HISTORY TRAIL
Discoveries & Experiences
The history of Tempelhofer Feld, whose name refers to an order seat of the "Knights Templar", goes back to the 13th century. From the first parade of the Soldier King in 1722 until the withdrawal of the Allies from Berlin in the early 1990s, Tempelhofer Feld was almost continuously used for military purposes.
As a deployment and training area for the Berlin garrison, it was the scene of early flight experiments, a training ground for aviation pioneers and a demonstration field for scientific flight experiments. In 1923, the civilian "Tempelhofer Feld Airport" was built, which was soon to be replaced by the new building of the National Socialists. In the "Columbia House" on the northern edge of the field, the National Socialists set up the only official concentration camp of the SS on Berlin city territory. Forced labourers from the occupied countries, employed in the production and maintenance of war planes, were housed in a large barracks camp. During the Berlin Blockade, pilots of the Western Allies supplied the population of West Berlin via the legendary "Airlift".
Tracing the history of Tempelhofer Feld
An information path, which marks 20 places of remembrance and commemoration with texts and historical images, introduces visitors to stations in the history of Tempelhofer Feld.
Concept and realisation: Berliner Forum für Geschichte und Gegenwart e. V.; Stefanie Endlich, Monica Geyler-von Bernus, Beate Rossié; www.bfgg.de
Design: Helga Lieser, Berlin
on behalf of Tempelhof Projekt GmbH and Grün Berlin GmbH