Souvenir of Germany
A Theatre of Warfare and Aviation
souvenir (n.)
1775, »a remembrance or memory,« from French souvenir (12c.), from Old French noun use of souvenir (v.) »to remember, come to mind,« from Latin subvenire »come to mind,« from sub »up from below« (see sub-) + venire »to come,« from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- »to go, come.« Meaning »token of remembrance, memento« is first recorded 1782.
(‘Souvenir | Origin and Meaning of Souvenir by Online Etymology Dictionary’ 2021)
»Places chose you. They take hold of you, whether you wish them or not.«
(Cave in Pollard and Forsythe 2014: 07:23)
This happened to me almost one year ago. These old military grounds and the mostly abandoned buildings, with their gloomy atmosphere, fascinated me. I started photographing them and researching their history. For over 130 years, this area was used by German, French, and American armies as a training ground, an airfield, and barracks (Eckstein 2008: 15).
Today the area is in a change. When the visible traces are torn down to give place for new housing, nothing will remind of the sites’ history. With this, documenting, telling the stories and thus creating a memory theatre is the »Souvenir of Germany« essence. It is about man’s impact on the land and local history. But local history is caused by world history, which is mirrored here, too.
This portfolio visualises ten episodes of the past, beginning with the German era until 1918 (»The Parade Ground«) followed by the French occupation after the Great War (»Franzosenzeit«).
In the 1930s, the Griesheim airfield was a stronghold of gliding and aeronautical research (»Gliders, Science, Research«). Many developments in aircraft construction that are still valid today came from the Griesheim airfield. But there were also close ties to the military and the Nazi regime.
As a result of the Nazi regime (»Dark Times«) and the World War, Griesheim was also bombed several times; the heaviest attack was on 24. December 1944 (»Mission 760«).
On 24 March 1945, the US Army reached Griesheim (»They reach Griesheim«), ending the war for the town.
The Americans used the military ground until 1992. In the Cold War, the airfield became a missile launch area (»Cold War Scenes«), despite the protest of the inhabitants. Today, this part of the site is a nature reserve, and the bunkers and hangars are abandoned.
Aviation came back too, in the form of American medical evacuation helicopters (»MEDEVAC«) and civil pilots from two flying clubs (»Civil aviation: »Hessenflieger« and »Darmstadt Flying Club«). Today, only the gliders from Darmstadt’s University are allowed to start and land here.
There was journalism, too. The European edition of the Stars and Stripes was edited and printed here until 2005 in a former German Air Force barracks built in 1913.
What’s left today are the buildings and streetlights and gates that look like dinosaurs. There is no need to light the grassy paths or keep people off the military areas through big gates. It is a place used by scientists of several disciplines and a new home for people in the near future.
Walter Benjamin wrote, »Whoever has once begun to open the fan of remembrance will always find new limbs, new rods, no image is enough for him, because he has recognised it: he could let it unfold, the essential is only in the folds…« (Benjamin 2011: I,65). More or less, every day, I find new images, information and stories about this site. Dealing with this area is an ongoing project, which might end with a picture of the first new building.
This is the third portfolio of the »Archivum«-project.
The project was shortlisted in the Urbanautica Institute Awards 2021 and funded by a grant from the Hessian Cultural Foundation (Hessische Kulturstiftung, »Kulturpaket II: Perspektiven öffnen, Vielfalt sichern – Brückenstipendium«) .
At the Parade Ground (1855 – 1918)
»Franzosenzeit« (French Occupation, 1919 - 1930)
Gliders, Science, Research (1927 – 1945)
Dark Times (1933 – 1945)
Mission 760 (24. December 1944)
8th Air Force 760 24 DECEMBER 1944
1. Decision.
Weather forecast at the afternoon conference indicated that high pressure center would be situated over the southwest Germany, causing a condition of no cloud in the bases and in the target areas.
…
It was upon this forecast that the decision was made to dispatch a maximum effort of heavy bombers, which was to be the largest mission yet airborne. Targets were selected in the area of Frankfurt and the battle line.
2. Force.
…
3rd bomb division was to dispatch all available operational aircraft on airfields at Gross Ostheim, Darmstadt/Griesheim, Biblis, Babenhausen, Frankfurt/Rhein Main and Zellhausen. This would consist of approximately twenty three groups of 36 A/C each.
…
3. Plan.
All divisions were to depart UK and penetrate southeast to the target areas.
…
3rd division was attacking down-wind from the northeast in order to minimize the effect of anti-aircraft defenses in the target areas.
