Zossen (; , ) is a German town in the district of

Teltow-Fläming Teltow-Fläming () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the east clockwise) Dahme-Spreewald, Elbe-Elster, the districts Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Potsdam-Mittelm ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, about south of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped in 2003 to form the city.

Geography

Since the 2003 municipal reform, Zossen consists of the following districts and municipalities:

History

Zossen, like many places in Brandenburg, was originally a

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

settlement. Its name () may derive from "Sosna", meaning

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, a tree quite common in the region. In 1875,

Zossen railway station Zossen () is a railway station in the town of Zossen, Brandenburg, Germany. The station lies on the Berlin–Dresden railway and the train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway c ...

opened on the railway line from Berlin to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

military railway to the artillery range at Kummersdorf-Gut in present-day

Am Mellensee Am Mellensee (, ) is a municipality in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, Germany. The municipality, south of Berlin, is the home of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Gertrud. An Associated Press story appearing in the August 1, 2011 online v ...

. Between 1901 and 1904, Zossen adopted the use of various high-speed vehicles, such as

electric locomotives An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

and

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

, for transportation to and from Berlin-

Marienfelde Marienfelde () is a locality in southwest Berlin, Germany, part of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg borough. The former village, incorporated according to the Greater Berlin Act of 1920, today is a mixed industrial and residential area. Geography The ...

. These vehicles were powered by an alternating current of 15 kV and used a variable frequency. The power was transmitted by three overhead lines arranged one above the other.

Imperial German Army garrison

In 1910, an artillery

proving ground A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. The ...

and

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

were established in the Waldstadt section of the Wünsdorf community, a site that remains in use today. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it housed several

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

s, including the "

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

Camp" (''

Halbmondlager The was a prisoner-of-war camp in Wünsdorf (now part of Zossen), Germany, during the First World War. The name translates as ''Crescent Camp'' or ''Half-Moon Camp'' (sometimes also used as a name in English publications) and refers to the cr ...

''), which was designated for

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

soldiers who had fought for the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...

. Notably, the first

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

in Germany was erected here. The mosque's wooden construction, financed by the Prussian Army, featured a 25-meter high

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

that was built in just five weeks in July 1915. The camp operated from 1915 until 1917, serving as a showcase for Germany's war propaganda. It was designed not only to display the supposed humane treatment of prisoners but also to persuade them to join the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

' cause. Named after the structure, the adjacent Mosque Street () has kept its name to this day.

German Reichswehr complex

The military complex in Wünsdorf continued to be used after the end of the First World War in 1918. On 1 October 1924, the first German Armed Forces (''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'') military sports courses were initiated at the Imperial Gymnastics Gymnasium (''Kaiserliche Turnanstalt'') as part of the newly founded popular sports movement (''Volkssportbewegung''), which ran nationwide until 1933. In 1934, it was converted into the Army Sports School Wünsdorf, promoting competitive sports in the German ''Reichswehr''. For the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

in Berlin, German athletes were prepared here, while athletes from other nations were accommodated in the

Olympic Village An Olympic Village is a residential complex built or reassigned for the Olympic Games in or nearby the List of Olympic Games host cities, host city for the purpose of accommodating all of the delegations. Olympic Villages are usually located clos ...

. The first director of the ''Reichswehr'' sports school, from 1919 to 1924, was , a German army officer, instructor, sports author, and advocate of the early ''

Freikörperkultur (''FKK'') is a social and health culture that originated in the German Empire, with its beginnings historically rooted in the social movement of the late 19th century. , meaning , promotes both the health benefits of nudity—such as exposur ...

'' (naturism) movement in Germany. Additional barracks, a hospital, and horse stables were later constructed.

Underground military bunkers

From 1939 to 1945, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Wünsdorf served as the largest and most advanced German army headquarters, housing the Zeppelin

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

(SIGINT)

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

, as well as the

Maybach I and II Maybach I and II were a series of above ground and underground bunkers built 20 kilometres south of Berlin in Wünsdorf near Zossen, Brandenburg, to house the OKH, High Command of the Army (in Maybach I) and the OKW, Supreme Command of the ...

underground headquarters of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

(

OKW The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the supreme military command and control staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf Hitler. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Re ...

