Landsberg am Lech
Encyclopedia
Landsberg am Lech is a town in southwest Bavaria
, Germany
, about 65 kilometers west of Munich
and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg
. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech
.
The town is noted for its prison
where Adolf Hitler
was incarcerated in 1924. During this incarceration Hitler wrote/dictated his book Mein Kampf
together with Rudolf Hess. His cell, number 7, became part of the cult of Nazism and many followers came to visit it during the German Nazi-period. Landsberg am Lech was also known as the town of the Hitler youth. Following World War II
it was the location for one of the largest Displaced Person
(DP) camps for Jewish refugees and the place of execution for more than 150 war criminals after 1945.
It is the birthplace of the Nobel laureate Erwin Neher
.
Also belonging to Landsberg are the hamlets of Sandau and Pössing as well as the former independent boroughs of Ellighofen, Erpfting
(with Friedheim, Geratshof and Mittelstetten), Pitzling (with Pöring) and Reisch
(with Thalhofen).
The camp was liberated on April 27, 1945 by the 12th Armored Division of the United States Army. Upon orders from General Taylor, the American forces allowed news media to record the atrocities, and ordered local German civilians and guards to reflect upon the dead and bury them bare-handed. After the liberation of the camp it became a displaced person
camp. Consisting primarily of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union
and the Baltic states
, it developed into one of the most influential DP camps in the Sh'erit ha-Pletah
. It housed a Yiddish newspaper (the Yiddishe Zeitung), religious schools, and organizations to promote Jewish religious observance.
A dramatization of the discovery and liberation of the camp was presented in Episode 9: Why We Fight of the Band of Brothers mini-series.
A number of prominent leaders emerged from the camp, including Samuel Gringauz, who also became the chairman of the Council of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the U.S. zone. The camp also served as the headquarters for the Jewish education and training organisation ORT
.
The camp closed on October 15, 1950.
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Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, about 65 kilometers west of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech
Landsberg (district)
Landsberg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Aichach-Friedberg, Fürstenfeldbruck, Starnberg, Weilheim-Schongau, Ostallgäu and Augsburg.- History :...
.
The town is noted for its prison
Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west of Munich and south of Augsburg....
where Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was incarcerated in 1924. During this incarceration Hitler wrote/dictated his book Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
together with Rudolf Hess. His cell, number 7, became part of the cult of Nazism and many followers came to visit it during the German Nazi-period. Landsberg am Lech was also known as the town of the Hitler youth. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was the location for one of the largest Displaced Person
Displaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
(DP) camps for Jewish refugees and the place of execution for more than 150 war criminals after 1945.
It is the birthplace of the Nobel laureate Erwin Neher
Erwin Neher
Erwin Neher is a German biophysicist.Erwin Neher studied physics at the Technical University of Munich from 1963 to 1966. In 1966, He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the US...
.
Town areas
The town comprises three main areas. The historic old town centre of Landsberg, which lies between the river Lech and its easterly elevated bank. The area to the west of the river Lech (Katharinenvorstadt, Neuerpfting, Weststadt, Schwaighofsiedlung – today by far the biggest part of the town) and the area on the easterly elevated bank (Bayervorstadt) developed since the early 19th century.Also belonging to Landsberg are the hamlets of Sandau and Pössing as well as the former independent boroughs of Ellighofen, Erpfting
Erpfting
Erpfting is a borough of Landsberg am Lech in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany....
(with Friedheim, Geratshof and Mittelstetten), Pitzling (with Pöring) and Reisch
Reisch
Reisch is the surname of:* Gregor Reisch, Carthusian humanist writer* Günter Reisch, German film director* Walter Reisch, Austrian director and screenwriter.Reisch may also refer to:* Reisch Beer...
(with Thalhofen).
Landsberg Concentration Camp and displaced person camp
The Landsberg camp began as a Nazi concentration camp. By October 1944, there were more than 5,000 prisoners in the camp.The camp was liberated on April 27, 1945 by the 12th Armored Division of the United States Army. Upon orders from General Taylor, the American forces allowed news media to record the atrocities, and ordered local German civilians and guards to reflect upon the dead and bury them bare-handed. After the liberation of the camp it became a displaced person
Displaced person
A displaced person is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place, a phenomenon known as forced migration.- Origin of term :...
camp. Consisting primarily of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, it developed into one of the most influential DP camps in the Sh'erit ha-Pletah
Sh'erit ha-Pletah
Sh'erit ha-Pletah is a biblical term used by Jewish survivors of the Nazi Holocaust to refer to themselves and the communities they formed following their liberation in the spring of 1945....
. It housed a Yiddish newspaper (the Yiddishe Zeitung), religious schools, and organizations to promote Jewish religious observance.
A dramatization of the discovery and liberation of the camp was presented in Episode 9: Why We Fight of the Band of Brothers mini-series.
A number of prominent leaders emerged from the camp, including Samuel Gringauz, who also became the chairman of the Council of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the U.S. zone. The camp also served as the headquarters for the Jewish education and training organisation ORT
World ORT
World ORT is a non-profit non-governmental organization whose mission is the advancement of Jewish and other people through training and education, with past and present activities in over 100 countries....
.
The camp closed on October 15, 1950.