…
(‘8th Air Force 760 | American Air Museum in Britain’ 2021)
They reach Griesheim (24. March 1945)
Cold War Scenes (1947 – 1989)
MEDEVAC (1965 – 1992)
The Stars and Stripes (1949 – 2007)
Civil Aviation: »Hessenflieger« and »Darmstadt Flying Club« (1970 – 1993)
What’s left? Dinosaurs of warlike times,
scientists and a nature reserve
List of Figures and References
Souvenir of Germany:
‘Souvenir | Origin and Meaning of Souvenir by Online Etymology Dictionary. 2021. [online]. Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/souvenir [accessed 10 Aug 2021].
‘20 000 Days on Earth - Ein Tag im Leben von Nick Cave - Programm in voller Länge’. 2014. ARTE [online]. Available at: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/103878-000-A/20-000-days-on-earth/ [accessed 19 Aug 2021].
ECKSTEIN, Ursula. 2008. Ecksteins Luftfahrtgeschichte Darmstadt. Darmstadt: Justus von Liebig Verlag.
BENJAMIN, Walter. 2011. Gesammelte Werke. Frankfurt a. M: Zweitausendeins.
At the Parade Ground:
Unknown maker. 1904. Erinnerung an den Griesheimer Sand 1904. [postcard, own collection].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2020. »The Parade Ground«
Images used:
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2020. Photograph of plastic soldiers »Airfix WWI German Infantry«.
Unknown maker. Stamped 1916. GRUSS vom TRUPPENÜBUNGSPLATZ DARMSTADT. Wellblechhausen [postcard, own collection].
Unknown maker. Stamped 1910. Kurgäste zur Entfettungskur a. d. Griesheimer Sand. [postcard, own collection].
Unknown maker. ca. 1900. Gruss vom Truppenübungsplatz Darmstadt, Batterie auf dem Heimweg. Sammlung Peter Merschroth [online]. Available at: http://www.sammlung-merschroth.de/Griesheim_Sand/griesheim_sand.html [accessed 4 Dec 2020].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2020. On the area of the former Parade Ground.
REICHSAMT FUR LANDESAUFNAHME. 1893. ‘(Composite of) Sheet 527. Darmstadt. Karte Des Deutschen Reiches.’ David Rumsey Map Collection [online]. Available at: https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~216551~5502753:Composite--527--Darmstadt- [accessed 7 Nov 2020].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2020. »Offizier Frühstück-Casino« [Officers breakfast mess]
Images used:
Unknown maker. Stamped 1910. Übungsplatz bei Darmstadt Offizier Frühstücks-Casinos Waldhausen. [postcard, own collection].
Photogr. Kunstanstalt J. WOLFF. Stamped 1911. Uebungsplatz Darmstadt Offizier-Frühstückslokal. [postcard, own collection].
Unknown maker. ca. 1900. Location map of the exercise ground. Stadtarchiv Griesheim.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2020. Inside the former Officer’s mess.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2020. The facade of the former Officer’s mess.
REICHSAMT FUR LANDESAUFNAHME. 1893. ‘(Composite of) Sheet 527. Darmstadt. Karte Des Deutschen Reiches.’ David Rumsey Map Collection [online]. Available at: https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~216551~5502753:Composite--527--Darmstadt- [accessed 7 Nov 2020].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Grid »Today at the Officer’s mess«.
»Franzosenzeit«
‘Griesheim, 15. Nov.’ 1919. Neuer Griesheimer Anzeiger, 16 Nov.
The text reads: Griesheim, 15 Nov. The large Rhine bridgehead near Mainz, calculated to be 30 kilometres in diameter and occupied by the Allies, is also encroaching on the right bank of the Rhine. This semicircle is likely to extend roughly across Frankfurt -Darmstadt-Gernsheim. So our community must also familiarise itself with the harrowing thought that we are receiving enemy quartering. Therefore, there is no cause for alarm; above all, we must remain calm and maintain the strictest discipline. We had to agree to these armistice conditions since any further resistance was useless. Still, it is deeply saddening that the German people now have to bear the consequences of the system that has prevailed since then after a four-year heroic struggle. [translated with deepl.com, own translation]
Unknown maker. 1929. Stube 144, Infanterie Regiment Nr. 151e, 3. Kompanie, 25. August 1929. Sammlung Peter Merschroth [online]. Available at: http://www.sammlung-merschroth.de/Griesheim_Sand/Franzosenzeit/franzosenzeit.html [accessed 4 Dec 2020]
GREAT BRITAIN. WAR OFFICE. GENERAL STAFF. GEOGRAPHICAL SECTION. 1921. ‘Seine, Meuse and Rhine Basins. Shewing Areas of Occupation of the Allied Armies. July 1921. GSGS 3695b.’ Available at: http://explore.bl.uk/BLVU1:LSCOP-ALL:BLL01016553279
Gliders, Science, Research:
ECKSTEIN, Ursula. 2021. ‘Luftfahrtindustrie in Darmstadt’. [online]. Available at: https://www.darmstadt-stadtlexikon.de/l/luftfahrtindustrie-in-darmstadt.html [accessed 10 Jul 2021].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »Gliders and scientists (Georgii, Lippisch, Reitsch)«
Images used:
Flavia SCHUBERT. ca. 1933. Urubu Obs vor der DFS-Flugzeughalle auf dem Griesheimer Sand. Stadtarchiv Griesheim.
