European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 31, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse A children from immigrant families play around building machinery at the former soviet air base in Nieder Morsdorf Germany Germany seeks uses for sex soviet bases Blarr Thorson the associated press he transformation of a former soviet air base near Berlin shows How far the wheel of history can Turr. Gone Are the russian airmen and tools of War. In some of their Barracks Are descendants of germans who moved two centuries ago to the Region that became the soviet Union. \ Roar of Mic jets has been replaced by the snarl of go carts on a new Racetrack in front of a dilapidated hangar painted in fading camouflage. A group of developers wants to turn the base into a giant recreation Park. And Why hot if nonviolent ethnic germans from Russia can change places with russian soldiers in Germany is anything impossible Send in some american investors said Uirich Thielmann a real estate agent with his own ideas for the base the russians abandoned at Nieder Morsdorf an hour s drive South of Berlin. How to finance development is part or every conversation about one of the biggest real estate transfers in recent european history today when the last russian soldiers Are to leave Germany an area the size of Delaware will pass formally from military to civilian use. Where 5 so 000 soviet and East German soldiers and airmen prepared Lor nuclear War with nato United Germany plans to station Only about the a i t mean lots of empty bae7- 7 vacated by the re sum , it t of v m Thiry other pm �.ind,.�i" in some facilities already have been converted but Many investors and local governments have been scared off by the potential Cost of cleaning up pollution the russians leave behind. The Federal government offered to give All the bases to the Eastern German states but two of the five said no thanks. Brandenburg state surrounding Berlin one of those that accepted has found ready buyers for the prime real estate on idyllic lakes in Potsdam the state capital. But there Are few takers for vast firing ranges sown with Dud bombs and artillery shells or for the Oil soaked ground of former military motor pools when the Berlin Wall came Down in 1989, Many East germans wanted drastic and irreversible reduction of ," said Helmut Domke who oversees conversion of the 1,900 Square Miles of bases in russians go Home under an agreement signed in october 1990 with the soviet government All russian soldiers were to be out of Germany by today and Germany was to pay 8 billion Marks about $5.2 billion to build housing for them at Home. About 6 million soviet soldiers had served in East Germany since 1945. At the end of 1.990, there were j.37,800 military personnel 208,400 civilians 4,197 Tankard other Ami died Jehu Lei and i 1,500 airmail in use Fem. All but 10 percent us the tidier Fyk by use end of l � \ the a Uki id part Brandenburg state. Competing developers often have radically different ideas for a site the Nieder Morsdorf air base for example. One proposal is for a recycling Center including the use of bacteria to clean contaminated soil from other bases. Don t we have enough deck already exclaimed Michael Wegenka a local builder. He and two partners envision a huge recreation Center. We want to do something for the Public something Beautiful he said. The three partners have leased part of the base for the go cart track. They want to build a permanent Racetrack horse Riding trails facilities for Tennis swimming volleyball whatever will entice Berlin s 31/2 million people to travel 50 Miles dozens of hard shelters at Nieder Morsdorf now empty of , look like Odd Little Hills in a Flat Countryside of wheat Fields and stands of Pine and Birch. It is a Lovely landscape so Long As the Eye does t fall on the decrepit buildings with missing roof tiles broken windows peeling paint weeds 3 feet tall on the Concrete Parade ground where hitlers and later Stalin a pilots stood at attention. More than 100 buildings Are scattered around the base. The Only ones in Good condition Are thobe that were renovated for the 110 ethnic German immigrants finally returning to their ancestral Homeland. In the 1 760s, Catherine the great of Russia herself netted germans to to
