A small town called Bad Arolsen in the north of Hesse, Germany, has been home to the Arolsen Archives since the organization was first founded. Hundreds of “displaced persons” – people who had been persecuted by the Nazis – lived here after the war. Many of them helped to create the world’s largest documentation center on the victims of Nazi persecution. But before that, the town had been an important location for the SS. It served as the base for Prince Josias of Waldeck and Pyrmont, a General in the Waffen-SS, who carried out his duties from here. An SS leadership school was also located in the town, as was a concentration camp sub-camp. Even when the war ended, the story was not over – SS veterans continued to organize large gatherings in Bad Arolsen in the decades that followed. Let us take you on a journey through time – come and explore the sites associated with Bad Arolsen’s Nazi history and find out what they mean to the town today.
A center for the Nazi elite
Aristocratic supporter and beneficiary of the regime
Bad Arolsen was the capital of the principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until 1918. During the Nazi era, the town had close ties to the regime. This was largely due to the princely family. Josias of Waldeck und Pyrmont (photo), the last hereditary prince of the principality until 1918, joined the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) as early as 1929. Then, in 1930, he became one of the first members of the German aristocracy to join the SS. The former hereditary prince’s political career flourished in the Nazi state. He swiftly rose to become Heinrich Himmler’s assistant and was elected to the Reichstag for the NSDAP in 1933.
The Old Palace in Bad Arolsen – the princely family still lives in the right wing of the building today – played an important role in the town’s history during the Nazi period. High-ranking SS officials used to visit Bad Arolsen to support Prince Josias and his work for Nazi organizations. Guests were often welcomed with formal state ceremonies, as shown in this picture from March 1936: Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess (left), is greeting the townspeople of Arolsen in front of the palace with Prince Josias (right) at his side.
Prince Josias was a close friend of Heinrich Himmler. The “Reichsführer SS” was the most powerful man in the Nazi state, second only to Adolf Hitler. This photo shows Himmler (center) in the grounds of the SS leadership school. He visited Bad Arolsen on several occasions. In 1936, he became godfather to Josias of Waldeck and Pyrmont’s first son. This friendship, and many other close relationships with prominent members of the NSDAP and the SS, helped fuel the hereditary prince’s meteoric rise. In January 1936, he achieved the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer and took command of the SS region “Fulda-Werra.”
The hereditary prince chose the New Palace in Bad Arolsen, where he lived for part of the time, as his official headquarters. It was from this base that he organized the recruitment and training of new SS recruits. By 1937, he had over 12,000 SS men under his command. In 1938, Prince Josias was appointed SS and Police Leader in Military District IX, which included Buchenwald concentration camp. In 1943, he had the Druseltal sub-camp of Buchenwald built in Kassel. Approximately 288 prisoners were held there; they were mostly forced to do construction work for the SS.
Convicted by the US military court
Prince Josias was captured by the US Army in early April 1945. On August 14, 1947, the U.S. military tribunal at the Buchenwald main trial sentenced him to life imprisonment for crimes connected with Buchenwald concentration camp. In June 1948, his sentence was commuted to 20 years, and in 1950, he was granted early release on health grounds.
The barracks: An important SS site
The military barracks complex in Bad Arolsen dates back to 1869, but once the First World War ended, the site was put to civilian use. As soon as the National Socialists came to power, they used the grounds to accommodate a “voluntary labor service” consisting of 120 men and an “SA relief organization” with a sports school and about 500 men. From 1935 to 1939, the 800-strong 2nd Battalion of the SS-Verfügungstruppe “Germania” occupied the buildings.
The stationing of these SS troops was warmly welcomed by large parts of the population. When they marched into the town after participating in military maneuvers, the soldiers often found the streets adorned with festive decorations. Crowds would come out to watch when they paraded through the town. In 1939, the unit took part in the attack on Poland and then remained in active service. In the years that followed, a number of “Totenkopf” divisions were stationed at the barracks; these SS units were known for their particularly brutal brand of warfare and for their many war crimes.
From 1943 to 1945, the SS leadership school used the site. Around 1,000 SS members at a time could take part in three-month courses at the school to help them advance in the hierarchy of their organization. They received instruction in subjects such as “ideological training,” “combat training,” and “physical education.” There was also an SS clothing camp in the barracks, which supplied the Waffen-SS with tarpaulins and service uniforms and organized repairs to the clothing of wounded or fallen SS men.