Unknown maker. ca. 1930s. Glider at the Griesheim airfield. Stadtarchiv Griesheim.
Unkown maker. ca. 1930s. Walter Georgii, Alexander Lippisch, Hanna Reitsch at the Griesheim airfield. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Runway at the Griesheim airfield.
Unknown maker. ca. 1930s. Glider »Windspiel« at the Griesheim airfield. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Alexander Lippisch and the wind tunnel
Images used:
Unknown maker. ca. 1930s. All b/w-images taken from an article about Alexander Lippisch and his wind tunnel. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. The DFS-wind tunnel today.
Stills are taken from: UNIVERSITY OF IOWA and Alexander LIPPISCH. 1955. The Secret of Flight 1: Preview [Film]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1oCDR3DBbo [accessed 7 Aug 2021].
Dark Times:
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »Flag Call«.
Images used:
‘Pocket Guide to Germany [Electronic Resource] / Prepared by Army Information Branch, Army Service Forces, United States Army.’ 1944. [online]. Available at: https://digitalcollections.smu.edu/digital/collection/hgp/id/686/ [accessed 1 Jan 2021].
Unknown maker. ca. 1930s. »Hitlerjugend« in front of a building near the airfield. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Wilhelm RAUSCHKOLB. 1939. »Wer auf Preussens Fahne schwört hat nichts mehr was ihm selbst gehört« [Those who swear by the Prussian flag no longer have anything that belongs to them].From his private photo album. [own translation, own collection].
Mission 760
‘Weather Forecast’. n.d. 24th December 1944 [online]. Available at: http://24december1944.com/weather-forecast/ [accessed 13 Aug 2021].
‘8th Air Force 760 | American Air Museum in Britain’. 2021. [online] Available at: http://www.americanairmuseum.com/mission/470 [accessed 12 Aug 2021].
Unknown maker. 1944. ‘Strike Photo’s’. 24th December 1944 [online]. Available at: http://24december1944.com/strike_photos/ [accessed 13 Aug 2021].
KNAPP, Karl. 1985. Griesheim in kriegerischen Zeiten. Griesheim: V. Bassenauer Gmbh.
They reach Griesheim
‘4th Armored Leads Swift Push After Airborne Landings’. 1945. The Stars and Stripes London Edition, 26 Mar.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »They reach Griesheim, 24. March 1945«.
Images used:
Unknown maker. 1944. American soldiers in Griesheim. Stadtarchiv Griesheim.
‘4th Armored Leads Swift Push After Airborne Landings’. 1945. The Stars and Stripes London Edition, 26 Mar.
‘March 24, 1945’ [image]. 2021. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA [online]. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701sm.gct00021/?sp=292 [accessed 19 Aug 2021].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Camouflage on section bunker.
Unknown maker. ca. 1946. Former barracks near the airfield. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
‘Pocket Guide to Germany [Electronic Resource] / Prepared by Army Information Branch, Army Service Forces, United States Army.’ 1944. [online]. Available at: https://digitalcollections.smu.edu/digital/collection/hgp/id/686/ [accessed 1 Jan 2021].
VOIGT, Matthias. 2020. ‘Kriegsende vor 75 Jahren in Griesheim’. Echo Online [online]. Available at: https://www.echo-online.de/lokales/darmstadt-dieburg/griesheim/kriegsende-vor-75-jahren-in-griesheim_21415237 [accessed 20 Jul 2021].
Cold War Scenes
Stills are taken from: NUCLEAR VAULT. 2010. The Nike Hercules Story 1960 Army Film [Film]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-YCngMLg6I&list=PLURGV9b3qZDQ7f4WlysrV8h6Mfz6T3U76&index=36&t=811s [accessed 25 Mar 2021].
‘7th Army Unit Shoots For “Pie in the Sky”’. 1963. The Stars and Stripes European Edition, 15 Aug [online].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »Nike, 1964«.
Images used:
B/W-images: Unknown maker. 1964. Nike Display Griesheim. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Drawing taken from the »ADA Subcourse 703-3«: U. S. Army. ca. 1960s. ‘Launcher Area Course’. 2020. [PDF, online]. Available at: http://nikemissile.org/ADA703-3/ada_subcourse_703.shtml [accessed 30 Nov 2020].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Former Nike-missile hangar.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Former section bunker.
Marcel Rauschkolb. 2021. »At the missile launch site, 1986«.
