allerseelenschlacht, resulted in Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower coming to take stock of the situation personally on 8 November 1944. Just behind the front line in Rott, Eisenhower meets with Bradley, Hodges and Gerow at Norman Cota's headquarters. Cota is supposed to host his superiors, but he is exhausted. Over 6000 of his men were killed, missing, wounded or captured in the fighting between 2 and 10 November 1944—the greatest loss of an American division during the Second World War.

Mistake after mistake

Turney W. Leonard graduated from Texas A&amp;M University in Dallas, Texas, in 1942. It is a famous university where cadets are trained to take important positions in the U.S. Army. Upon graduation, he received a valuable gold ring engraved with his name, just like the rest of his class. Like many of his friends, he signed up for the American army shortly after and is deployed to Europe not long after his training in 1944, where he distinguished himself as an extremely courageous soldier at the Battle of Kommerscheidt in the German Hürtgen Forest. He did not survive the battle. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour—the highest American military award—for his actions.   After his exhumation in the German Hürtgen Forest, in Kommerscheidt, in 1946, the ring was discovered by a German boy. Alfred Hutmacher was only 17 years old at the time and was forced to fill open graves by the Americans. He took the ring home and forgot about it. Fifty-four years later, while talking to his son-in-law, Volker Lossner, about the war and their house in Schmidt, he remembered the ring. They studied the ring in detail and decided to return it to its rightful owner. What follows is an extraordinary story with a happy ending.&#13;
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Aggie ring comes home

On 12 September 1944, the first U.S. troops crossed the German border near the village of Roetgen outside of Aachen. In their advance toward Germany’s westernmost major city, units of the 1st U.S. Army pushed into the Huertgen Forest in the Eifel Mountains south of the city, to secure their flank. Initially the U.S. forces were unable to achieve any decisive breakthrough towards the Rhine. By mid-October they renewed their efforts. First they wanted to take the strategic important village of Schmidt to the northwest of the Rur Reservoir. On the morning of 2 November 1944, the so-called Battle for Schmidt – or, to the Germans, the Allerseelenschlacht (‘All Souls’ Day Battle’) commenced. The U.S. 28th Infantry Division committed three regiments to the advance on Schmidt. On the second day, one regiment managed to reach the village church. The other two regiments however, found the going very tough in the thick woods, and suffered heavy losses. The American units in Schmidt then came under artillery fire from the German 89th Infantry Division and the 272nd ‘People’s Grenadier’ Division. American tanks sent in as support were disabled due to ignorance of the terrain. Moreover, the U.S. troops had underestimated the German defences. The Germans, for their part, needed to hold the Huertgen Forest as a marshalling area for their planned offensive in the Ardennes – the Battle of the Bulge. All Allied attempts to organize resupply failed. The Americans on the bare ridge between Vossenack and Schmidt were pounded by German artillery until 8 November 1944, when their withdrawal was ordered. <iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqYi9i1SXOw?showinfo=0"></iframe>

On 12 September 1944, the first U.S. troops crossed the German border near the ancient city of Aachen, with units pushing into the Huertgen Forest to secure their right flank. Underestimating the German defences and the difficulties of the terrain they suffered heavy losses during a bitter confrontation starting on 2 November, known as ‘The Battle for (the town of) Schmidt’.

On 12 September 1944, the first U.S. troops crossed the German border near the village of Roetgen outside of Aachen. In their advance toward Germany’s westernmost major city, units of the 1st U.S. Army pushed into the Huertgen Forest in the Eifel Mountains south of the city, to secure their flank. Initially the U.S. forces were unable to achieve any decisive breakthrough towards the Rhine. By mid-October they renewed their efforts. First they wanted to take the strategic important village of Schmidt to the northwest of the Rur Reservoir. On the morning of 2 November 1944, the so-called Battle for Schmidt – or, to the Germans, the Allerseelenschlacht (‘All Souls’ Day Battle’) commenced.

The U.S. 28th Infantry Division committed three regiments to the advance on Schmidt. On the second day, one regiment managed to reach the village church. The other two regiments however, found the going very tough in the thick woods, and suffered heavy losses. The American units in Schmidt then came under artillery fire from the German 89th Infantry Division and the 272nd ‘People’s Grenadier’ Division. American tanks sent in as support were disabled due to ignorance of the terrain.

