Camp Grohn was a military base of the U.S. Army on the outskirts of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1945 to 1954. Camp Grohn was originally built in 1936 as ''Flak Kaserne'' and housed the first battalion of the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

's 26th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment prior to the outbreak of World War II. Following the defeat of Germany in the war, the U.S. Army took over the military base and renamed it Camp Grohn after the part of Bremen in which the camp was located. Camp Grohn was in a small, joint American/British sector in northern Germany called the ''Bremen Enclave'', which included the ports of Bremen and

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

As part of the U.S. postwar occupation of Germany, various U.S. Army units were housed at Camp Grohn, including the headquarters of the 29th Infantry Division (from May 1945 until January 1946), elements of the 29th Infantry Regiment, the 307th Replacement Group (from 1952 until 1955), the 78th Infantry Division's 311th Infantry Regiment (from November 1945 until May 1946), and elements of the 1st Infantry Division's 18th Infantry Regiment (from October 1946 until July 1948). The 12 streets in the camp were named after heroes of the 311th Regiment (S/Sgt.

Jonah Edward Kelley Jonah Edward "Eddie" Kelley (April 13, 1923 – January 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier who received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. Biography Kelley was born in Rad ...

, PFC Billy A. Krowse, Capt. Samuel A. Gibson, 2nd Lt. Leroy Rooks, PFC Keith B. Fox, 1st Lt. Peter A. Novakawski, S/Sgt. Robert W. Couchman, S/Sgt. Dewaine S. McBride, PFC Ray S. Clark, Capt. Clyde H. Trivett, 2nd Lt. William E. Lorenz, and PFC David H. Parker), one of whom, S/Sgt. Jonah Edward Kelly, received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his actions at the

Battle of Kesternich Kesternich is a small village just inside the German border from Belgium. It was the site of two major battles during World War II. These battles are tied to the Siegfried Line Campaign, the Battle of the Huertgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulg ...

. Camp Grohn became the largest

forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: dis ...

camp, housing as many as 5,000 people prior to their emigrating to the United States or elsewhere. Shortly after the formation of the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, Camp Grohn was turned over the German government in 1955 and renamed ''Roland Kaserne''. Roland Kaserne housed a Bundeswehr logistics school during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. In 1999, the military base was inactivated and became the campus of

Jacobs University Constructor University is an international, private, residential research university located in Vegesack, Bremen, Germany. It offers study programs in engineering, humanities, natural and social sciences, in which students can acquire bachelor' ...

.”The Making of a Campus,” Jacobs University Web site (http://www.jacobs-university.de/node/494).

References

External links

Jacobs University Web site
{{authority control Military installations closed in the 1950s Universities in Germany Barracks of the United States Army in Germany