Geoff Walden


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Berlin -- Lichterfelde Barracks

   Lichterfelde Kaserne, southwest of the Berlin downtown area, was an old Prussian cadet training school. The Nazis took it over in 1933, and it became the headquarters of Hitler's body guard regiment, the Leibstandarte-SS "Adolf Hitler." Later, newer buildings were built to serve as the headquarters for the Leibstandarte.

   All period photos are from Herbert Walther, "Die Waffen-SS, eine Bilddokumentation," Ahnert-Verlag, Echzell, n.d., except as noted. Click here for a link to a MapQuest map of Lichterfelde.

 

Hitler, LSSAH commander Sepp Dietrich, and SS-Sturmbannführer Jürgen Wagner review the Leibstandarte on 17 December 1934.  (Bundesarchiv Bild 102-17311)

This was the parade ground of the old Prussian cadet school.

 

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The Leibstandarte on the Lichterfelde parade ground. The photo on the left was taken in December 1935.  (Hans Quassowski, ed., "Zwölf Jahre: 1.Kompanie Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler," Rosenheim, Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1989)

 

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New recruits are sworn in on 19 April 1936.

The Leibstandarte parade in front of their Lichterfelde headquarters building, with four light artillery pieces.  (National Archives, RG 242-HB)

 

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With a light 75mm artillery piece on the old parade ground.

Guarding the new headquarters building (see then-and-now photos below).

Stone sentinels ("Reichsrottenführer") guarded each side of the entrance gate.

(all from National Archives, Record Group 242-HB)

 

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Then-and-now views of the Leibstandarte headquarters building. The newer part of the compound is now a German government archives. The Soviets removed the eagle and swastika before the Americans arrived, and the U.S. troops removed the Leibstandarte name. One or the other covered the stone gate sentinels in concrete (or possibly removed them, then added more concrete). Below are more recent views of the headquarters building, with a close-up of one of the concreted-in "Reichsrottenführer" stone sentinels.  (top - Wenn alle Brüder schweigen, 1981 ed.; above - U.S. National Archives via kriegsberichter-archive.com; below - courtesy Jacqueline Wilson)

 

Period relief sculptures still adorn the former swimming hall of the Leibstandarte Kaserne.  (courtesy Jacqueline Wilson)

 

 

Third Reich in Ruins, http://www.thirdreichruins.com/

All contents copyright © 2000-2018, Geoffrey R. Walden; all rights reserved.  All photos taken by or 
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This page initially uploaded on 20 July 2000.


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