Moreover, the U.S. troops had underestimated the German defences. The Germans, for their part, needed to hold the Huertgen Forest as a marshalling area for their planned offensive in the Ardennes – the Battle of the Bulge. All Allied attempts to organize resupply failed. The Americans on the bare ridge between Vossenack and Schmidt were pounded by German artillery until 8 November 1944, when their withdrawal was ordered.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqYi9i1SXOw[/embed]

Battle of Schmidt

On 16 November 1944, the Allies launched Operation Queen with the goal of crossing the Rur river and then pushing forward to the Rhine. The ground troops received direct support from one of the largest tactical air operations of the entire Second World War. As a result, the cities of Düren and Jülich were almost completely destroyed. Although the Rur Dam Schwammenauel southeast of Schmidt was originally not a factor for the American operational planners, the U.S. High Command now realized that if its floodgates were opened, the entire plain of the Rur around Düren would be inundated, rendering the river impassable. On 13 December the U.S. troops pushed towards the dam. Due to the weather and the stubborn German resistance, their advance was slowed. “The forest was a hellishly grim place to fight”, veteran George Morgan would recall later. The U.S. soldiers spent the cold winter nights in foxholes, some of them in summer uniforms, and were totally unprepared for this kind of combat. In addition to the mounting casualties – dead and wounded – more and more soldiers were disabled by frostbite and pneumonia. The German counteroffensive in the Ardennes – the Battle of the Bulge – began on 16 December 1944, and temporarily stopped all Allied operations in the Huertgen Forest. Only after the offensive collapsed on 10 January 1945 did the American forces renew their attacks. Not until mid-February were the last German troops pushed out of the forest. As they withdrew, they opened the Rur Dam Schwammenauel, thus hampering the Allied advance around Düren for around two weeks.

In November 1944 the Allies launched Operation Queen with the goal of crossing the Rur river and then pushing forward to the Rhine. They realized that if the Rur floodgates were opened, the entire river plain would be inundated, rendering the river impassable. And indeed, as they withdrew, the Germans opened the Rur Dam Schwammenauel, thus hampering the Allied advance for two weeks.

On 16 November 1944, the Allies launched Operation Queen with the goal of crossing the Rur river and then pushing forward to the Rhine. The ground troops received direct support from one of the largest tactical air operations of the entire Second World War. As a result, the cities of Düren and Jülich were almost completely destroyed. Although the Rur Dam Schwammenauel southeast of Schmidt was originally not a factor for the American operational planners, the U.S. High Command now realized that if its floodgates were opened, the entire plain of the Rur around Düren would be inundated, rendering the river impassable.

On 13 December the U.S. troops pushed towards the dam. Due to the weather and the stubborn German resistance, their advance was slowed. “The forest was a hellishly grim place to fight”, veteran George Morgan would recall later. The U.S. soldiers spent the cold winter nights in foxholes, some of them in summer uniforms, and were totally unprepared for this kind of combat. In addition to the mounting casualties – dead and wounded – more and more soldiers were disabled by frostbite and pneumonia.

The German counteroffensive in the Ardennes – the Battle of the Bulge – began on 16 December 1944, and temporarily stopped all Allied operations in the Huertgen Forest. Only after the offensive collapsed on 10 January 1945 did the American forces renew their attacks. Not until mid-February were the last German troops pushed out of the forest. As they withdrew, they opened the Rur Dam Schwammenauel, thus hampering the Allied advance around Düren for around two weeks.

Rur Dam Schwammenauel

The village of Vossenack was completely destroyed in the fighting between November 1944 and February 1945. Even the church was not spared destruction. In his essay ’You are now entering Germany’ the German Nobel Prize-winning author Heinrich Böll mentioned that fierce fighting took place in the church: “In Vossenack the ‘front’ ran straight through the parish church, with the American soldiers firing down from the organ loft, the Germans up from the sacristy”. Böll also wrote that the village of Vossenack had changed ownership between Germans and Americans twenty-eight times. To put this in perspective it can be confirmed that on 6 November two companies of the 112th U.S. Regiment had to escape a German attack from the Tiefenbach valley in panic. Only when they reached the church were the Americans were able to stop the German attack. In the course of this engagement the fighting in the church was taking place. A commemorative plaque inside the church calls the events to mind. However, after 6 November there was no other attack on Vossenack by the Germans. The church was newly consecrated after the Second World War because of these events. On the church portal there is an inscription that mentions about 68.000 dead in the Hürtgen Forest. This number most likely can be put down to a mixing up of dead and injured. The number of soldiers actually killed in action in the Hürtgen Forest is still not clear. Today’s estimates range around half of the number given on the church portal.

During the month of November 1944 fighting between American and German soldiers took place inside the church of Vossenack. Today a commemorative plaque inside and an inscription on the church portal call these events to mind.

The village of Vossenack was completely destroyed in the fighting between November 1944 and February 1945. Even the church was not spared destruction. In his essay ’You are now entering Germany’ the German Nobel Prize-winning author Heinrich Böll mentioned that fierce fighting took place in the church: “In Vossenack the ‘front’ ran straight through the parish church, with the American soldiers firing down from the organ loft, the Germans up from the sacristy”. Böll also wrote that the village of Vossenack had changed ownership between Germans and Americans twenty-eight times.

