Talk:Wolfenbüttel

Concentration camp in Wolfenbüttel
I have deleted the following two sentences, which appeared in different paragraphs, from the article:


 * During World War II the town was the site of a concentation camp which was liberated by the 36th Tank Batallion of the 8th Armored Division.


 * During World War II it was the location of a concentration camp which was liberated by the 36th Tank Batallion of the 8th Armored Division, USA.

This information is incorrect. I think the writer of the foregoing might be confusing Wolfenbüttel with Wolfsburg, which is not far away, albeit to the north-east of Braunschweig, and which--as home of automotive, weapons, and munitions plants--was the site of a labor camp called Arbeitsdorf. Jim_Lockhart 01:49, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Again today we have someone adding a sentence saying that Wolfenbüttel was the site of a concentration camp. I light of this contributor's other edits, I assume this person is confusing Wolfenbüttel with Wolfen-Bitterfeld, an area in Sachsen-Anhalt that had a satellite camp of Buchenwald. Jersey_Jim 06:46, 12 December 2005 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is idiotic because Wolfenbüttel was in the British, not in the US occupation zone.

The discussion is idiotic? Read carefully and you notice that the whole point of my comments is that the idea that Wolfebüttel was the site of a labor camp is wrong; that said, the Americas did liberate some areas that were later in the British Zone; so the notion that Wolfebüttel's being in the British Zone negates any possibility that the Americans were the first into the area, is, shall we say... uninformed. Jim_Lockhart 05:15, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

After a year and a half, I finally know what this contributor is talking about: a forced-labor labor camp associated with the Hermann Göring Werke located in Beddingen, a locality that is now part of Salzgitter. Until 1942, Beddingen was a village in Landkreis Wolfenbüttel located about five miles to the northwest of the town of Wolfenbüttel. In 1942, Beddingen became part of Salzgitter; see that article for details. As for the postcard cited as evidence for the camp's being in Wolfenbüttel: First, given that Beddingen was in Landkreis Wolfenbüttel, and that the town was only several miles away, there would be nothing strange about the card being mailed from Wolfebüttel; second, the cachet reads "Beddingen über Wolfenbüttel," which means "from Beddingen via Wolfenbüttel." These are hardly evidence of a concentration camp in the town of Wolfenbüttel. If you want to insert this information into Wikipedia, I'd like to suggest you put it into the article on Landkries Wolfenbüttel or, even more appropriately, the one on Salzgitter. Putting it in the right place would do far more to honor your father's memory. Best regards, Jim_Lockhart 08:22, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

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I HOPE YOU ARE WILLING TO RECONDSIDER THE ABOVE DETERMINATION.

I found a 2002 video recording of my father discussing this town. In addition, he was an editor at a USA newspaper and wrote a column with a brief mention of Wolffenbuttel as the site of a concentration camp. Finallly, I attach a copy from a current web page of the 8th armored division which cites that his USA unit did go through the town of wolffenbuttel.

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE SECOND ENTRY UNDER APRIL 13

(My dad also took a couple of Kodachrome slides of the the entrance to the camp, plus he and a soldier friend at the entrance gate.)



8th Armored Division

DIVISION HISTORY

8th patch

History Records of the 8th Armd. Div.

