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Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)

Article about: I wanted to start a thread about the Occupying Forces in the City of Berlin from 1945 up to reunification in the 1990s. There are some members here who served in the Occupied City, myself in

  1. #61

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    I have enjoyed all the accounts posted on this thread, whether in or out of Berlin, and I truly hope we will be seeing a lot more. The photos and documents that have been posted are worth their weight in gold for research and learning. Dwight

  2. #62

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    Dwight,

    Couldn't agree more.. This insight into the personal accounts of what Soldiers and their dependents went through is really incredible..

    I look forward to more pictures as well.. I have been laxed in my posts due to a heavy work load with some stringent deadlines...

    Will get up and running again soon..

    Smitty

  3. #63
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    I thought i may as well share these photos in this section , even though it's not Berlin its the Nuremburg Zeppelin Field in 1948.
    These are from my mother in laws collection of photos , Have scanned them at 600dpi as they are only tiny and they come up ok.
    Gives a good insight into what the place used to look like. It would have been magnificent to see at the time.
    Hope you like.
    Cheers Rick

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  4. #64

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    Some may not realize that even into the 1980s, 40 years after the end of WW2 in Europe there was still rationing of certain commodities..

    When I arrived in Berlin in 1987 I was issued a "Ration Card".. This ration card allowed me to purchase coffee, tea, sugar and tobacco products on a limited quantity basis each month. As I was young and I didn't smoke I was able to turn a profit for for those that did. When they used up all their tobacco stamps I was able to cash in.

    We were also given a monthly meat ration allotment (Now we had plenty of meat, don't get me wrong) but at the end of each month we were asked by our Battalion commander to go to our commissary and purchase our allotment of meat (be it steaks, ground beef, roasts, whatever) and we would bring it to the dining facility and the cooks would prepare it for us and we would have a battalion organizational day with sporting events and a cookout. We could invite our German girlfriends and of course the married Soldiers would bring their families. It was a great way to spend some time off and also a way to use/share the meat with others. Our German girlfriends really enjoyed the American hamburgers and hotdogs..

    When I bought my car ( a 1976 XJ-6 , Jaguar) I was also given gas ration coupons for a year. Each month we were alloted some many liters of gas that we could purchase through the Post Exchange (PX). When those coupons ran out we had to purchase the gas on the economy which in some cases was better but a little more pricey..

    The exchange rate from dollars to deutsch marks was very good at that time, almost 2 to 1 exchange so I could purchase a lot of products on the German economy for very little.

    The East German conversion from deutsch mark to Ost (East Marks) was also incredible.. So here is the conversion,, for $100.00 US Dollars I could get roughly 200 West German Marks and with those 200 West Marks I could get nearly 1,000 East Marks which was a huge amount of money for shopping in East Berlin..


    The last item is a parking lot time card that was placed in the windshield of your vehicle when you went to park at an area that had limited parking spaces. IN order to ensure that everyone had the chance to shop at places like the commissary and Post exchange which had very limited parking, we were instructed to place this placard in our windshield and we had to mark the time that we left our vehicle and went shopping. I can't recall the time limit but I believe in some places it was 2 hours. If your car was there more than 2 hours you could get a ticket. This was actually strictly enforced by the German Guards and the Military police who would constantly patrol the areas.. In order to get to the PX complex which had the Post Exchange, Burger King, Movie Theater, Book Store, Flower Shop, Car Dealership, and other shops you had to show your ID card at the gate.

    So another flashback to what I consider the best years of my life, (Prior to meeting my wife and us having our son of course)..

    Enjoy..