To put this in perspective it can be confirmed that on 6 November two companies of the 112th U.S. Regiment had to escape a German attack from the Tiefenbach valley in panic. Only when they reached the church were the Americans were able to stop the German attack. In the course of this engagement the fighting in the church was taking place. A commemorative plaque inside the church calls the events to mind. However, after 6 November there was no other attack on Vossenack by the Germans.

The church was newly consecrated after the Second World War because of these events. On the church portal there is an inscription that mentions about 68.000 dead in the Hürtgen Forest. This number most likely can be put down to a mixing up of dead and injured. The number of soldiers actually killed in action in the Hürtgen Forest is still not clear. Today’s estimates range around half of the number given on the church portal.

Church Vossenack

The medical aid bunker Nr. 374 in Simonskall is situated at the beginning of the road leading uphill to the village of Vossenack. It is the only one left of its type in all of Nordrhein-Westphalia. Built in 1938 according to the standard bunker type 32 (10,20m x 14,90m), it is surrounded by 1,5m thick walls. Here four medics could deliver medical assistance to about twenty wounded or sick soldiers. Conditions were very cramped. Only two treatment rooms were available for the patients. Treatment Room 1 for ‘gas sick’ persons for example accommodated no less than 10-15 beds on just 2,70 x 5,00 metres. There are also a number of other, much smaller spaces. The inventory of the bunker is almost completely original. During the autumn of 1944 the main front line in the Huertgen Forest ran close to Simonskall. On 4 November 1944 soldiers from the U.S. 110th Infantry Regiment succeeded in capturing both the village and the medical aid bunker. After the war the bunker first served as a provisional home for returning evacuees and since then as the foundation and cellar for a private home. For that reason access to the bunker is very limited. Visits can best be arranged via the museum in Vossenack, which is run by the same volunteer organization that renovated the bunker. The location is also linked to the historic hiking trails ‘Historisch-literarischer Wanderweg - Hürtgenwald 1938-1947’ and the ensuing project ‘Multimedia History Guide’.

The medical aid bunker Nr. 374 in Simonskall was built in 1938. Here four medics could give emergency treatment to about twenty to thirty wounded or sick soldiers. After the war the bunker first served as provisional housing for returning evacuees and later as a cellar for a private home. Access is very limited.

The medical aid bunker Nr. 374 in Simonskall is situated at the beginning of the road leading uphill to the village of Vossenack. It is the only one left of its type in all of Nordrhein-Westphalia. Built in 1938 according to the standard bunker type 32 (10,20m x 14,90m), it is surrounded by 1,5m thick walls. Here four medics could deliver medical assistance to about twenty wounded or sick soldiers. Conditions were very cramped. Only two treatment rooms were available for the patients. Treatment Room 1 for ‘gas sick’ persons for example accommodated no less than 10-15 beds on just 2,70 x 5,00 metres. There are also a number of other, much smaller spaces. The inventory of the bunker is almost completely original.

During the autumn of 1944 the main front line in the Huertgen Forest ran close to Simonskall. On 4 November 1944 soldiers from the U.S. 110th Infantry Regiment succeeded in capturing both the village and the medical aid bunker.

After the war the bunker first served as a provisional home for returning evacuees and since then as the foundation and cellar for a private home. For that reason access to the bunker is very limited. Visits can best be arranged via the museum in Vossenack, which is run by the same volunteer organization that renovated the bunker. The location is also linked to the historic hiking trails ‘Historisch-literarischer Wanderweg - Hürtgenwald 1938-1947’ and the ensuing project ‘Multimedia History Guide’.

Field Hospital Bunker Simonskall

During the autumn and winter of 1944/45, the longest battle of the Second World War on German soil took place in the Huertgen Forest. With this battle, the war precipitated by the Nazi regime returned to Germany. The fighting caused numerous casualties on both sides. At Huertgen War Cemetery 3.001 mostly German casualties of war have found their final resting place. Around 500 victims have not been identified. Among the German dead are a little over a hundred men who lost their lives during post-war clean-up operations as members of the ‘Ammunition Search and Removal Team’ or during efforts to recover the fallen from the forest. The cemetery was established between 1951 and 1952 and inaugurated on 17 August 1952. In 1994, on the 50th anniversary of D-Day, the landing of the Allies in Normandy, veterans of the 4th U.S. Infantry Division unveiled a memorial plaque in honour of Lieutenant Friedrich Lengfeld, who tried to save an American wounded soldier lying in a minefield at the cost of his own life. This memorial plaque can be found at the entrance of the cemetery.

During the autumn and winter of 1944/45, a long and bloody battle took place in the Huertgen Forest. 3.001 mostly German victims of this bitter struggle have their final resting place at Huertgen War Cemetery.