Notable people
- Samuel BakSamuel Bak-Childhood:Born on August 12, 1933 in Vilna, which is now Vilnius, Lithuania, Bak was recognized from an early age as possessing extraordinary artistic talent. He describes his family as "secular, but proud of their Jewish identity." Immediately following the German invasion of Poland in September...
- Artist - Sir Hubert von Herkomer - Artist, director and composer
- Ignaz KöglerIgnaz KöglerIgnaz Kögler was a German Jesuit missionary in China.-Life:...
- Jesuit missionary and mathematician - LanspergiusLanspergiusJohn Justus of Landsberg was a German Carthusian monk and ascetical writer.His family name was Gerecht, of which Justus is merely a Latin translation...
- Carthusian monk and ascetical writer - Erwin NeherErwin NeherErwin Neher is a German biophysicist.Erwin Neher studied physics at the Technical University of Munich from 1963 to 1966. In 1966, He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in the US...
- Biologist - Luise RinserLuise RinserLuise Rinser was a German writer.-Early life and education:...
- Writer and politician - Wilhelm Ritter von LeebWilhelm Ritter von LeebWilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb was a German Field Marshal during World War II. - Youth :...
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
field marshal - Alois Wolfmüller - Inventor and aeronautical engineer
- Dominikus ZimmermannDominikus ZimmermannDominikus Zimmermann was a German Rococo architect and stuccoist.-Life:Dominikus Zimmermann was born in Gaispoint near Wessobrunn in 1685 and became a Baumeister and a stuccoist. His older brother Johann Baptist Zimmermann was an architect and a frescoist...
- Architect
Twinnings
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(1974) Hudson
Hudson, Ohio
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,262 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
(1984) Saint-Laurent-du-Var
Saint-Laurent-du-Var
Saint-Laurent-du-Var is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-History:The town was founded in the 11th century when an hospice was founded under Saint Lawrence's protection...
(1986) Bushey
Bushey
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(1989) Rocca di Papa
Rocca di Papa
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(1989) Waldheim
Waldheim, Saxony
Waldheim is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the Zschopau River, 9 km southwest of Döbeln, and 28 km north of Chemnitz....
(1990) Siófok
Siófok
Siófok is a city in Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton in Somogy County. The city is one of Hungary's most popular holiday destinations, famous for its beaches and nightlife. Siófok is one of the richest municipalities of Hungary due to tourism...
(2002)
Sports
Landsberg is home to the following sports clubs:| Club | Sport | League | Established |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSV Landsberg TSV Landsberg TSV Landsberg is a German association football club from the town of Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria.-History:TSV was established in November 1882 as the gymnastics club Männerturnverein 1882 Landsberg and adopted its current name around 1918. The club's footballers went their own way in 1923 as... |
Soccer | Landesliga Bayern Landesliga Bayern In the Bavarian football league system, the Landesliga Bayern is the second hightest level, below the Fußball-Bayernliga and organised in three regional divisions. The current Landesligas were formed in 1963, when the Fußball-Bundesliga was established... |
1882 |
| EV Landsberg EV Landsberg EV Landsberg is an ice hockey team in Landsberg, Germany. They play in the Oberliga, the third level of ice hockey in Germany. The club was founded in 2000.... |
Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
Oberliga Oberliga (Ice Hockey) The Oberliga is currently the third tier of ice hockey in Germany. In the 2007-08 season, the Oberliga is split in a northern and a southern group.-1948-58:... |
1955 |
| Landsberg Riverkings | Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take... |
Bezirksliga Bayern | 2009 |
| Landsberg X-Press | American Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by... |
Verbandsliga Bayern | 2007 |
| DJK Landsberg | Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules... |
Regionalliga | 1956 |
| Jahn Landsberg | Soccer | A-Klasse Oberbayern Bavarian football league system The Bavarian football league system of the Bavarian Football Association ranks within the German football league system. Its highest division, the Fussball-Bayernliga, is currently the 5th tier of German football. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the 4th tier of the league system... |
1923 |
| Türkspor Landsberg | Soccer | A-Klasse Oberbayern Bavarian football league system The Bavarian football league system of the Bavarian Football Association ranks within the German football league system. Its highest division, the Fussball-Bayernliga, is currently the 5th tier of German football. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the 4th tier of the league system... |
-- |
| Landsberg Cruisaders | Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
Bezirksliga Bayern | 2003 |
| Landsberg Kodiacs | Softball Softball Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand... |
Landesliga Bayern | 2009 |
Sources
- Thomas Raithel, Die Strafanstalt Landsberg am Lech und der Spöttinger Friedhof (1944-1958). Eine Dokumentation im Auftrag des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte München-Berlin (München: Oldenbourg 2009).
External links
- „DP Camp Landsberg This article traces the origin and history of the DP-camp Landsberg between 1945 and 1952.
- „Landsberg: The City of Youth
- Original movie of the U.S. Army: liberation of the concentration camp Kaufering IV (by Landsberg Lech), in April 1945: This film and the photos, made by the U.S. Army, served as a template for Part 9 "Band of Brothers." These documents were given to the team of director and producer Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks by the European Holocaust Memorial (Landsberg).
- „European Holocaust Memorial