1 A chequered history The story of the South Barracks: SS barracks ● Merell Barracks ● Federal Office 3 From SS barracks to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees Originally an SS barracks, then Merrell Barracks/South Barracks and today the public building housing the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and Nuremberg‘s central customs office. The monumental building‘s architecture still bears witness to the totalitarian National Socialist regime. Designed by architect Franz Ruff as accommodation for the SS, on the occasion of the topping-out ceremony on 2 June 1939, the barracks were described by the Fränkische Tageszeitung – a mouthpiece of the Nazi-allied press – as the „gateway to the party rally grounds“. The Nazi propaganda emphasized Hitler‘s involvement in the design process: „He continually contributed sketches and played an instrumental role in the planning process...“. The barracks never performed their intended task of accommodating SS troops during the Nazi rallies. Instead, it served during the war as a training establishment for the Waffen-SS and a satellite concentration camp. After the war, the American garrison moved in and stayed here for over 40 years. Since 1996 the main building of the former barracks has been the seat of the Federal Authority for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees, which evolved into the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in 2005. The west wing has been used by Nuremberg‘s central customs office since 2000. The main building and the „Z building“ are the only remains of the former barracks to survive to the present day. The „Z building“ was originally planned as quarters for SS ranks and serves today as a culture centre. The enclosure forming the boundary of the original barracks grounds is still discernible in Tiroler Strasse and Ingolstädter Strasse. 4 5 The original plans for the Nazi party rally grounds did not The satellite concentration camp at the SS barracks make any provisions for accommodating the Waffen-SS. As 1941 -1945 the SS was assigned guard duty for the rally grounds, however, a suitable location was hurriedly sought in 1936. A building in Frankenstrasse was eventually chosen. On 12 December On 12 May 1941, 58 prisoners were transferred from Dachau 1936, Himmler inspected the construction site together with concentration camp to the SS barracks in Nuremberg. They Nuremberg‘s lord mayor, Liebel, Gauleiter Streicher and were housed in the basement of an annex which served as the architects Speer, Brugmann and Ruff. Urban planning accommodation for non-officers and as a sports and drill hall concerns – the construction site was situated at right-angles (H building). From 16 June 1943 this satellite concentration to the main traffic direction – were swept aside. Numerous camp was allocated to Flossenbürg concentration camp. It business establishments and railway installations had to be remained in existence until 1945. According to the sketchy relocated at considerable cost. Hitler‘s direct influence also transfer lists, the number of prisoners varied between 41 and caused the construction costs to soar to an eventual total of 175. Former prisoners cite numbers between 100 and 300. around 25 million reichsmarks. The prisoners were initially put to work on completing the A new barracks in Frankenstrasse was to provide the SS with barracks. After the air raids on Nuremberg they were also the necessary representation close to the Nazi party rally deployed to clear up bomb damage in the city, particularly at grounds. After the „Rally for Peace“, which was planned to run armaments factories. from 2 to 11 September 1939, was cancelled at short notice without further explanation on account of the invasion of INFO: The fate of the forced labourers has been Poland on 1 September, no further rallies were held during commemorated since 2007. Two information panels in the war. The major project involving the construction of the gatehouse display information compiled by Alexander SS accommodation was nevertheless largely completed as Schmidt from the Flossenbürg memorial foundation the last construction project in the vicinity of the party rally about the system which was in operation at the satellite grounds in 1939/40. concentration camp. The biographies of two prisoners lend a poignant personal note to the story of the forced labourers. The original planning provided for five infantry companies The project was initiated by Peter Hugler to be billeted here, comprising a total of 700 men along ( 2007), a former member of staff at the Federal Office. with intelligence and music corps, motor vehicles, horses, messenger dogs, etc. Reserve capacity was to be kept free for trainees throughout the year and for high-ranking members of the SS during the party rallies. This planning became irrelevant after the war broke out, as no further party rallies were held. The new barracks