𝗗𝗶𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗰𝗵𝘄𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁
The names of the 14 communities that had to make way for the military training area in 1937/1938 are still familiar to many, but are still foreign:
𝐴𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ, 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟, 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛, 𝐸ℎ𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ, 𝐸𝑟𝑧𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟, 𝐹𝑟𝑜ℎ𝑛ℎ𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑛, 𝐺𝑟ü𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ, 𝐼𝑙𝑔𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑚, 𝐾𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑚, 𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑏e𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙, 𝑂𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑛𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ, 𝑅𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑔, 𝑊𝑖𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑠 1978 𝑎𝑢𝑓𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑓𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑍𝑎𝑢𝑏𝑎𝑐ℎ.
In some places, street names such as Ausweiler or Mambaecheler Strasse are still reminiscent. At the military training area there is the Aulenbach camp or at the Germany Rallye a test is called Erzweiler. In the course of the transformation, Baumholder's economic life shifted more and more from the agricultural to the commercial sector. The construction work stimulated the regional economy. However, the local companies were only able to participate to a small extent because the large foreign companies had cheaper offers. At the beginning of the facility, the final expansion was not yet certain. However, it was clear that proper self-government was no longer possible. That is why the area was combined to form the Baumholder army estate district. Source: text information board
𝗘𝗿𝘇𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿
The picturesque village of Erzweiler was also one of those communities that had to be evacuated shortly before the Second World War in favor of the military training area. But the dissolution of the village with its approximately 600 inhabitants took place in several phases. On February 17, 1938, the inclusion of the village in the military training area was announced. However, the first ten residents did not emigrate to Salzgitter until eleven months later (on January 2, 1939). A few weeks later they were followed by six families of 23 people. With the permission of the army administration, not all residents were resettled and the district of Erzweiler in the military training area was only completed on April 1, 1942. After the war, the population increased again until the place was finally cleared on July 17, 1974. After Mambaechel, Erzweiler broke into the largest ban area with 1068ha in the military training area. Erzweiler is on the road from Baumholder to Niederalben and is therefore the only deserted area that is freely accessible. A church and the cenotaphs of the 14 villages can still be seen today. Source: text information board