During the autumn and winter of 1944/45, the longest battle of the Second World War on German soil took place in the Huertgen Forest. With this battle, the war precipitated by the Nazi regime returned to Germany. The fighting caused numerous casualties on both sides.

At Huertgen War Cemetery 3.001 mostly German casualties of war have found their final resting place. Around 500 victims have not been identified. Among the German dead are a little over a hundred men who lost their lives during post-war clean-up operations as members of the ‘Ammunition Search and Removal Team’ or during efforts to recover the fallen from the forest.

The cemetery was established between 1951 and 1952 and inaugurated on 17 August 1952.
In 1994, on the 50th anniversary of D-Day, the landing of the Allies in Normandy, veterans of the 4th U.S. Infantry Division unveiled a memorial plaque in honour of Lieutenant Friedrich Lengfeld, who tried to save an American wounded soldier lying in a minefield at the cost of his own life. This memorial plaque can be found at the entrance of the cemetery.

Huertgen War Cemetery

In November 1944 units of the 28th U.S. Infantry Division advanced towards the strategically important village of Schmidt by way of the so-called ‘Kall Trail’, a rough road through a thick forest. After eight days of fighting, the ‘Battle for Schmidt’ ended in defeat for the Americans. The worn-out U.S. soldiers were forced to fall back on their frontline in Vossenack. Retreating from Schmidt the survivors had to cross the Kall Bridge at a time that parts of the surrounding valley had already been retaken by the Germans. Between 7 and 9 November, Dr. Stüttgen, a German captain in the medical corps, managed to negotiate several short cease-fires at this bridge, allowing wounded soldiers from both sides to be treated. The effect of these cease-fires was limited because of the confusing terrain. Nevertheless the lives of lots of U.S. soldiers were saved by German doctors and paramedics. After the war Dr. Stüttgen was honoured by the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania for this act of humanity. The events at the Kall Bridge were immortalized in the painting ‘A Time for Healing’, which can be seen in the museum of the United States National Guard. A replica of the painting is on display in the museum ‘Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden’ in Vossenack. On today’s bridge there is also a sculpture by Michael Pohlmann, reminding the visitor of this moment of humanity in the middle of horror: “I did not want to create a heroic memorial, nothing theatrical, no pathos. I wanted to honour this spot with modesty, with a simple sculpture out of rock that dignifies the place where rationality – or maybe emotion – made it possible to meet in humanity.”

When, in November 1944, worn-out American units were forced to retreat from the village of Schmidt, they had to pass the Kall bridge under fire. In the midst of the bitter fighting, Dr. Stüttgen, a German medical officer, organized several short cease-fires. As a result, wounded soldiers from both sides could be treated by German doctors and paramedics.

In November 1944 units of the 28th U.S. Infantry Division advanced towards the strategically important village of Schmidt by way of the so-called ‘Kall Trail’, a rough road through a thick forest. After eight days of fighting, the ‘Battle for Schmidt’ ended in defeat for the Americans. The worn-out U.S. soldiers were forced to fall back on their frontline in Vossenack.

Retreating from Schmidt the survivors had to cross the Kall Bridge at a time that parts of the surrounding valley had already been retaken by the Germans. Between 7 and 9 November, Dr. Stüttgen, a German captain in the medical corps, managed to negotiate several short cease-fires at this bridge, allowing wounded soldiers from both sides to be treated. The effect of these cease-fires was limited because of the confusing terrain. Nevertheless the lives of lots of U.S. soldiers were saved by German doctors and paramedics.

After the war Dr. Stüttgen was honoured by the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania for this act of humanity. The events at the Kall Bridge were immortalized in the painting ‘A Time for Healing’, which can be seen in the museum of the United States National Guard. A replica of the painting is on display in the museum ‘Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden’ in Vossenack.

On today’s bridge there is also a sculpture by Michael Pohlmann, reminding the visitor of this moment of humanity in the middle of horror: “I did not want to create a heroic memorial, nothing theatrical, no pathos. I wanted to honour this spot with modesty, with a simple sculpture out of rock that dignifies the place where rationality – or maybe emotion – made it possible to meet in humanity.”

Kall Bridge

The Battle of Huertgen Forest in the autumn and winter of 1944 took the lives of thousands of American and German soldiers. But not only these young men suffered. Villages, farmland and forest were utterly destroyed. The Museum Huertgen Forest 1944 and in Peacetime (Museum Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden) therefore not only pays attention to the military confrontations, but also to the plight of the local population during and after the battle. When the evacuated inhabitants returned to their homes they saw the labour of generations annihilated. During the summer of 1945 forest fires burned for months and spontaneous explosions of unspent ammunition claimed the lives of many men, women and children. But with courage and dedication the local population took on the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and their land from scratch. For the purpose of remembrance and warning the voluntary run Museum Huertgen Forest 1944 and in Peacetime (Museum Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden) shows photos, documents and military artefacts to tell the story of the battle and its sad consequences. The museum is run by volunteers. Almost all objects shown were collected in the Huertgen Forest area after the war.

