Once a year, the family and I drive all the way from Berlin to the UK, but in order to break up the trip, we always look for something war-related to do…
The Ordensburg Vogelsang is a former educational/military site located in the Eifel National Park, close to the border with Belgium.
Construction was overseen by Robert Ley, the “Reichsorganisationsleiter” (literally: Reich Organisational Leader), and the site was opened in 1936.
Here, groups of young “Orden Junkers” (cadets) were moulded into becoming ideologically (and racially) pure leaders of the Third Reich.
At the site, cadets were required to follow a strict daily regime of pseudo-scientific N*zi educational lessons, rigorous physical exercise, leadership & group work seminars, and, of course, military instruction (such as pilot training).
Only a few cohorts of cadets were successfully trained at the Vogelsang before war broke out. During the war, the complex was handed over to the Wehrmacht, who twice billeted soldiers there. The first time, in preparation for the assault on Belgium, Holland, and France in 1940, and the second time, in the run-up to the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) in 1944.
Hitler visited Ordensburg Vogelsang numerous times before the war, and he obviously loved the site due to its Germanic nationalistic artwork (and ample use of concrete).
Allied air raids damaged the site during the war, and in early 1945, soldiers from the US 9th Infantry Division captured the complex, whereupon they shot up most of the statues…with most of the rounds aiming for the ‘more sensitive’ parts of the body.
Post-war, the site was occupied by the British for a few years, then it was handed over to the Belgians, before lastly passing to the German military.
Since 2006, the site has been open to the public, and it houses a fantastic exhibition about the construction of the place, its usage, and its legacy.
Well worth a visit!
Find out more about the site and the museum here: Ordensburg Vogelsang