July 21, 2009 Back to Books... Division History April, 1945 Map 1:  Rhineland map, early April, 1945 Map 2:  Lippstadt - Soest - Unna, April 1945 Map 3:  Position of German units in Ruhr Pocket List:  German Units in Ruhr Pocket Newsweek Article: The Ironclad Snake - April, 1945
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* 1 Apr - Orders are received from XIX Corps to set up two spearheads for an attack to the east, the 2nd Armored and 30th Infantry in one and the 8th Armored and 83rd Infantry in the other. * 1 Apr - CCA is assigned to attack Delbruck. * 1 Apr - CCB moves to attack Paderborn but runs into heavy resistance as they approach Neuhaus. * 2 Apr - CCB is stalled by fierce German resistance at Neuhaus. * 3 Apr - 9th Air Corps provides close support in the Teutoburger Forest and Neuhaus areas. * 3 Apr - CCR moves up to attack Elsen to help CCB repel strong German counterattack launched from Sennelager. * 3 Apr - CCA attacks in an attempt to reduce the enemy strongpoint at Sennelager. * 3 Apr - The Division is relieved by the 83rd Inf. Div. and receives orders to attack towards the west to help reduce the Ruhr pocket. * 3 Apr - the Division turns 180 degrees and CCR attacks west toward Recklinghausen. * 4 Apr - CCR continues west capturing the towns of Stripe and Norddorf, and continue through Vollinghausen, Oberhagen, and Ebbinghausen stopping for the night in front of Horne. * 4 Apr - CCA attacks Erwitte, a center of Nazi political and ideological indoctrination. * 4 Apr - 9th Air Corps provides close support as the Division assults the Ruhr Pocket in the Lippstadt area. * 4 Apr - Col. Wallace, CCR commander is captured during the night. * 5 Apr - Col. Vesely assumes command of CCR and continues westward capturing the towns of Horne, Klieve, Schmerlacke and Serlinghausen. * 5 Apr - CCB relieves CCR and they move to the vicinity of Lippstadt. CCB continues the attack westward toward Soest capturing the towns of Schallen and Lohne. * 5 Apr - 9th Air Corps provides close support for the assult on Soest. * 5 Apr - CCA continues attacking south capturing the towns of Anrochte, Mensel, Drewer, and Altenruthen. * 6 Apr - CCB makes a 25 mile 'end run' around Soest to the outskirts of Ost Onnen and cuts off the Germans breakout path from the Ruhr pocket. * 6 Apr - CCA clears the area north of the Mohne River so glider troops can be landed in case of an attempt to break out by the Germans. They capture the towns of Wamel, Brullinggsen, Ellingsen, and Westendorf. * 6 Apr - CCR outposts all roads northease of Soest to facilitate an attack on the town by the 94th Inf. Div. * 6 Apr - troops of the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment arrive to help clear the mountainous wooded terrain in the area. They capture Nazi diplomat Franz von Papen. * 7 Apr - the 2nd Armored moving east and the 8th Armored moving west create a gap of 180 miles between the two fronts. A breakout of the Ruhr pocket which would cut off the 2nd Armored. * 7 Apr - Troop A, 88th Reconnaissance Squadron captures the Mohne Talsparre Dam and prevent the Germans from flooding the Mohne Valley. * 7 Apr - CCB begins attack on Werl in the afternoon and captures Gerlingen. The burgomeister of Ost Onnen surrenders the town. * 8 Apr - CCR moves to secure the road between Werl and Wickede and capture the towns of Parsit, Bremen,Vierhausen, Schluckingen and Wiehagen capturing 238 PW's, one Tiger tank, and three 88's.   * 8 Apr - CCB captures Werl by late afternoon after heavy resistence during the day. They move on and capture Ost Buderich. * 9 Apr - CCB moves on Unna capturing Holtun and Hemmerude. The threat of a German breakout has passed due to the buildup of troops in the area. * 10 Apr - CCB continues the attack on Unna and captures Lernen. A ten minute air strike is laid on Unna to soften it up. The Germans move reinforcements, including Hitler Jugen to Unna from the Mulhausen garrison. * 10 Apr - CCR advances 7,000 yards and secures Stentrop, Bausenhagen, Scheda, Beutrap Wemen, and Fromern. * 11 Apr - CCA joins in the attack on Unna and CCB goes into reserve. CCB has had 198 casualties this period. * 11 Apr - CCR captures Hohenheide and Frondenberg after an air strike drives 4 German tanks out of the town. The town of Billmerich is also captured. * 11 Apr - After receiving air support, Unna finally fell in the afternoon. The Germans lost 160 PW's, two tanks and a battery of 88's. The