    Smitty
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

    Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

    Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  


  5. #65

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    Nice topic, very interesting to read.
    I grew up in the 70s and 80s. At that time the Iron Curtain divided Europe into East and West.
    Not far from my hometown in the Netherlands was then the NATO Air Force Base Soesterberg. The USAFE was also stationed at this Air Force Base. The Americans called this base Camp New Amsterdam. It was the home of the US 32nd Tactical Fighter Group. They flew the McDonnell Douglas F15 "Eagle". I have often seen these fighter jets flying over my hometown.
    At that time, large NATO manoeuvres also regularly took place in Germany. Mostly these NATO manoeuvres were called REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany).
    A lot of rolling stock for these manoeuvres were supplied through the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands). From Rotterdam the vehicles drove in convoys down the highway to Germany. The route of the vehicles passed my hometown. It was often announced on the radio when the military convoys were in transit. You knew when they passed. As a child I went with friends to watch the passing military convoys, and we were not alone. We loved waving to the soldiers in the vehicles. They responded to us by sounding the horn.
    As a child you knew that these soldiers from the US and the UK defended our freedom in Western Europe with their presence.

    In the 80s I also visited Berlin. Not as a soldier, but as a tourist. In the western part of the city I also saw American, British and French soldiers. I have always wondered what it was like for them to be stationed there. A strange idea that you were surrounded by the East German and Soviet Russian army.
    With your reactions in this topic you give me (us) an impression or how you experienced your service in a divided Germany.

    The Berlin Wall has now fallen almost 31 years ago. The formerly communist threat has disappeared.
    It has been a long time ago, but as a born Cold War kid I would like to say thank you for defending our freedom in Western Europe with your presence!!!

  6. #66

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    Not Berlin per say, but a UK occupation Germany zone cigarette tin I saved from a rubbish skip! Figured to whack it in this great thread.

  7. #67

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    Similar to the one I have Rene.

    Berlin Occupation 1946 cigarette case

  8. #68

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    It's been a while since I have posted here due to work, COVID and several other life events so I am going to take a minute and post some more items from my time in Berlin.

    One of the additional tasks that the Brigade conducted were parades and ceremonies which involved the British and French allies. Parade Season usually started in April and went through August. The vehicles had to be painted and the Soldiers had to practice marching and drill and ceremonies. We had several different parades and events that we participated in and our uniforms were varied. From dress green uniforms to our Battle Dress uniforms we had to ensure all our parade equipment was always top notch.

    I have pictured here some of the basic parade equipment used. Helmet liner, light blue infantry ascot with the 502nd Infantry Regiment insignia, or a camouflaged ascot depending on the uniform, white gloves, pistol belt and jump boots. These jump boots have been heavily modified and the heels and soles raised. I measure in at 6 foot 1 inch and an additional 2 inches were added to the soles/heel of my jump boots in order for me to be 6 foot 3 inches tall. I was usually the point person on the far right of the front rank in which the unit would align on me in formation. You will also notice the horseshoe on the bottom which when marching made a very sharp sound when a company of Soldiers all in unison made the same sound. On Cobblestones it was a very impressive sound when marching/walking.

    The last picture is my dress green uniform that I wore while in Berlin as a young buck sergeant. It is currently on exhibit at the 1st Armored Division museum at Fort Bliss, Texas.

    As I get some more time I will post some more photos..

    I apologize for my extended absence from this topic..

    Best regards everyone, please stay safe..

    Smitty
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

    Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

    Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

    Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)   Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

    Occupied Berlin, 1945-1990 Allied Forces (US, British, French, Soviet)  

  9. #69

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    Yes we have been a bit lax with this thread of late, I will try to do better!

    This is what we would call "drill kit"
    We used to do the same with our drill boots which were (and still are) ammunition boots exactly the same as the WWII type with a double sole, studs and steel tips and heels. These are as per the Guards Regiments seen at Buckingham Palace etc. These were then coated with a molten mixture of beeswax (the hard pharmaceutical type) and black polish before being "bulled" to a gleaming shine which were often called "Black Diamonds". For sure the crunching sound when marching on a hard surface is very impressive.

    I have a large bunch of colour pics taken during the DDR National Day parade on Unter den Linden that show the NVA "strutting their funky stuff" but I can't find them at the moment. As soon as I do I will post a selection of heavy metal mayhem here

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  10. #70

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    Mark,

    Looking forward to seeming them..

    Was always impressed with the members of the Black Watch and KOSB (Kings Own Scottish Borderers) who were in Berlin when I was there..

    A tough lot,, all of them.. glad to know who was on our right flank...

    Smitty

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