'CAREing' about local history

Museum showcases men, women who have passed through greater Giessen military community

Story and photo by Karl Weisel

104th Area Support Group Public Affairs Office

Elvis is in the house. So are Senator Ted Kennedy, German Chancellor Willy Brandt, Secretary of State Colin Powell, President Gerald Ford, Vice President Dick Cheney, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a host of distinguished military and civilian men and women who have played a role in the history of the greater Giessen military community.

The “house” in question is the CARE Museum, located in Building 59, just inside the main gate of the Giessen Depot. Staffed by members of the Civilian Association of Retired Employees, the permanent exhibit traces the history of the U.S. Army in Giessen, Kirch-Göns, Friedberg, Bad Nauheim, Butzbach, Wetzlar and Marburg.

Among the many historical displays are photographs of those who have lived, worked and visited the military community over the years. The museum also features photos and exhibits depicting the events leading up to World War II such as the “Kristall Nacht” in Marburg in which the local synagogue and Jewish-owned shops were destroyed.

“Our heart is still with the U.S. forces,” said Hans Becker, CARE president. “We would never do this if our hearts weren’t in it. … I hope to do this until I die.”

The CARE Museum was born in January 1989 after the military community staff approached former German employees who had spent decades serving the military community about the possibility of documenting the U.S. military presence in Giessen. Twelve retired German workers, with an average of about 40 years of employment each among them, began the arduous process of collecting historical records, artifacts and photographs from city archives, local newspaper “morgues” and fellow employees. During the process what began as a record of the U.S. military’s presence quickly expanded into a wider showcase of military history in the aforementioned towns and cities.

Photos, uniforms, crests and other historical remnants depict everything from the destruction caused by Allied bombers during World War II to visits by dignitaries over the years following reconstruction, support of the Berlin Airlift during the Soviet blockade of West Berlin to deployment during Operations Desert Storm, Joint Endeavor and Enduring Freedom.

Besides giving newcomers to the 284th Base Support Battalion a historical look at their temporary home, the museum also attracts local interest. “We have German visitors — many students of history from the university,” said Becker.

During a tour, hosted by members of CARE who donate their free time to maintain the museum, visitors learn how the depot once served as home to the German Infantry Regiment 116 around the World War I timeframe and as an airbase for the German Bomber Wing 55 starting in 1938.

Visitors can also see the impact of Allied bombs on the city of Giessen during Allied air raids on Dec. 4 and 6, 1944. Railroad accidents, former Prisoner Of War camps, a look at medieval Butzbach which dates back to 773 and a historical look at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service are also presented.

Many of the photographs were taken by Heinz Magel who served as a staff photographer for some 12 years of his 42 years of service with the U.S. military. One of his most popular photos is a simple ID photo of Sgt. Elvis Presley, who lived in nearby Bad Nauheim from October 1958 to March 1960 while serving with the 3rd Armored Division on Friedberg’s Ray Barracks.

Elvis, the Soldier

“At the time I didn’t know who Elvis Presley was,” said Magel, during an interview with the Hessen Herald in 1995. “I just took his picture like everyone else. But then people always said, ‘Presley, Presley,’ and I thought — who is Presley? Then I found out.”

As Becker leads visitors through the former POW detention cells that now serve as the CARE Museum, he shares his personal insights into the events of the past century. A native Marburger, Becker said he remembers as a boy seeing the Marburg synagogue burn. At age 17 while serving with the Reichsarbeitsdienst, a work brigade run by the Nazis for youths before their military conscription, he was drafted into the German navy only to be sent home before he could serve because the navy had been put out of commission by the Allies.

As the end of the war neared and a call came for young recruits to beef up forces in nearby Friedberg, Becker said a “lucky” break — he hurt his leg while playing soccer — kept him from being drafted. “The doctors came to look, saying it would take eight weeks to heal. Then I didn’t have to go anywhere, anymore. … Don’t forget that my father and my older brother had already been in the war.”

When the U.S. military rolled into Marburg, Becker said he jumped at the chance to gain employment, saying he was initially paid 270 Reichs marks per month — “enough to buy a couple of packs of cigarettes. The money wasn’t worth a damn. I had a hot meal in the depot — that was the important thing.”

From his first job in June of 1945 issuing shoes, Becker eventually rose to be the chief of the warehouses by the time U.S. facilities were closed in Marburg in 1954. His reputation as a diligent worker and manager lead to continued employment at the Giessen Depot.

These and other stories await anyone with the desire to learn more about local history at the CARE Museum which is open every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

With the impending drawdown of the 284th BSB and return of U.S. installations to the German government by 2008, Becker and fellow CARE volunteer Henry Schroth said they would like the city of Giessen to carry on the tradition when the U.S. military departs.

“We hope the city of Giessen will come to an agreement with us,” said Becker. “We discussed this in the days when the museum opened. We will find a way.”

For more information about the museum call the 284th BSB Public Affairs Office at mil 343-1600 or civ (0641) 402-1600. (David Ruderman contributed to this story)

 Back: