Heeresbekleidungsamt Bernau
THE ABANDONED MILITARY SITE IN GERMANY
‘Heeresbekleidungsamt Bernau’ was a military textile factory. Until the Second World War the factory produced many uniforms and other military clothing. Bernau is a German city, north of Berlin.
The site was built from 1939 to 1942 and used by the Wehrmacht until 1945 to manufacture and store uniforms and army accessories. It was a sub-base, in fact the main office with administration was located elsewhere in Bernau. The site was named the ‘Heeresbekleidungsamt’, this was the division of the armed forces that were responsible for the clothing. The factory with around 1,300 employees was relocated from Berlin.
After the Second World War ended in 1945, the Soviet Army takes over the building in Bernau, now part of East Germany. Also the Soviets used the site as a base to store army clothing, army supplies and spare parts. Clothing was also repaired here, there was a laundry and dry cleaning department and a sewing room.
In 1991 the buildings are left by the army and didn’t get a new use. In 2004 the polluted grounds are cleaned around the building, but the site is still abandoned and in a bad state. There are plans to reconvert the site to a residential area. I visited the ‘Heeresbekleidungsamt Bernau’ in 2008. Follow this link for more abandoned military Soviet sites.
