The final withdrawal of the former Soviet armed forces from East Germany on August 31, 1994 symbolically marked the end of the Cold War and was an exceptional event in the history of armed conflicts. After almost half a century of occupation, half a million military personnel and their equipment left East Germany without violence in just under four years. What remains are empty barracks, administrative buildings, military training areas, airports, various legacies and a gap in the German culture of remembrance. The social relevance and the political, economic and ecological consequences of this peaceful withdrawal and the conversion of the former military sites will be examined in this project using interviews with contemporary witnesses from politics, administration, business and society, and the results will be presented online.
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