Allierte in Berlin e. V.
Formerly: Allied Military Vehicle Drivers Germany e.V.
Allied Military Vehicle Drivers Germany
e.V.
Based appropriately in Berlin, this group was founded in 1980 to bring
together collectors of Allied military vehicles. It works in friendly
collaboration with other German and U.S. groups, plus the Allied Military
Vehicle Drivers Luxemburg and the Association de Vehicules Militaires Historiques.
Berlin and the American Military: A Cold War Chronicle
Published in 1999, this book by Robert P. Grathwol was published by NYU
Press and the link should take you to information on it in Google
Books. Its main value is in providing a pictorial survey of
Berlin's American military history, with accompanying text. There
are minor errors in the text, and it reads as though it was written
several years prior to the publication date. However, if you are
looking for a general history that would be attractive for a beginner
on post-WWII Berlin and the U.S. role there, this book should be on
your list.
Berlin as seen
in 1969.
An academic's perspective, in a presentation by Professor Adolph N.
Hoffman in March, 1990.
Berlin landmarks as seen in 1965-69. S. A. Joyce was stationed in the Army in Berlin just before I was, so his well-organized photos provide a tour of the city as it appeared when I arrived.
Berlin Brigade Memories
Reinhard von Bronewski's website in English and German. He served
as a Berlin policeman (known as a "GP" working with the U.S. "MP"
force) and has written extensively about his work and recollections of
the Americans. He offers useful insights from a unique perspective.
Berlin Wall
in words and pictures, 1961-1989
Berliner Heiko Burkhardt has assembled photographs and text, including
outstanding links to more information. His site will put my brief (1969-71)
era into the overall perspective.
Helmstedt
1970-71
Eisenbahn am Zonengrenz' presents an extensive collection of
photographs of railway action at the western border of the Soviet Zone,
as seen from Berlin's outpost town Helmstedt, in the Federal Republic of
Germany. This site loads slowly, but the photos are worth the wait.
Alumni of Army Security Agency's
Field Station Berlin.
The Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic wanted us out of
Berlin for several reasons, not the least of which was because of these
guys. Berlin's central position in East Germany allowed us to monitor all
kinds of electronic traffic, and much of this was done by members of the
Army Security Agency's Field Station Berlin. Here you will find pictures
of the Teufelsberg "Weather Station" and other features. Also, many contributors
to the fsbvg site have provided photos showing memorable scenes of Berlin
that complement material in my site. The "Agency" gave a collegiate air
to Andrews Barracks in Berlin, but it is clear in hindsight that their
work helped to keep the peace. When each side in the Cold War knew what
the other was doing, the rest of us could sleep better at night.
Berlin U. S. Military Veterans
Association
As the mission of U.S. military units in Berlin came to an end, veterans
of the 1945-94 forces began to realize that an association was needed to
carry on the spirit of our involvement, providing both typical veterans'
reunions and also commemorating and continuing our unique relationship
with the people of Berlin. This website offers veterans, diplomatic
personnel, civilian employees and friends a way to get together.
The association's August 2002 reunion was in Berlin; the 2003 reunion was
in Columbia, South Carolina. A western U.S. site, Albuquerque, New
Mexico, is booked for June 2004. The next reunion in Berlin is set for
2006.
Berlin Redlegs
The story of C Battery 94th Field Artillery, which was stationed as a
part of the U.S. Army in Berlin from 1963 until 1986. The U.S.
was the only one of the Western allies to post an artillery unit to the
divided city. Its presence was controversial - the Soviet Union
and the German Democratic Republic did not like having it involved in
the military situation in Berlin. Numerous bridges of critical
importance to their military movements were within range of this unit's
howitzers, so the Warsaw Pact wargames that began in 1969 had to
consider the risk that if alerted in time, this battery could have
pinpointed their weak links and retarded the well-rehearsed
"liberation" of West Berlin.
Brixmis - British Military Liaison
Mission
From the disjointed days after the end of World War II, each of the
big four victorious Allies had the right to station military liaison missions
in the territories of the others in Occupied Germany. Through skilled
negotiators, the British government obtained the rights to the largest
of the three Western missions to the Soviet Zone in Potsdam. These
open intelligence-gathering operations became critical in keeping the Cold
War from turning hot-- and the British experience with working in what
became East Germany is today one of the foundations of their work in international
weapons inspection and peace-keeping operations. This website offers
wonderful insights, including translated GDR documents, on the role and
behaviour of the British mission and its reluctant "hosts" in East Germany.
Sometimes James Bond, sometimes the Goon Show....
Les Forces
Francaises a Berlin -- Veterans of the French Forces Berlin
Honneur à nos fidèles anciens et tous ceux qui nous
rejoindront! Prefer to read the Berlin story en Francaise?
Now you can click into a website set up to recognize the French contribution
to the Allied forces in West Berlin. Their unique point of view always
demanded that we think carefully about what we were doing.
French Military Liaison Mission page, Amicale des Anciens de la Mission Militaire Francaise.
Bienvenue sur le site de la MMFL. And even if you claim that
you cannot read French, this site has some of the most enterprising
photography seen on the Internet.
The
Sixties in Berlin
In English, with some great discussions about the differences between
English English, American English, and German, by Alexander Gross, "...an
unrepentant spokesperson for the 'Sixties..." His account ends just
before I arrived, and sets the stage (Stage Left, that is) for the period
covered by this website. Gross lived in Berlin and knew many of the
leading radicals, as well as U.S. officials and Germans on both sides of
the Wall.
Studentenbewegung
[Student Movement]
Mostly in German, this site has links to others covering Left student
politics in the period 1964-77. In turn these can be used to reach
other research sites.
U.S.
State Department documents, Germany 1964-68
In this and numerous additional pages on-line, the United States State
Department documents what the people at the top were saying to each other--
and some of it is pretty candid. Our leaders were dealing with the
same problems as we common soldiers were, but at a different level.
In the later parts of this discussion, American and German politicians
and diplomats cope with the linkage of many issues sometimes thought of
as separate by the casual reader. Clearly, the war in Vietnam was
complicating U.S. relations with Europe and leaders on both sides found
themselves frustrated by this. These documents set the stage for
1969 and the subsequent negotiations between East and West. For example:
78192. NATUS. Ref: Bonn's 5716./2/ Subj: Dealing
with French Obstructionism on
Berlin and All-German Matters.
/2/Telegram 5716, November 29, made recommendations
for dealing with possible
French obstructionism. (Ibid.)
1. Department agrees with your assessment
of French obstructionsim on Berlin and
All-German matters. We also agree that
we may have to move independently on
important cases when we meet French intransigence,
to the extent of acquainting FRG
Foreign Office with our view. We think
that from past experience in such cases we
have, at least, demonstrated to the Germans
where the obstacle lies.
Willy Brandt -- his work
described in English
Willy Brandt, first known to Americans as the articulate mayor of West
Berlin, actually Lord Mayor in British terms, led West Germans as their
federal chancellor toward settlement of their issues with the governments
of Eastern Europe. His work was at once exciting in opening up new
possibilities, and considered risky by those who were concerned that he
would "give away" too much, or provoke a right-wing reaction in West Germany.
The most detailed coordination was needed between the Four Powers in Berlin,
the West Germans (FRG/BRD) and the East Germans (GDR/DDR). Would
everyone sing from the same sheet music? Was one of the six governments
double-dealing? Or were they all? Brandt acted in a time when
inaction might have seemed safest.
More to come.
Berlin photographs / Aufnahmen
Troubled Times / Unruhige Zeiten