) and the Army's Supreme High Command (

OKH The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat ...

Soviet occupation and military base

After World War II, the area became the site of a

Soviet military The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

base in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

known as the "House of Officers" or "Lenin City", the largest outside

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, accommodating up to 75,000 Soviet men, women, and children with daily trains to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

."The Forbidden City: inside the abandoned Soviet camp of Wünsdorf"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Ciarán Fahey, 11 January 2017 Soviet troops remained until their withdrawal following the

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in August 1994. Since then, the area has returned to civilian use as the Wünsdorf-Waldstadt

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

and bunker town, founded in 1998. Although much of it lies abandoned, evidence of Soviet occupation remains visible. By late 2019, roughly 1,700 apartments had been converted from the old barracks, with another 700 planned for subsequent years. A 2017 news report indicates that, at its peak, the military base was home to approximately 75,000 Soviet people, with access to stores, schools, and leisure centres. After the base was abandoned, authorities discovered "98,300 rounds of ammunition, 47,000 pieces of ordnance, 29.3 tonnes of munitions and rubbish, including chemicals... houses were full of domestic appliances". While new uses have not been found for the installations and bunkers of the unmodified areas of the military base, they are somewhat maintained, and there are various guided tours, exhibits, and events. Some parts remain off-limits. Zossen Bahnhof KME

Timeline

*1809/1810: Kietz and the vineyards of Zossen are suburbanised *1885: Monument to the fallen soldiers of the 1864, 1866, and 1870 wars is erected in Kietz *1906: School on Kirchplatz is expanded *1910: Military area between Zossen and

Wünsdorf Zossen (; , ) is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, about south of Berlin, and next to the Bundesstraße 96, B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped in 2003 to form the city ...

is developed *1915: First mosque built on German soil in the POW camp *1919: Reichswehr military sports school *1932: Flyers of the town councillor and deacon regarding the threatening change in the Protestant community and the city Zossen *1933: As a result of the

National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

' rise to power,

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

and

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

in Zossen are arrested by SS troops and are held in the school on Kirchplatz. Emil Phillip is removed from his post, upon the order of Pastor Eckerts *1934: Expansion of the town hall *1939: The military zone in Zossen is developed into military headquarters *1956: The city park is created *1992: The "Alter Krug" Zossen society is founded *1994: Formation of the administrative district of

from the old districts of

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Polabian Slavs, Slavic se ...

Luckenwalde Luckenwalde (; Upper Sorbian language, Upper and , , ) is the capital of the Teltow-Fläming district in the state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany. It is situated on the Nuthe river north of the Fläming Heath, at the eastern rim of the Nuthe-Ni ...

, and Zossen *1996: 450th anniversary of Prince Elector Joachim II's awarding of rights and privileges to Zossen *1998: Wünsdorf Book Town declared, the only book town in Germany – though Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf, which started in 1997, claims to be the first book town in Germany.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Zossen.pdf, Population since 1875 within the current borders (blue line: population; dotted line: normalized population of Brandenburg; grey background: time of Nazi rule; red background: time of communist rule) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Zossen.pdf, Population 2005–2018 (blue lines) and projections to 2030 (dotted lines) from 2005 (yellow line), 2017 (velvet line) and 2020 (green line), including census in 2011

Mayors

* Hans-Jürgen Lüders (SPD) 1993–2003 * Michaela Schreiber: 2003-2019 * Wiebke Schwarzweller: since 2019

Notable people

* Karl Friedrich August Lehmann (1843–1893), stenographer and inventor of the shorthand system * Frieda Kassen (1895–1970), politician (SPD) * Walter Budeus (1902–1944), Communist and resistance fighter * Roy Präger (born 1971), football player

References

External links

Zossen Home page
— in German only {{Authority control Localities in Teltow-Fläming Teltow (region) Military facilities of the Soviet Union in Germany