For the purpose of remembrance and warning Museum Huertgen Forest 1944 and in Peacetime (Museum Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden) tells the story of the so-called Battle of Huertgen Forest - and its consequences for the local population. The museum is run by volunteers. Almost all objects in the exhibition were collected in the Huertgen Forest area after the war.

The Battle of Huertgen Forest in the autumn and winter of 1944 took the lives of thousands of American and German soldiers. But not only these young men suffered. Villages, farmland and forest were utterly destroyed. The Museum Huertgen Forest 1944 and in Peacetime (Museum Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden) therefore not only pays attention to the military confrontations, but also to the plight of the local population during and after the battle. When the evacuated inhabitants returned to their homes they saw the labour of generations annihilated. During the summer of 1945 forest fires burned for months and spontaneous explosions of unspent ammunition claimed the lives of many men, women and children. But with courage and dedication the local population took on the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and their land from scratch.

For the purpose of remembrance and warning the voluntary run Museum Huertgen Forest 1944 and in Peacetime (Museum Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden) shows photos, documents and military artefacts to tell the story of the battle and its sad consequences.

The museum is run by volunteers. Almost all objects shown were collected in the Huertgen Forest area after the war.

Museum Huertgen Forest 1944 and in Peacetime

When the American soldiers arrived in the Huertgen Forest area, they first had to get used to the ‘tricks’ of fighting in the forest. Their German counterparts, on the other hand, were reinforced by troops that were seasoned on the eastern front and all too familiar with the tactics of forest warfare. Especially in the area of the Ochsenkopf and Peterberg the Germans had another advantage: They could withstand American fire in the pillboxes that dotted the hills. These pillboxes were part of the ‘Westwall’ (or ‘Siegfried Line’ as the Allies called it), the last line of defence of Hitler’s Third Reich. It is often discussed what role the Siegfried Line played during that bloody autumn of 1944. The trenches and fortifications of the First World War were mostly obsolete. Tactics as well as weaponry were quite different thirty years later. The pillboxes of the Siegfried Line in the northern Eifel, however, were generally situated in dense spruce forests where every tree was a potential tank obstacle. The Germans were able to defend the pillboxes within a short radius, even if the actual front line had moved further.In the bewildering forest every single German company, every regiment could hide behind massive concrete walls. This resulted in a position-fight that went on for several months, calling to mind the warfare of the First World War. Only after the German counterattack, the ‘Battle of the Bulge’, had been repulsed, was the 1st U.S. Army able to move beyond the pillboxes and pass the Kall Valley.

Between September 1944 and February 1945 American and German soldiers faced each other directly in the pillboxes at the Ochsenkopf. In the almost inaccessible forest the Germans were able to defend their fortified positions for a long time.

When the American soldiers arrived in the Huertgen Forest area, they first had to get used to the ‘tricks’ of fighting in the forest. Their German counterparts, on the other hand, were reinforced by troops that were seasoned on the eastern front and all too familiar with the tactics of forest warfare.

Especially in the area of the Ochsenkopf and Peterberg the Germans had another advantage: They could withstand American fire in the pillboxes that dotted the hills. These pillboxes were part of the ‘Westwall’ (or ‘Siegfried Line’ as the Allies called it), the last line of defence of Hitler’s Third Reich.

It is often discussed what role the Siegfried Line played during that bloody autumn of 1944. The trenches and fortifications of the First World War were mostly obsolete. Tactics as well as weaponry were quite different thirty years later.

The pillboxes of the Siegfried Line in the northern Eifel, however, were generally situated in dense spruce forests where every tree was a potential tank obstacle. The Germans were able to defend the pillboxes within a short radius, even if the actual front line had moved further.
In the bewildering forest every single German company, every regiment could hide behind massive concrete walls. This resulted in a position-fight that went on for several months, calling to mind the warfare of the First World War. Only after the German counterattack, the ‘Battle of the Bulge’, had been repulsed, was the 1st U.S. Army able to move beyond the pillboxes and pass the Kall Valley.

