Rhine Army Ranges (Hohne) map with overprinting, acquired by an American soldier stationed in Germany during the 1980s
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 47.500 inches (120.65 cm) | Width: 34.625 inches (87.948 cm)
Creator(s)
- British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) (Publisher)
- Survey Production Centre (Royal Engineers) (Producer)
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) (Subject)
Biographical History
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949, in the aftermath of World War II. Originally an alliance of 12 Western European and North American countries, the alliance has expanded to 29 member states. The alliance was created for the collective defense of member states from attack through political and military means. The political headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium. The military command structure is headed by two Strategic Commands: the Allied Command Operations (ACO), based in Mons, Belgium, and the Allied Command Transformation (ACT), based in Norfolk, Virginia, United States.
The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was a British occupation force stationed in Germany after both the First and Second World Wars; the second incarnation was formed on August 25, 1945. During the Cold War, the BAOR helped defend West Germany against communism and the Soviet Union. The BAOR had several garrisons in West Germany, including one at Bergen-Hohne, near the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. In November 1952, NATO created the Headquarters of Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), which incorporated the BAOR. In 1954, the headquarters of the BAOR moved from Bad Oeynhausen to Rheindalen in East Germany. In 1957, the force reduced its size to 64,000. BAOR was disbanded in 1994.
Archival History
The map was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Joseph Pallone.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Joseph Pallone
Scope and Content
A 1953 map of the Bergen-Hohne region, with multi-colored overprinting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) training area, acquired by an American soldier stationed in Germany during the 1980s. Overprinted maps are often made prior to or during hostilities. They provide military units with the most up-to-date intelligence and information, when there is insufficient time to fully revise or create a new map. Along the bottom right edge of the NATO range, outlined in yellow and black, is the village of Belsen, located next to the “East Camp” of a former Wehrmacht training complex, founded in 1934. Southwest of the installation was the complex’s construction camp, which was a prisoner of war (POW) camp in 1940, and became Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1943. Following the liberation of Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945, British forces took control of the area and set up 14,000 emergency hospital beds in the military complex. On August 25, 1945, the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was formed, stationing 80,000 soldiers in Germany. In 1949, the NATO military alliance was formed to counter the communist military threat of Eastern Europe. NATO continued to use the Bergen-Hohne region as a training range. In November 1952, NATO created the Headquarters of Northern Army Group (NORTHAG), which incorporated the BAOR. The British army maintained a garrison at the Bergen-Hohne military complex until 2015, and as the largest military training area in Germany, with 70,000 acres, it is still used as an active training range for international forces.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular sheet of off-white paper with multiple layers of printed maps depicting the Bergen-Hohne region of Germany. The base map is printed in dark gray ink, surrounded by a dark gray border. The map is divided into a grid, 21 squares across by 28.5 down. The vertical lines are numbered left to right, from 546 000 m. E. to 565, and the horizontal lines are numbered bottom to top from 5840 000 m. N. to 5868. Printed over the base map in black, red, green, and yellow ink are additional boundary markers and symbols. Set within the top left corner of the map is a reference key inside a large rectangular border. The top portion is printed in dark gray ink, matching the base map, while the lower portion is a legend for the multi-colored overprinting. On the back, there is a handwritten inscription in black ink. The paper is creased with overall staining on the front and back and tears along the top and right edges.
front, top center, printed, red ink : RHINE ARMY RANGES (HOHNE) front, top right corner, printed, red ink : ((marking, printed, dark gray ink) Refer to this map as:-BAOR (misc) 105) A front, within map, top right corner, handwritten, black ink : 1953 front, bottom left corner, printed, red ink : ((marking, printed, dark gray ink) Refer to this map as:-BAOR (misc) 105) A front, bottom right corner, printed, red ink : Overprinted from information supplied by G (Trg) I. Corps. April 1953 front, key, printed, black ink : LEGEND / RANGE BOUNDARY / Western Part left blank, boundary not yet determined / Camp Boundary / Boundary of Driver/Training Area / Boundary of Tank-Corridors / Boundary of outside Gun-Deployment Areas / Boundary of Danger Area / Tank Routes / Inhabited Buildings or out of Bounds Areas / Firing Points / Blockhouse with engine / Splinterproof Observation Post back, top center, handwritten, black ink : 1953
Corporate Bodies
- Great Britain. Army. British Army of the Rhine
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Subjects
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization--Maps.
- Great Britain. Army. British Army of the Rhine. Series BAOR misc.
- Military training camps--Germany--Maps.
- Military training camps--Germany--Bergen (Celle)--History.
- Military training camps.
- Bergen (Celle, Germany)--Maps.
- Bergen (Celle, Germany)
Genre
- Maps.
- Information Forms
- Object