In a photo taken by a Pfc. Warner of the 166th Signal Photo Co., a U.S. Third Army soldier guards German prisoners in the public square in Kaiserslautern, Germany, as other soldiers mill about, March 21, 1945. The Army seized the southwest German city from the Nazis a day earlier. Today people would recognize the 23rd Monument at center and the Fruchthalle at right. (U.S. National Archives/Signal Corps Archive)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Gen. George Patton’s Third Army faced little resistance as it advanced through southwest Germany into a small industrial city scarred from years of Allied bombing.
The Army’s arrival in Kaiserslautern on March 20, 1945, marked the beginning of a decadeslong relationship that would see the U.S. military shape the economy and identity of the city and surrounding area like nowhere else in Europe.
Today, the Kaiserslautern Military Community is the largest of its kind overseas, home to more than 50,000 American service members, civilians and their families.
It likely would have shocked the American platoon sergeant who led troops into the city.
“We got places to go,” Tech. Sgt. Byron Hoover told Stars and Stripes in March 1945, reflecting the desire to push further into Germany. “Who wants to be mayor of Kaiserslautern?”
An article at lower right, on the front page of the Stars and Stripes Paris edition on March, 22, 1945, describes how U.S. soldiers seized control of Kaiserslautern, Germany, two days prior. (Stars and Stripes)
U.S. troops entered the city as part of Operation Undertone, an assault to clear the Saar-Palatinate region and establish bridgeheads over the Rhine River between Mainz and Mannheim.
Capturing Kaiserslautern was an early objective for Allied forces. Hitler’s men were ordered to hold on to it at all costs.
But in early March, the unexpected capture by U.S. forces of the Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, about 60 miles north of Mainz, allowed a rapid advance into central Germany. The success of Operation Undertone reduced Kaiserslautern’s strategic value.
By the time U.S. forces arrived outside the city, German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring had already ordered a general retreat to the Rhine.
The Allies on the city’s doorstep found a remnant of German soldiers low on morale, weapons and leadership, said Christian Decker, head of the Palatine history department at the Kaiserslautern-based Institute for Palatine History and Folklore.
“Like in other parts of Germany, the last resort of the regime was young boys and old men, 16 and over 60,” Decker said. “It was obvious how it was going to end.”
Allied bombs destroyed roughly 60% of Kaiserslautern during World War II. American soldiers were temporarily quartered in this building on Mannheimerstrasse, which survived, not far from Kleber Kaserne, where U.S. soldiers now live and work. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
On March 20, American soldiers are said to have raced down the autobahn in their military vehicles to see who could arrive in Kaiserslautern first.
Soldiers with the 10th Armored Division carried on in their M4 Sherman tanks toward the Rhine, while about 10,000 soldiers from the 80th Infantry Division occupied the city.
The Americans kept about 100 German soldiers as prisoners of war in the city’s Fruchthalle, a building that still stands.
Outside, several hundred women and children huddled together and wept noisily, Stars and Stripes reported.
But among the sadness and fear of the unknown, there a sense of relief, Decker said, adding that the surrender prevented more death and destruction.
Bombing campaigns the previous year destroyed about 60% of the city. There were reports that some 200 bombers were on standby in Metz, France, to bomb Kaiserslautern if there was resistance.
U.S. forces remained in the city until July 1945, when they handed it over to their French counterparts.
By this time, there was a significant food shortage. Residents had reportedly resorted to eating horses that had died from starvation.
A woman in Baumholder, Germany, looks down at a U.S. flag flown during a parade in the town on March 18, 2025, to mark 80 years since American troops arrived during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
The arrival of the French was an extra burden as they had few resources of their own and Kaiserslautern’s population had to feed the occupiers. The winter of 1946-47 was particularly harsh, with even milk for small children strictly rationed.
But a few years later, Kaiserslautern’s fortunes changed for the better.
In June 1948, the Soviet Union attempted to cut off access to West Berlin in what became known as the Berlin Blockade, the first major crisis of the Cold War.
To counter Soviet expansion in Europe, Western Allies created NATO in 1949. About two years later, France allowed the U.S. to take over more than two dozen military bases in Kaiserslautern and the surrounding area.
