Greetings from the Parade Ground

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project © Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project © Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project View all images ↓
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»Greetings from the Parade Ground« is a portfolio about my neighbourhood. Here, I discovered the post-military landscapes that triggered my interest in learning about their history.

In the 19th century, the area was described as »low quality agricultural land«, a sand-dune terrain. From 1855, German, French and American military units used it until 1992. Also closely linked to it is the development of German aviation history. In 1908, August Euler leased a part of the parade ground as a site for flight tests and aircraft construction. With this, Germanys oldest airfield is located close to me.

Today, the area is in a change. The buildings are abandoned and decay. Since 1996, the former airfield is a natural reserve and used for scientific research by Darmstadt's university.

Simon Critchley writes, that »the city is a spatial network of memory traces, but also a vast predictive machine«. The abandoned military buildings are the traces of the armies that acted here. Their decay indicates a change of the place soon. I try to capture the visible traces as long as possible, research their history, and show the result in this composite landscapes.

I could say that I am building my own memory theater. I have to cite Critchley again when he writes »With the association of memory with locus and location, the idea of a memory house, a memory place, or a memory theater was born« (Simon Critchley).

What fascinates me is that so many world history events have been mirrored here and have left their mark. Here, on the periphery of a small town south of Frankfurt.

This portfolio is a continuation of my project »The Paprika Village«. In this, I started to explore my neighbourhood and gave an overview of its evolution. Here I visualised the, for me, shaping factors military, politics, religion and agriculture. In »Greetings from the Parade Ground« I concentrate on the military aspect.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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»Greetings from the Parade Ground«: An old postcard from 1912 shows the area's buildings and illustrates life in an idealised way.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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1983 and today: The south-east area of Griesheim was used since 1855 for military purposes. »These events happened in the past, but their effects continue into the present,« writes Marianne Hirsch. Like the old airfield entrance, the traces I found on my walks triggered the interest in discovering their history.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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The Parade Ground: Postcards, often with idealised and sometimes humorous motifs, are sources to get an impression of the parade ground's life. It is hard to imagine that on a yearly average, 20000 soldiers lived here.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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»Offizier Frühstücks-Casino« (Officers breakfast mess): While the average soldier stayed in corrugated iron shacks, officers had a more comfortable life. What is a ruin today was the » Officer's breakfast mess«. It was built around 1900, on a site that is reclaimed by nature now. The orange security area in the map shows the ground's security area. Interestingly, the 1915's camp plan streets are more or less in the same location as in today's residential area.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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»Le Camp du Griesheim«: As a result of the First World War, the German government had to agree to withdraw all German troops from the western front behind the Rhine. From 1919 to 1930, Griesheim was located in one of the bridgeheads of the French zone. The French army used the parade ground, and the streets got french names. Also, the postcards were used again, with the old motifs and a text changed to french. The building here initially named »Württemberg Officer's Club«, was a now a part of the French garrison. From 1937 on, it was used by the »German Research Institute for Sailplane Flights«. After WWII, the U.S. Army used it until 2005.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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»Darmstadt Dust Off«: American troops reached Griesheim and Darmstadt on 25 March 1945. They immediately confiscated the airfield and the parade ground area. The airfield was now called »Griesheim Army Airfield«. Several MEDEVAC (Medical evacuation) units were stationed here until 1992. They used »Dust Off« as a call sign, as usual in the U.S. Army.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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Missiles and Mythology: Despite protests from the population of Griesheim, Nike missiles of the »Ajax« and later »Herkules«-type were stationed in Griesheim from 1957 on. These could be equipped with both conventional and nuclear warheads. Thus, the Army Airfield became a »Missile Facility« during the Cold War until the missiles were decommissioned in 1985.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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»Hessenflieger« and »Darmstadt Flying Club«: The airfield was founded in 1908 by August Euler. Even though most of the airport's history is military in nature, there have always been civilian clubs that have been able to use the grounds. It started with the »Aero-Club«, who trained glider-pilots. They had to stop this in 1957 because of the close distance to the Nike-missiles. Later, 1924 founded »Hessenflieger« and the »Darmstadt Flying Club«, founded by two American officers, used the airfield from 1972 until the American withdrawal in 1992.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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The Stars and Stripes-compound: The newspaper for the U.S. troops, reborn in London in 1942, was located in Griesheim since 27 September 1949. In former military barracks, right next to the airfield are newsroom, print shop and finance department located. In the 1950s the print run is 100.000 pieces. In 2000, the print run decreased, and the print shop in Griesheim is closed. In 2008, the »Stripes« move to Kaiserslautern. Since this time, the area decays, like the pile of newspapers lying in the guardhouse for years.

© Marcel Rauschkolb - Image from the Greetings from the Parade Ground photography project
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Family housing: On the northern side of Nehringstreet, you find typical German post-war buildings. In the southern part, a different kind of architecture appears. What was fallow land, became in the 1980s the location for eight rows of terrace houses for American families. Made of wooden construction elements, they seem to be teleported from an American village. In opposite to their German neighbours, they weren't connected to the local supply network. The (U.S.-) power plant supported them with water and energy. In 2008, the site was deactivated. I started with Critchley; I close with him. »Memory is repetition. Sure. But it is repetition with a difference«. The abandoned Family housing will be torn down soon, and new residential buildings will take their place.

Greetings from the Parade Ground by Marcel Rauschkolb

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