designed to heighten the prestige of the powers that be was now reduced to the modest status of a training establishment, primarily for signallers, who were dispatched from here to the theatres of war across Europe, and also served as a satellite concentration camp. Memorial plaque in the entrance area 6 7 Use by the US Army 1945 -1992 On 18 April 1945 the SS barracks were captured by the 45th US infantry division. The barracks are assumed to have acquired the name „Merrell Barracks“ in the course of April 1945. The name stemmed from the 18 year-old American soldier Joseph F. Merrell, who died in the attack on Nuremberg as a member of the 3rd US infantry division Architect Franz Ruff and Adolf Hitler inspecting the site (1936). on 18 April 1945. He posthumously received the „Medal of Honor“ – the highest American distinction for bravery – for his exemplary, heroic action against the „doggedly resistant German troops“. During 1945 the barracks were used as a camp for liberated forced labourers, who were cared for their by the municipal department of trade and industry under the command of the military administration. When vacation of the building appeared imminent at the end of 1945 on account of the repatriation measures which were underway, Nuremberg‘s municipal council resolved on 18 December 1945 „to make the SS barracks available for the purposes of the municipal administration, upon the premises Monumental portal with eagle. The main portal is reminiscent of a becoming vacant.“ triumphal arch. In the centre an eagle was mounted on a swastika. This was not to be, however, as the US military government appropriated the site for its Nuremberg garrison. Following complete vacation of the camp in 1948, the US army used the barracks. It served to accommodate the troops of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment for 40 years, from 1952 until 1992. Parade ground behind the building. The men‘s mess and a gymnasium were housed in the building visible in the background (H building). The H building was demolished in the summer of 2000. 8 9 Conversion and use by the Federal Office Plans by Nuremberg‘s municipal authorities to remove the remnants of the military past in Frankenstrasse in order to create space for new urban development measures at the site of the barracks were thwarted by Bavaria‘s policy on the protection of historical monuments. The main building was listed as „the most significant barracks of the Third Reich“. The South Barracks after the end of the war. On 18 April 1945 the SS Against the background of the exceptional political challenge barracks was captured by the 45th US infantry division. The building posed by an influx of 438,000 asylum seekers in 1992, the survived the war largely undamaged. Federal Office came into play as a user of the building. One consequence of the reform of asylum law was a substantial increase in the size of the workforce at the Federal Office. In addition to the property in Zirndorf, seven properties were in use throughout Nuremberg at one time in order to accommodate the personnel. A headquarters of adequate size was urgently sought for the Federal Office. As a federally owned building, the South Barracks was an obvious choice. The initial planning assumed that office space would be required for a staff of 1500. This figure was revised in the course of the conversion phase, however, as the reform of asylum law took effect and the numbers of asylum applicants dropped rapidly. The staffing level for the new office building The Americans took over the entire site of the barracks for their Nuremberg garrison. was now reduced to 1,000. The required volume was reduced by 25% and the resultant surplus space was earmarked for the federal customs administration. Nuremberg‘s department of building construction commissioned the Grabow and Hofmann architectural firm to plan the conversion. In this connection, Gerhard Seidel from the department of building construction noted in the concise guide to the day of the open heritage site in 2000: „The conversion of buildings formerly used for military purposes not only requires to be approached from a technical, functional and design standpoint but also calls for their history to receive due consideration and treatment.“ The monumental portal after the last renovation by the Americans in 1990. 10 11 Aerial photograph of the barracks (2004) 12 13 In 2005, the Federal Authority for the Recognition of Foreign Refugees evolved into the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Following the entry into force of the Immigration Act, in addition to providing protection for victims of political persecution the authority was also assigned extensive tasks in the field of integration and migration. Art incorporated in the architecture The building‘s impressive entrance area: Artist Manuel Franke From 1993 has created a „bridge“ between the Nazi era, the post-war era and present-day use.