Vergessene Geschichte

So heißt eine britische Webseite. Ja, die britische Armee war lange Zeit in Osnabrück. Das ist nun Geschichte, ebenso die Zeit davor, als die Kasernen-Baracken noch von der Wehrmacht genutzt wurden. Darüber die Webseite: Forgotten History.

Außerdem werden die Fotos dem Jetztzustand gegenübergesetllt:

Auch gibt es einen Überblick über die Tage der Übernahme Osnabrücks 1945: ...

In the afternoon, when the initial British armour spearheads had already reached positions in the suburbs, the Wehrmacht gave up asking for payment and on the orders of the Wehrmacht administration prepared the stores to be set alight so as to prevent them falling to the British. Between 15.00 and 16.00 about the first flames blazed from the crammed storage depots. Whether it was the arsonist soldiers, now realising the senselessness of their orders, or whether it was pure coincidence, cannot be determined, but only one store in which luxuries such as tobacco and coffee was stored burned down. As soon as the retreating Wehrmacht had left the barracks area, a genuine storm was unleashed on the stores. The Osnabrück population, including a large number of foreign prisoners of war, forced labourers and civil workers in their hundreds, helped themselves to the supplies. Under partially alight roofs and under the protection of a white flag the mass soon swelled to several thousand. Tonnes of grain, dried vegetables and flour, crates of fat, meat and tinned vegetables were dragged away in wagons and hand cart. Whether out of fear of coming famine or purely out of greed, everyone tried to gather what they could. There was pushing, brutal throngs and loot snatched from others. Deep into the night and until the next day blatant, raw chaos prevailed at Netter Heide. Neither the April rains still coming down in hailstorms, nor the constantly approaching British nor low flying fighter-bombers, which nearly touched the roofs, could stop the rowdy mob. There were even scenes of horrific fights and attempted lynching.

Die Briten waren auch später fleißige Dokumentaristen über Osnabrück, davon findet sich bis jetzt vieles nur auf englischsprachigen Seiten, zum Beispiel: britisharmedforces.com mit einer Aufnahme vom Nikolaiort Ende der 50er.