Pillboxes Ochsenkopf

A total of around 760.000 Soviet citizens were buried in Germany as a result of the Second World War, most of them soldiers of the Soviet Army and forced labourers. The Soviet-Russian Second World War Cemetery Simmerath-Rurberg holds the remains 2.322 of them – men, women and children. Only fifty-five of them rest in individual graves, the others in mass graves. Just a small number is known by name. Here in Simmerath-Rurberg almost all of the buried were also prisoners of war or forced labourers. They died in consequence of hardship in the labour camps or as a result of Allied bomb strikes. After the war was over many small Soviet cemeteries were established all over Germany. The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge united 38 of these cemeteries in the region of Monschau, Erkelenz, Geilenkirchen, Aachen, Jülich, Düren and Schleiden in Germany and Rurberg in Belgium. Most of the dead were transferred from Düren, where in the course of the war 1.522 forced labourers died in arms factories. The Simmerath-Rurberg Cemetery was officially opened in 1961.

The Soviet-Russian Second World War Cemetery Simmerath-Rurberg holds the remains 2.322 Soviet citizens. Fifty-five of them rest in individual graves, the others in mass graves. Only a small number is known by name. Almost all of the buried were prisoners of war or forced labourers.

A total of around 760.000 Soviet citizens were buried in Germany as a result of the Second World War, most of them soldiers of the Soviet Army and forced labourers. The Soviet-Russian Second World War Cemetery Simmerath-Rurberg holds the remains 2.322 of them – men, women and children. Only fifty-five of them rest in individual graves, the others in mass graves. Just a small number is known by name. Here in Simmerath-Rurberg almost all of the buried were also prisoners of war or forced labourers. They died in consequence of hardship in the labour camps or as a result of Allied bomb strikes.

After the war was over many small Soviet cemeteries were established all over Germany. The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge united 38 of these cemeteries in the region of Monschau, Erkelenz, Geilenkirchen, Aachen, Jülich, Düren and Schleiden in Germany and Rurberg in Belgium. Most of the dead were transferred from Düren, where in the course of the war 1.522 forced labourers died in arms factories. The Simmerath-Rurberg Cemetery was officially opened in 1961.

Soviet-Russian Second World War Cemetery Simmerath-Rurberg

From mid-September 1944 till the end of February 1945 fierce battles raged in the region between the ridge line of the Hautes Fagnes and the Rur River, a phase of the Second World War better known as ‘The Battle of Huertgen Forest’. Tens of thousands of American and German soldiers died during the six months of the fierce and bloody fighting.Following the request of the next of kin, the remains of most American soldiers were repatriated to U.S. soil for interment in a National or private cemetery. The remains of the German soldiers who lost their lives during the Huertgen Forest Campaign found their eternal resting places in German War Cemeteries, especially Huertgen and Vossenack, or communal cemeteries in the area. A larger part of fallen German soldiers had been transferred by elements of the American Graves Registration Service, a military branch of the Quartermaster Corps, to German War Cemeteries in Belgium and the Netherlands.The Vossenack Cemetery was constructed on a strategic site, Hill 470, by the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) during the years 1949 to 1952. Today the cemetery contains the graves of 2347 fallen at war. Among those are 35 men who lost their lives during post-war operations as members of an 'Ammunition Search and Removal Team'.Since 21 May 2005, a monument at the entrance to the cemetery commemorates Julius Erasmus, a German Engineer Captain who - often risking his life - recovered 1569 sets of remains of his former comrades from the Huertgen Forest battlefields and personally buried them on this hill. <iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqYi9i1SXOw?showinfo=0"></iframe>

The Vossenack Cemetery was constructed on a strategic site, Hill 470, by the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) during the years 1949 to 1952. Today the cemetery contains the graves of 2.347 war dead. Among those are 35 men who lost their lives during post-war operations as members of a 'Ammunition Search and Removal Team'.

From mid September 1944 till the end of February 1945 fierce battles raged in the region between the ridge line of the Hautes Fagnes and the Rur River, a phase of the Second World War better known as ‘The Battle of Huertgen Forest’. Ten thousands of American and German soldiers died during the six months of the fierce and bloody fighting. Following the request of the next of kin, the remains of most American soldiers were repatriated to U.S. soil for interment in a National or private cemetery.

The remains of the German soldiers who lost their lives during the Huertgen Forest Campaign found their eternal resting places on German War Cemeteries, especially Huertgen and Vossenack, or communal cemeteries in the area. A larger part of fallen German soldiers had been transferred by elements of the American Graves Registration Service, a military branch of the Quartermaster Corps, to Belgium and the Netherlands on German War Cemeteries there.

The Vossenack Cemetery was constructed on a strategic site, Hill 470, by the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge) during the years 1949 to 1952. Today the cemetery contains the graves of 2.347 war Dead. Among those are 35 men who lost their lives during post-war operations as members of a 'Ammunition Search and Removal Team'.