surrender finally finished the 116th Panzer Division. * 12 Apr - CCA continues cleaning up operations in Unna. * 12 Apr - CCR captures the towns of Hengsen, Ostenforf, Ottendorf, and Dellwig. * 13 Apr - CCA is relieved and ordered to move east of Unna across the Weser River to the vicinity of Wolfenbuttel. CCA had lost two tanks, one halftrack and one jeep. * 13 Apr - CCR is relieved and ordered to move to the vicinity of Denstorf. On the drive west, CCR had 203 casualties and lost eleven tanks, three jeeps, nine halftracks. The enemy lost six Mark V tanks, four 20mm guns, one large railroad gun, and three tons of small arms. * 13 Apr - As the Division moves east, it participates in the liberation of the Halberstadt-Zwieberge concentration camp near Langenstein, Germany, a sattlelite of the Buchenwald camp. * 14 Apr - Most of CCB moves on to Halberstadt with some units remaining in Wolfenbuttel until the rest of the Division arrives. * 14 Apr - the remaining units of the Division begin moving to an assembly area in the vicinity of Braunschweig with CCA going to Wolfenbuttel and CCR going to Denstrof. * 15-18 Apr - CCB begins clearing the area near the Hartz Mountains of remnants of the 11th Panzer Army then grouping in the area. * 16 Apr - guards were placed on the Herman Goering Plant and the Ruhrchemie Plant at Gebhardshagen. * 16 Apr - CCA began moving to Seehausen to support the attack on Magdeburg by the XIX Corps. * 17 Apr - CCR moves from Denstrof to Braunschweig and continues screening the rear areas. * 18 Apr - CCB completes clearing resistance from the edge of Forest Heimburg south of Derenburg. * 19 Apr - units of the 2nd Armored relieve CCR and it moves into the vicinity of Strabeck in preparation for reducing resistance in Blankenberg. * 19 Apr - CCA is relieved and returns to Wernigerode from Seehausen where it relieves the 330th Inf. Reg. of the 83rd Inf. Div. * 19 Apr - CCB moves to Westhausen and CCR moves to Aspenstedt to clear the remaining woods around Blankenburg. * 20 Apr - the Division begins to attack Blankenburg. At 1000 a 13 plane squadron attacks Blankenburg and afterward the burgomeister is contacted about surrendering after a show of force. * 20 Apr - by nightfall, most of Blankenburg had surrendered except for a few strongpoints that were either fanatics or who had not received word to surrender. * 21 Apr - CCR clears the woods south of Blankenburg and contacts elements of the 1st Inf. Div. of the First Army. * 22 Apr - the last organized resistance ended with the capture of Gen. Heinz Kokott, CO of the 26th Volks Grenadier Div. He was a brother-in-law of Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himmler. * 23 Apr - 8 May - The Division, assigned an area of 90 kilometers long by 30 kilometers wide, goes on occupation duty. Some additional cleanup is required as small pockets of resistance and stragglers are found.
 * 13 Apr - CCB is assigned to protect right flank of the 2nd Armored and the 83rd Inf. Div. as they move east. They move 170 miles to Wolfenbuttel.

Historical Note:

On 12 Apr, 1945, elements of the division liberated the Langenstein-Zweiberglager concentration camp near Langenstein, Germany and continued on eastward. After the war, all information about the camp was sealed and stamped classified, presumably because the camp contained a tunnel leading to a site where an improved version of the buzz bomb was being developed.

In 1997, the information was declassified through the efforts of a Division officer, Dr. Bernard Metrick, and it confirmed the role of the Division in liberating the camp. The Division's flag was added to those on display at the U.S. Holocaust Museum honoring those who liberated the death camps. This camp was a satellite of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp.

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I am currently attempting to learn how to get the video online at Flickr. If you are interested please let me know and I will mail you a copy. If you determine that the 8th Armored Divsion history is wrong please let me know. Maybe you will interpret it differently, as a former resident. thanks

Sincerely,

Zet

Please note I put my comments here to avoid another two year ban.

Sights
The most important historical sight is the gorgeous church of St. Mary, where not only all the dukes, but also the composer Michael Praetorius are buried.--dunnhaupt 13:49, 26 September 2006 (UTC)