Babenhausen as a base of the US Army

The military history of the town began in 1869 with the entry of the Red Dragons (Rote Dragoner) into Babenhausen. After their departure in 1891, the town of Babenhausen endeavoured to revive its homeland by building barracks at its own expense, which was finished in 1901. At the end of the Second World War.

Picture: A.Murmann CC BY-SA 4.0

Babenhausen was repeatedly bombed as a railway junction and garrison town. After the war, the barracks were taken over by the US military, which remained in Babenhausen until 2007. The strong influence of the American base is already evident in the comparison of the population figures of 1953. At that time Babenhausen had about 4200 inhabitants and about the same number of Americans.

To commemorate the time as an American military base, American veterans have placed a commemorative plaque with the following text at the Stadtmühle of Babenhausen:


“The United States military presence at the Babenhausen Kaserne extended from 1945 to 2007. Initially displaced Europeans were housed in the Kaserne. In 1950, the 36^th Artillery Group was activated with artillery and other units from Southern Germany. Babenhausen citizens then stood side-by-side with, and supported the U.S. military for over the next half century.

The units remained at full readiness during the Cold War, the period of the Iron Curtain, and the era of the Berlin Wall that came down in November 1989 and led to the reunification of Germany. The Kaserne was a staging site during the Middle East military operations in 1991 and was finally closed in 2007.

Thousands of U.S. soldiers, civilians, and Babenhausen residents contributed to the success of the mission to defend the Free World and later expand liberty eastward throughout Europe. Those Americans that served here warmly remember the hospitality and kindness of the German people and especially the citizens of Babenhausen.“