Images used:
B/W-images: Unknown maker. Missile site 1986. Archiv August-Euler.-Museum.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Buildings near the missile launch site.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Grid »Today at the former missile launch site«.
MEDEVAC
HOLDEN, Jack. 1965. ‘Stripes Visit a Small Field – Airstrip in Action’. The Stars and Stripes European Edition, 24 May.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »The MEDEVAC-Helicopters«.
Images used:
Unknown maker. ca. 1960s. Darmstadt-Griesheim-Air Field-Open House. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Rainer OHL. ca. 1970s. Helicopter at the Griesheim airfield. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Griesheim airfield.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. The former helicopter hangar.
Unknown maker. 1964. Griesheim Pilots. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
‘New Mother Is in the Clouds during Delivery of Baby Girl’. 1987. The Stars and Stripes European Edition, 16 Sep.
Martin STENGER. ca. 2000s. Paintings inside the old tower building.
The Stars and Stripes
‘Stars and Stripes advert’. 1949. The Stars and Stripes European Edition, 20 Dec.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »The Stars and Stripes«.
Images used:
Unknown maker. ca. 1940s. Sign near the compound’s entrance. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Unknown maker. ca. 1950s. Editorial conference with candles. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Peter JAEGER. 1955. Gebäude der ehemaligen Fliegerkaserne auf dem Flugplatz Darmstadt. Nach der Renovierung sind sie Sitz der Redaktion der US Militärzeitschrift “Stars & Stripes”. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Fence and the former printing facility.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Former Stars and Stripes main building.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Pile of old Stars and Stripes-newspapers.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »The Stars and Stripes Press Club«.
Images used:
Unknown maker. 1982. The Stars and Stripes Officers & Civilians Press Club. Archiv Griesheimer Anzeiger.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Building of the »Stars and Stripes Press Club«, in the 1930s a workshop.
Unknown maker. ca. 1980s. Inside the Press Club. Archiv August-Euler-Museum.
DOUGHERTY, Kevin. 2007. ‘Commander Announces Stars and Stripes’ Move to Kaiserslautern Base’. Stars and Stripes [online]. Available at: https://www.stripes.com/news/commander-announces-stars-and-stripes-move-to-kaiserslautern-base-1.62989 [accessed 16 Aug 2021].
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Grid »The Stars and Stripes-Compound today«.
Civil aviation: »Hessenflieger« and »Darmstadt Flying Club«
Unknown maker. ca. 1990s. Starting sequence. Archiv Griesheimer Anzeiger.
‘Flying Club Dedicates Its New Plane’. 1972. The Stars and Stripes European Edition, 11 Sep.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. »Civil Airflights«.
Images used:
Peter GEBAUER. 1992. Letzter Flug mit Wolfgang Rausch. Archiv Griesheimer Anzeiger.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Tower building of the August-Euler-Airfield.
DOD FLIGHT INFORMATION PUBLICATION. 1984. Sichtan- und abflugstrecken (1984). Sammlung Markus Lenz [online]. Available at: https://www.pennula.de/darmstadt-flugplatz-airbase-flughafen-airport.htm [accessed 18 Nov 2020]
Unkown maker. ca. 1992. Open day at the airfield. Stadtarchiv Griesheim.
Unknown maker. ca. 1990s. Aeroplane. Archiv Griesheimer Anzeiger.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Grid »Airfield markings today«.
What's left?
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Grid »Dinosaurs 1: Useless streetlights«.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Grid »Dinosaurs 2: Gates around the military area«.
REAVIS, Ed. 1994. ‘Former Griesheim Airfield May Become a Nature Park’. The Stars and Stripes European Edition, 5 Jan.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Meadow, high-voltage hall and wind tunnel of Darmstadt University.
CRITCHLEY, Simon. 2015. Memory Theater. New York: Other Press.
Marcel RAUSCHKOLB. 2021. Old photo album »Souvenir of Germany«. [own collection].
Resources
CRITCHLEY, Simon. 2015. Memory Theater. New York: Other Press.
ECKSTEIN, Ursula. 2008. Ecksteins Luftfahrtgeschichte Darmstadt. Darmstadt: Justus von Liebig Verlag.
HIRSCH, Marianne. 2017. ‘Ce Qui Touche á La Mémoire’. Esprit (2017/10), 42 – 61.
GÖLLER, Andreas and Annegret HOLTMANN. 2008. Ein Jahrhundert Luftfahrtgeschichte zwischen Tradition, Forschung und Landschaftspflege: der August-Euler-Flugplatz in Darmstadt-Griesheim. Darmstadt: WGB (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft).
'Casualty Evacuation'. 2020. Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Casualty_evacuation&oldid=942224484 [accessed 4 Dec 2020].