Since 21 May 2005 a monument at the entrance to the cemetery commemorates Julius Erasmus, a German Engineer Captain who - mostly under risking his life - recovered 1.569 sets of remains of his former comrades from the Huertgen Forest battlefields and personally buried them on this hill.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqYi9i1SXOw[/embed]

Vossenack German Cemetery

The first phase of the Vogelsang ‘Ordensburg’ was built from 1934 to 1936 on a wooded mountain spur above the Urfttal dam. It was to be a training institution for young party members of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP).The term Ordensburg (order castle) came from the party and state leadership’s need to adopt powerful symbols from German history and to give them a new ideological interpretation. The Vogelsang complex was to be understood as a symbol of the rule of state and party over nature, and great trouble was taken to create a relief effect on the hillside where it is located.The complex is therefore by no means a hilltop medieval castle but a modern, purpose-built structure made of reinforced concrete and faced with natural stone; the ‘keep’ was used as a water tower. The trainees did not belong to an order in the sense of a medieval community of knights but were fanatical adherents of the system, who boastfully and arrogantly referred to themselves as junkers.Instruction at Vogelsang ended when the German Wehrmacht attacked Poland on 1 September 1939 and the trainees signed up for war service. From 1946 until 2005 it was the centre of initially a British and later a Belgian military training ground.Today, Vogelsang IP is an international place of active remembrance, where in addition to conveying historical facts about the Nazi era, issues, messages and reflections regarding our present social life are addressed. The focus lies on the question: “What has Vogelsang got to do with me?”

The Vogelsang complex was built as a National Socialist training institution before becoming an international military training area. Today, Vogelsang IP is an international place of active remembrance, where in addition to conveying historical facts about the Nazi era, issues regarding our present social life are addressed.

The first phase of the Vogelsang ‘Ordensburg’ was built from 1934 to 1936 on a wooded mountain spur above the Urfttal dam. It was to be a training institution for young party members of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP). The term Ordensburg (order castle) came from the party and state leadership’s need to adopt powerful symbols from German history and to give them a new ideological interpretation. The Vogelsang complex was to be understood as a symbol of the rule of state and party over nature and great trouble was taken to create a relief effect on the hillside where it is located.

The complex is thus by no means a hilltop mediaeval castle but a modern, purpose-built structure made of reinforced concrete and faced with natural stone; the ‘keep’ was used as a water tower. The trainees did not belong to an order in the sense of a medieval community of knights but were fanatical adherents of the system, who boastfully and arrogantly referred to themselves as junkers.

Instruction at Vogelsang ended when the German Wehrmacht attacked Poland on 1 September 1939 and the trainees signed up for war service. From 1946 until 2005 it was the centre of initially a British and later a Belgian military training ground.

Today, Vogelsang IP is an international place of active remembrance, where in addition to conveying historical facts about the Nazi era, issues, messages and reflections regarding our present social life are addressed. The focus lies on the question: “What has Vogelsang got to do with me?”

Vogelsang International Park

Mariawald Abbey is situated near the village of Heimbach in the Eifel Mountains, to the southeast of the Rur-Dam Schwammenauel. It was founded as a monastery by Cistercian monks in 1486. In 1909 the monastery was elevated to the status of ‘abbey’.During the Nazi period, the monks and brothers came into conflict with the authorities and were suppressed by the Secret State Police (Gestapo) until the abbey was finally declared hostile to the state. Some of the monks were arrested, others were conscripted or evicted. Just a few brothers remained as farmhands on the fields of the monastery.In 1938 part of the abbey was commandeered to accommodate the workers who constructed the ‘Westwall’ (Siegfried Line), a line of fortifications along the German border from the Netherlands to Switzerland. Later the buildings were used for some time as an orphanage. During the autumn and winter of 1944/45 a prolonged battle took place in the Eifel region. The fighting caused numerous casualties on both sides and the abbey was used as a military hospital. For a lot of the wounded soldiers, there was no saving. The few remaining brothers buried them on a nearby hill, where 414 of them still rest in what is now the War Cemetery of the Mariawald Abbey.During the fighting the abbey was badly damaged by Allied fire and suffered more destruction from the withdrawing German troops. In 1950 the monks returned to Mariawald and immediately started to rebuild the abbey. The work was finished in 1959.

In the late 1930s the monks of Mariawald Abbey came into conflict with the Nazi regime and were evicted. During the battle of Huertgenwald the abbey was used as a field hospital. Many of the wounded could not be saved and died. 414 of them are still resting in what is now the War Cemetery of the Mariawald Abbey.

Mariawald Abbey is situated near the village of Heimbach in the Eifel Mountains, to the southeast of the Rur-Dam Schwammenauel. It was founded as a monastery by Cistercian monks in 1486. In 1909 the monastery was elevated to the status of ‘abbey’. During the Nazi period the monks and brothers came into conflict with the authorities and were suppressed by the Secret State Police (Gestapo) until the abbey was finally declared hostile to the state. Some of the monks were arrested, others were conscripted or evicted. Just a few brothers remained as farmhands on the fields of the monastery.

