MAEMORIES - Amerikanische Geschichte(n) in Mannheim
In the organizer's words:
For almost 70 years, the U.S. Army garrison in Mannheim was an integral part of the city of squares - from the liberation of Mannheim in March 1945 to the withdrawal of the garrison in 2015. More than 500,000 Americans came to the city during this time to serve, live and work here - people with their stories, their culture and their traditions. With the exhibition "MAEMORIES - American History(ies) in Mannheim", the MWSP and the MARCHIVUM document the traces of the American presence and keep an important chapter of the city's history alive.
Many Mannheim residents have personal memories of "the Americans", who were part of the cityscape for a long time with the bases of the US garrison. Arriving as liberators at the end of the war in 1945, a friendship grew between the city and the armed forces over the following decades, during which more than 500,000 US soldiers served here.
The exhibition keeps Mannheim's American history alive and provides insights into very different aspects of this moving time. Where were the US troops stationed in Mannheim, how did American everyday life go here, where did the American and German worlds intersect and influence each other: the exhibition goes in search of clues and tells history and many stories.
The exhibition was created on behalf of MWSP and MARCHVUM by tecton GmbH, Berlin, in collaboration with the curator Dr. Andrea Perthen. In addition to the development of the garrison and its bases, aspects of everyday life in Benjamin Franklin Village and the barracks are also on display. For example, leisure activities in the field of sport, such as American football and baseball, are examined. It also recalls the "Top Hat Club" and other American clubs, which enjoyed great popularity not only among military personnel. Last but not least, the exhibition also refers to the German-American festivals and other encounters between the people of Mannheim and the "Yanks".
Numerous photographs, individual films, documents and objects bring American history in Mannheim to life. One highlight of the exhibition is an interactively animated model of Franklin. Another is a gallery wall with finds from the former barracks.
The background
The US Army was part of Mannheim from the invasion of the 7th US Army in March 1945 until May 31, 2011, when the flag of the US Garrison Mannheim was flown in the Sports Arena of Benjamin Franklin Village. In 2007, the USA decided to reorganize its armed forces in Europe and disband the Mannheim and Heidelberg garrisons. The US Army continues to use an area in Mannheim, the former Coleman military airport in the far north of the city.
This content has been machine translated.Location
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