Schellingstraße 2: The Wehrmacht in Tübingen
Station im Stadtrundgang: History Path to National Socialism
The building at Schellingstraße 2 was the soldiers' accommodation of the Thiepval-Kaserne (Thiepval Barracks). During National Socialism, there were three Wehrmacht barracks (Thiepval, Loretto, and Hindenburg) as well as numerous military hospitals in Tübingen. The military was an integral part of Tübingen's public life.
Several thousand conscripts and volunteers received military training in Tübingen's barracks. Because of the National Socialist preparations for war, the military presence rose from one battalion (ca. 800 soldiers) to three between 1933 and 1935. In the years to follow, there were more soldiers than students in Tübingen.
The military regularly participated in Tübingen's public life. On the "Tag der Wehrmacht" ("Day of the Wehrmacht," March 18), on the "Führergeburtstag" (Adolf Hitler's birthday, April 20), as well as on May Day (May 1), local army units paraded through the city. Swearing-in ceremonies of recruits were public events.
Wehrmacht troops from Tübingen were involved in the wars of aggressions against other European countries: Luxemburg, Belgium, and France in 1940; the Soviet Union in 1941. Until the end of the war in 1945, the Wehrmacht had established 31 military hospitals in Tübingen's municipal area.
When it became clear that National Socialist Germany would lose the war, more and more German soldiers went absent without leave. During the last months of the war, the Wehrmacht probably executed several deserters in the forest behind the Hindenburg-Kaserne (Hindenburg Barracks). On April 19, 1945, French troops marched into Tübingen and took over the barracks.
Tübingen Barracks and their Military Use
1873-1875
Construction of the Infanterie-Kaserne near the main train station. Later renamed Alte Kaserne.
1914-1916
Construction of the Neue Kaserne on Katharinenstraße.
1919-1934
Use of the Alte Kaserne as a civilian residential building and by the paramilitary Polizeiwehr (police force); military use of the Neue Kaserne by the Reichswehr (German Armed Forces between 1919 and 1935).
1934/35
Civilian residents of the Alte Kaserne are given notice before it is again used as barracks by the Reichswehr.
1935
Completion of the Burgholz-Kaserne.
1937-1940
Construction of the Standortlazarett (garrison military hospital ) "Auf dem Sand".
1938
Renaming of the three Tübingen barracks: Thiepval-Kaserne (formerly Alte Kaserne), Loretto-Kaserne (formerly Neue Kaserne), and Hindenburg-Kaserne (formerly Burgholz-Kaserne).
1941-1945
The Marineärztliche Akademie (Navy Medical Academy) in Tübingen: one company is cantoned in the Thiepval-Kaserne.
1944
The Thiepval-Kaserne is converted into a Reservelazarett (reserve military hospital)
1945-1947
Housing of former forced laborers and prisoners of war (so-called "displaced persons") in the Thiepval-Kaserne.
1947-1977
The French Army uses the Thiepval-Kaserne (Loretto-Kaserne and Hindenburg-Kaserne in French use since 1945).
1991
The French military leaves Tübingen.
Image 1
Wehrmacht soldiers in front of Tübingen's Alte Kaserne (Old Barracks, renamed Thiepval-Kaserne in 1938), October 1935. Photo: City Archives Tübingen / Walter Kleinfeld
Image 2
Locations of the most important military buildings in Tübingen:
- Infanterie-Kaserne (Infantry Barracks): built from 1873 to 1875; called Alte Kaserne (Old Barracks) from 1916 to 1938 and renamed Thiepval-Kaserne in 1938. Thiepval was a village on the Western Front in World War I.
- Neue Kaserne (New Barracks): built from 1914 to 1916, renamed Loretto-Kaserne (Loretto Barracks) in 1938.The barracks were named after the 1915 battle on the Western Front.
- Burgholz-Kaserne: built in 1935, renamed Hindenburg-Kaserne in 1938. Burgholz, literally "castle wood," is a small forested area east of Tübingen's Südstadt; Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934) was Reichspräsident (Reich President) of Germany from 1925 to 1934.
- Standortlazarett (garrison military hospital) "Auf dem Sand": built from 1937 to 1940. Sand is a hill in the northeast of Tübingen.
Map: University City of Tübingen, basis: official city map; photos: City Archives Tübingen]
Image 3
Wehrmacht units return to Tübingen after France's defeat, September 1940. Photo: City Archives Tübingen / Walter Kleinfeld
Image 4
In 1938, a World War I memorial plaque was dedicated in the Thiepvalstraße (today Hegelstraße) and the Alte Kaserne (Old Barracks) was renamed after the French village of Thiepval. In 1916, soldiers from Württemberg fought a costly and ultimately lost battle here. Therefore, "Thiepval" later became a symbol for a heroic death.
Image: City Archives Tübingen
Image 5
Cadets of the Marineärzliche Akademie (Navy Medical Academy) and female students in front of the Neue Aula (New Auditorium), about 1941 or 1942. From 1941 on, future Kriegsmarine (German War Navy) physicians were trained in Tübingen. They were cantoned in the Evangelisches Stift (Protestant student dormitory), the Wilhelmstift (Catholic student dormitory), and the Thiepval-Kaserne (Thiepval Barracks), Photo: Paul Hommel