Already in 1938 part of the abbey was commandeered to accommodate the workers who constructed the ‘Westwall’ (Siegfried Line), a line of fortifications along the German border from the Netherlands to Switzerland. Later the buildings were for some time used as an orphanage.

During the autumn and winter of 1944/45 a prolonged battle took place in the Eifel region. The fighting caused numerous casualties on both sides. The abbey was used as a military hospital. For a lot of the wounded soldiers there was no saving. The few remaining brothers buried them on a nearby hill, where 414 of them are still resting in what is now the War Cemetery of the Mariawald Abbey.

During the fighting the abbey was badly damaged by Allied fire and suffered more destruction from the withdrawing German troops. In 1950 the monks returned to Mariawald and immediately started to rebuild the abbey. The work was finished in 1959.

War Cemetery of the Mariawald Abbey

In the years before the Second World War the Ordensburg Vogelsang adhered to a cult of prowess and virility. Physical health, beauty and strength were equated with the ideal of the ‘Aryan race’. The opposite characteristics were attributed to the ‘inferior races’. Many of the reliefs and sculptures in Vogelsang have survived and still reflect this National Socialist concept of the so called Herrenmensch. They were placed in a way that the young men saw them every day. The most conspicuous relief - called the ‘torchbearer’- loomed large above the cadets whenever they were in the vicinity of the Vogelsang hillside. To this day the huge figure still commands the Sonnwendplatz (solstice place) with its bowl of fire and is easily visible from as far as Lake Urft. The artist, sculptor Willy Meller, purposefully created similarities between the torchbearer and another sculpture: the ‘master hero’ in the hall of honour, erected to commemorate fallen Nazis, particularly the ‘martyrs’ killed in Hitler’s putsch attempt of 1923. For the cadets the torchbearer served as a guiding principle for their perceived distinction of being the ‘master race’. The inscription, which draws from Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount both in phrasing and in content, directly addresses the cadets: “You are the torchbearers of the Nation, you carry forth the light of spirit in the fight for Adolf Hitler”. The raised torch is a reference to the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus bringing fire to mankind. It fits in with the symbolism of light, popular in National Socialism, and was politically reinterpreted: The flame symbolised the rebirth of the nation through the victory of Nazi-Germany. When the U.S. soldiers captured the Ordensburg in 1945, they fired their guns at the torchbearer and other sculptures. The bullet marks are still clearly visible. Hitler's master race is the topic of a permanent exhibition in Vogelsang: “Destiny: Master Race. National Socialist Ordensburgen – Between Fascination and Crime”.

Vogelsang International Place is riddled with Nazi-symbols. Quite a few of them focus on the national socialist idea of a master race, the ‘Herrenmensch’. The most conspicuous symbol is the statue of the torchbearer, that it visible even beyond the perimeter of the Ordensburg. It borrows from Christian and Greek symbolism as well as the pagan idea of light.

In the years before the Second World War the Ordensburg Vogelsang adhered to a cult of prowess and virility. Physical health, beauty and strength were equated with the ideal of the ‘Aryan race’. The opposite characteristics were attributed to the ‘inferior races’. Many of the reliefs and sculptures in Vogelsang have survived and still reflect this National Socialist concept of the so called Herrenmensch. They were placed in a way that the young men saw them every day. The most conspicuous relief - called the ‘torchbearer’- loomed large above the cadets whenever they were in the vicinity of the Vogelsang hillside. To this day the huge figure still commands the Sonnwendplatz (solstice place) with its bowl of fire and is easily visible from as far as Lake Urft. The artist, sculptor Willy Meller, purposefully created similarities between the torchbearer and another sculpture: the ‘master hero’ in the hall of honour, erected to commemorate fallen Nazis, particularly the ‘martyrs’ killed in Hitler’s putsch attempt of 1923.

For the cadets the torchbearer served as a guiding principle for their perceived distinction of being the ‘master race’. The inscription, which draws from Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount both in phrasing and in content, directly addresses the cadets: “You are the torchbearers of the Nation, you carry forth the light of spirit in the fight for Adolf Hitler”. The raised torch is a reference to the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus bringing fire to mankind. It fits in with the symbolism of light, popular in National Socialism, and was politically reinterpreted: The flame symbolised the rebirth of the nation through the victory of Nazi-Germany. When the U.S. soldiers captured the Ordensburg in 1945, they fired their guns at the torchbearer and other sculptures. The bullet marks are still clearly visible.

Hitler's master race is the topic of a permanent exhibition in Vogelsang: “Destiny: Master Race. National Socialist Ordensburgen – Between Fascination and Crime”.