Viktoriia Makeenko in Towns

Derelict Third Reich Training Camp Deep in The Woods

No long abandoned

The history of this place begins in 1934, when Germany began to restore its army and build up its military power. A new military camp was founded on the outskirts of the vast Jüterbog military training area in Zinna Forest, some 40 miles south of Berlin. By that time two other camps, Altes Lager and Neues Lager (Old Camp and New Camp), already existed in the vicinity of the training area, so this camp became known simply as Lager III.

The construction of the barracks complex lasted from 1934 to 1937. A railway station was opened, and a food warehouse for the Reich Army was built in a separate area nearby. At the time of completion, the name of the barracks was changed from Lager III to Adolf Hitler Lager.

Initially, in 1934, an SS camp was located here, then a year later it was used as a training base by observation units of the Artillery School of Jüterbog. From the 1940s, an educational center for training drivers of tracked vehicles vehicles was established here, including a school for training crews of the armored assault gun Sturmgeschütz III, which was developed in the Jüterbog military area.

©technolirik@livejournal.com

After the end of WWII, the Soviet leadership set up a displaced persons camp at the former Adolf Hitler Camp, where they collected all refugees and former prisoners of war — including survivors from concentration camps — in East Germany to send them to their homeland.

The subsequent history of the town is a little atypical for such objects. Immediately after the end of the war, units of the Soviet military were deployed to take over most military bases of the Wehrmacht in what was now the German Democratic Republic (DDR).

The checkpoint building is made in the architectural style typical of Reich military buildings. It was in the 1930s that the history of this place began. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Inside the CAT is emptiness, of which only a decorative fireplace is remarkable. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Reminder to turn off the light on the gearbox, made on the back of a door panel. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

A security company oversees the town, hence the excellent safety of the place. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

At Forst Zinna, after the liquidation of the displaced persons camp in 1947, the Deutsche Verwaltungsakademie (German Administrative Academy) “Walter Ulbricht” was established, created on the initiative of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

Here managerial cadres were to be forged for the future socialist state that arose two years later in the territory of the Soviet Zone of Occupation of Germany.

©technolirik@livejournal.com

The Academy existed in this place for six years, after which the garrison town of Jüterbog and the Forst Zinna camps were occupied by Soviet military units, and the Academy was transferred to Potsdam. A Soviet staff department was installed at Adolf Hitler Lager. The 74th Motorized Rifle Regiment was stationed here until 1983, when it was transferred to Krampnits.

Forst Zinna military area became home to the 32nd Guards Tank Division and the elite academy of the Soviet Air Force until the withdrawal of the western group of troops from Germany in 1994.

©technolirik@livejournal.com

Such is the story of this interesting place. It has been sadly derelict for two decades — after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops, a use for the huge camp was not found and it was left to gradually deteriorate and collapse.

©technolirik@livejournal.com

The authorities of Jüterbog have been looking for an investor for many years to fund the reconstruction of the Forst Zinna military complex, but no one has expressed the desire to invest huge amounts of money in restoring the historical complex of East Germany.

So one way or another, its future is set on a course for demolition. The tank hangars and garages for the machinery have already been demolished — if there are no positive changes in the town’s fate, the excavator will soon get to other buildings.

Forst Zinna is beautiful in its atmosphere. The presence of guards protected the old buildings from mass vandalism, graffitiers and lovers of taking out the garbage and dumping it in abandoned territories.

A big thank you to technolirik for the amazing photos and information! Check out technolirik on livejournal.

The architecture of the Third Reich is concise, simple, but at the same time not devoid of grace. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

The fact that the dining room was located here is evidenced by posters on the wall with grocery slogans and food delivery windows. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

The dining room today, completely empty. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

The streets of Forst Zinna are beautiful in their fall surroundings, while the town is not turned into impassable jungle, as it is looked after – all the paths are cleared, fallen trees are sawn and removed from the roads. Generally, despite the pleasant abandonment and bushiness, there is order. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

In the space between the houses in the Soviet era, they equipped a sports field consisting of a set of horizontal bars of various types. Now it is a bit overgrown, but at this time of year is easily visible. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

As you can see from the fallen trees – they look after the territory. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Rare graffiti is still found on the walls of houses, but their number here can not be compared with those towns where there is no protection at all. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

In the past these were spectator rows, now only concrete pedestals are left from the benches. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

The scene is built of silicate bricks, typical of Soviet construction. In Germany, silicate bricks were never previously used and all buildings and objects built in Germany from this material, as a rule, are Soviet. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Security measures. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Fire corner. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

Most likely in the past this was an educational building in which future tank crews received theoretical training. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

On the wall are preserved Soviet frescoes on a sports theme. As can be seen in the picture, the process of destruction of the building has begun, which means it does not have long. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Soldiers sinks inside the building. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Next to the wall are toilets. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

©technolirik@livejournal.com

The sculpture dedicated to the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU, held in 1990. It was the last congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and it is surprising that this sculptural composition appeared here in its honor. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

Residential apartments for familyless officers are rectangular cells, consisting of one room with a balcony, combined with a kitchen and a separate bathroom. The military called this type of housing a “cockpit”. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

The view from the balcony of the “cockpit” – the encroaching pine forest and the historic buildings of the Adolf Hitler camp. ©technolirik@livejournal.com

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