Erlangen

Erlangen (Bavaria) Germany


On the right hand margin of this blog you will see a picture of what is labeled "Erlangen-My adopted home town 1966-68". There is also a link to the Erlanger Nachrichten, the local newspaper of Erlangen, Germany, a town of about 100,000 just about 20 kilometers north of Nuremberg. I have also written a few postings concerning Erlangen. You will also note in the margin that I have written a book entitled: Erlangen-An American's history of a German Town" (in English). So the reader might wonder why I have this attachment to this relatively small town in Germany that is off the beaten path as far as tourists go. Erlangen is where I spent a period of time in my life from 1966-1968 as a young soldier in the US Army. It was such a formative time in my life that I have maintained a close emotional bond to the city ever since.

When I arrived in Erlangen in the summer of 1966, I was just under 21 and was stationed in Germany as a military policeman. The combination of being in the military, being overseas, and working in a law enforcement job enabled me to cross the line from boy to man during those years. (At least I like to think so.)

I won't go into the details of MP work in Germany, you can imagine that it consisted of a lot of barroom fights, traffic accidents and an occasional serious crime. Off duty in civilian clothes, we MPs were much like the other GIS, obvious Americans. Erlangen is a university town and the second hqs of Siemens. Yet in the 1960s, it was not easy for a soldier to cross over into the social company of the university crowd though we were approximately the same age. The Germans had their clubs, bars and discos, and soldiers were not really all that welcome. As with other German garrison towns, the GIs had their own bars and own circle of German girls who liked to socialize with them. Those girls tended to be looked down upon by the Germans. There is much I regret about those years. Though I basically taught myself German, I failed to develop real relationships with everyday Germans. Even with the German cops, our relationships were pretty much professional depending on which cop was responding to the same incident or accident as we were. Anyway, I did the best I thought I could. When not patrolling the city as an MP, I went downtown, drank, and chased girls like all the rest.

When my time was up and I returned to civilian life, I had made up my mind I wanted to return to Erlangen. The fact is I loved Germany-still do- and was in love with the culture and becoming fascinated with the history, especially the darkest chapter-the 3rd Reich. Possibly that was because of my proximity to Nuremberg, which still stands as a symbol of what happened in Germany from 1933-1945.

After I returned to the States, I began reading everything I could find on the 3rd Reich especially if it pertained to the Nuremberg area. It was rarely I could find anything in the books I read that mentioned Erlangen, but I began to become curious about what Erlangen was like under National Socialism.




Huguenot Church


My first trip back was after I graduated from college in 1970, and, with a pal, made the customary European tour before settling down to a career in law enforcement. The first place we went was Erlangen before setting out to see other countries. After my friend left after a month, I stayed a few more weeks and made my way back to Erlangen for the last couple of weeks.

During my career in law enforcement, I spent a lot of time traveling internationally, and over the years, was able to pass through the town for a few hours. By that time, of course, my friends and colleagues were gone and I knew nobody.

Former margravial palace


After my retirement in 1995, I embarked on book writing. While I was researching my book on Papiamentu, I developed a contact with a professor of Romance languages at the university in Erlangen, who specialized in creole languages. I was able to meet him on a special trip I took back to Erlangen to attend the beer fest. By that time, the idea was germinating in my mind that I wanted to really learn more about the history of Erlangen. That idea, of course, led me to research and write my book, which was published in 2005.

Returning to the city, there was a different feeling; partly since the US Army had left in 1994. The old base was partly torn down. Now I was sightseeing the places where famous figures from the university had lived or taught, where the books were burned in 1933, the Jewish cemetery I had never known existed, the place where Jews were gathered during Kristallnacht and the prayer center, which was sacked. There was also the place where Frederick the Great had stopped off for a short visit, or where Goethe had overnighted. Erlangen did, indeed, have a history, and my eyes were opened to things I had never thought about once.

On my research trip to Erlangen in 2004, I was able to meet and interview numerous people who were involved in the city's history; the city archives, professors from the university, other historians and the man who had served as the city's mayor for 24 years (Dietmar Hahlweg). Many of these figures, including Dr Hahlweg, became friends. I was also interviewed by a reporter from the Erlanger Nachrichten and my picture appeared in the paper. (Believe it or not, one of my old German girlfriends-now living in the US- was called by her sister who told her what she had seen in the paper. She called me and we had a nice chat.)


After the book was published, the news again hit the city papers that an American ex-GI had written a history of the city. The book appeared in the city's largest bookstore as well as the city library and university library. When I went back in 2006 to promote the book, the current mayor held an informal reception for me, which also appeared in the papers. I also spoke before a local middle school's English class since I knew the teacher. I have been able to do this twice and expect to do so again. I have also become a proud member of Erlangen's historical association.


I relate these events not to pump myself up but to try and explain what a thrill it has been for a simple ex-GI to return back to the place where he served as an unknown military policeman and suddenly achieve a degree of local public recognition, as well as to make friends with some of the city's most important and influential people.

When I go back to Erlangen now, I am able to visit several friends with whom I have formed relationships. Yet, when I am alone and walking around the city, it sometimes feels as if I am in the presence of ghosts-the ghosts of those I was with back in the 1960s. They are long gone now, back in the states and in most cases, they have never returned to Erlangen as I have. Sometimes, I look in the faces of older Germans I pass on the street wondering if they might be someone I knew; a bar owner, our interpreters from the MP station or perhaps a German girl I knew from one of the bars. How would I know? I pass by places that used to be our drinking holes. Most of them are now Italian pizza places. One is a Greek restaurant. I remember the times we responded to brawls in these places and dragged fighting soldiers out. I remember places where I used to drink myself. In the now-Greek restaurant, I remember the night when-off-duty- we were recognized as MPs and dragged into a fight ourselves.

The old caserne has been converted to use by Siemens, the city or the university. Most of the buildings were torn down to make way for new construction. Fortunately, my old barracks remains as a Montessori school. The MP station remains as well, one of the older buildings built around 1900 for the German army and kept as historical landmarks. I remember the early morning over 40 years ago when we responded to a call at one of these buildings and found the body of a soldier who had hanged himself. I often wonder if the current occupants of this building know its history. Probably not. Ghosts of the past.

I was hoping to return this year, but it didn't work out. In recent years, I have tried to get back every other year. My plans are to attend their annual beer fest next June, God willing.



Funny, but now when I leave Erlangen to return home, I wonder if it will turn out to be my last visit.