“The return of the Americans was received positively,” local historian Jürgen Keddigkeit said. “There was a great fear of Russia, and the U.S.A. was seen as ‘life insurance.’”
Construction boomed to house the influx of troops and others who moved to the area for economic opportunities. Bases and other military infrastructure, including Ramstein Air Base — which began construction in 1952 — were built or refurbished.
“It was incredible how many dollars were invested into this region during the early 1950s,” said Michael Geib, a historian and former director of the Docu Center Ramstein. “After the shock of the war, the Americans came with their dollars, and the German community was very much impressed.”
U.S. and German flags are flown during a parade in Baumholder, Germany, on March 18, 2025, to mark 80 years since American troops arrived in the town at the end of World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
A common expression among Germans in the area at the time was, “Are we keeping a pig or an American?” Geib said, highlighting the choice people had between having livestock or earning money from housing an American on their property.
By 1959, the U.S. military was the third-largest employer in the area.
Another reason for the swift shift in sentiment was the promotion of American culture and values.
The Amerikahaus in downtown Kaiserslautern offered books, films and sessions where jazz and rock ‘n’ roll records were played. The center also had a bus that traveled through rural areas, disseminating American culture.
Meanwhile, the younger generation visited American service member clubs, where “they drank cocktails and whiskey and smoked Lucky Strikes,” enhancing trust and camaraderie, Geib said.
Relations were not always perfect. In the early years, residents complained about U.S. troops frequenting prostitutes. Protests against U.S. policies also occurred near Ramstein over the years.
However, historians note that there were never major calls by area residents for the U.S. to leave.
In a speech in 1985, West German President Richard von Weizsäcker said the day Germany surrendered and ended World War II in Europe should be seen as a “day of liberation” for Germany, rather than a day of defeat.
U.S. and German soldiers participate in a parade in Baumholder, Germany, on March 18, 2025, to mark 80 years since American troops arrived in the town during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Despite the camaraderie that has grown over the years, the day the Americans entered Kaiserslautern is rarely portrayed that way. The city will not hold any commemorations to mark the anniversary this year.
However, it’s a different story in Baumholder, 36 miles northwest of Kaiserslautern. It’s been described as “the most American town in Germany.”
On Tuesday, U.S. troops stationed there marched through Baumholder’s streets with its mayor to celebrate 80 years since the Americans arrived.
Residents watched from their windows and waved American and German flags as the soldiers passed by.
“This is another example of how close the relations are here,” Bernd Mai, 64, a German employee of U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, said of the parade, which he helped organize.
The Nazi regime built the barracks at Baumholder ahead of World War II. When the Americans arrived on March 18, 1945, German forces had already retreated.
Today, the U.S. base is about the same size as the town, and the military and civilian communities are closely integrated.
Children in Baumholder, Germany, wave American flags as a parade of U.S. soldiers passes in front of their school on March 18, 2025. The parade was organized to commemorate the arrival of American troops in the town during World War II. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
“When I was born, the Americans were here. I could never think of this space being without Americans,” Mai said of Baumholder’s Smith Barracks.
However, recent comments from Washington have led to questions about the future of the U.S. in Germany, including in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which sometimes includes Baumholder depending on who is defining it.
Baumholder is in the middle of a $500 million expansion to host Special Forces and support units in the coming years.
Col. Matt Alexander, commander of the Army’s 16th Sustainment Brigade, spoke at a ceremony following Tuesday’s parade.
“What is as clear as the weather today is that the U.S. presence in Baumholder will only grow, and with it, the relationship we have with the people,” Alexander said on a rare sunny March morning.
Mai said he hoped so.
“There is always a little fear that the U.S. will leave,” he said. “Not only because of the economic factor but because of the friendship with the U.S. forces. We love to have them here, and we want to keep them as long as we can.”
Ramstein Air Base construction in 1952. Today, the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which includes the air base, is the largest U.S. military community overseas, home to over 50,000 American service members, civilians, and their families. (Ramstein Air Base via Facebook)