Between 1943 and 1945, the SS leadership school and the SS clothing camp had their own labor detail: the “Arthur” sub-camp had more than 100 prisoners at times and belonged to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Several transports brought people from Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps to Bad Arolsen to work in the barracks. Their first task was to prepare the SS leadership school. Later, they worked in the kitchen, in the clothing camp, or as cleaners or barbers for the SS men. Most of the prisoners were housed in the indoor riding arena that belonged to the armory (photo).
Concentration camp prisoners in Bad Arolsen
Sleep, work, eat… nothing else. But we didn’t have it so bad. We had enough to eat.
Fernand Labalue, concentration camp prisoner held in the “Arthur” sub-camp in Bad Arolsen
Fernand Labalue, a Belgian student, was arrested by the Security Police and deported to Germany in 1941. The SS released him after a few months of forced labor. Fernand returned to Belgium and joined the resistance. He was arrested again shortly afterwards and sent to Dachau concentration camp, where he was subjected to pseudo-medical ice water experiments. He survived this ordeal and was transferred to the “Arthur” sub-camp in Bad Arolsen in 1944, where he had to work in the SS clothing camp.
Six months later, Fernand and three other prisoners made a spectacular escape: he managed to get four uniforms from the clothing camp and collected money that had been left there. The four men also obtained passports and provisions. On June 4, 1944, they got into one of the SS vehicles, drove out of the barracks without arousing suspicion, and fled westward.
This document from Buchenwald concentration camp lists Fernand as “flüchtig” (on the run).
Efforts to trace victims of Nazi persecution centered in Bad Arolsen
American troops arrived in Bad Arolsen in the spring of 1945. They took over a number of buildings, including the two palaces, and moved the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) into the New Palace at the end of 1945. At times, there were nearly 1,000 people working there – the staff included Allied military personnel and civilians as well as displaced persons (DPs). UNRRA was a forerunner of the Arolsen Archives in the immediate post-war period. Mainly responsible for the repatriation of DPs, the organization also traced missing victims of Nazi persecution.
Tracing Service moves to the barracks
Because the Tracing Service was using rooms in different buildings scattered throughout the town, it was difficult for staff to work together effectively. In 1949, in an effort to improve things, the Tracing Service moved to the barracks, which had been housing a large number of DPs and a DP training center since the end of the war. The majority of the DPs employed by the Tracing Service lived in the DP camp on the grounds of the barracks. They organized themselves into national groups, held joint celebrations, and represented their own interests in dealings with the town administration.
The difficult legacy of the Nazi era
Meeting place for former members of the SS
After the war, former military units such as the “Großdeutschland” Panzer Corps and the “Brandenburg-Verbände” organized large gatherings on a regular basis in Bad Arolsen. Veterans of the 3rd SS Panzer Division “Totenkopf” were also regular visitors to Bad Arolsen. For many years, meetings of the HIAG, the “Mutual Aid Association of Former Members of the Waffen-SS,” were held here too. Their aim was to rehabilitate the Waffen-SS, and they demanded that members of the SS be seen as “ordinary soldiers.”
In June 1959, the HIAG were planning to hold a “Federal Tracing Service Meeting” in Bad Arolsen. The Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime responded by organizing a protest – pointing out that such a meeting would surely be considered a provocation by the surviving victims of Nazi persecution since Bad Arolsen was the location of the International Tracing Service (ITS).
In June 1959, the HIAG were planning to hold a “Federal Tracing Service Meeting” in Bad Arolsen. The Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime responded by organizing a protest – pointing out that such a meeting would surely be considered a provocation by the surviving victims of Nazi persecution since Bad Arolsen was the location of the International Tracing Service (ITS).
From the newspaper of the “Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime”
The Hessian Ministry of the Interior and the mayor of Bad Arolsen shared the same concerns about the event. The German Foreign Office also feared “diplomatic disruptions.” In the end, the meeting was indeed canceled. But former members of the SS continued to hold meetings in Bad Arolsen on a number of occasions, usually without provoking significant protest. Local politicians ranging from the mayor to the district administrator would even give participants an official welcome.
However, a meeting of the SS “Totenkopf” division in the town hall at the end of April 1979 finally met with massive resistance. Previously, the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) had held their party conference at the same venue. The NPD had received 14.4% of the vote in Bad Arolsen in regional elections, prompting concerned citizens to form the “Waldeck Citizens’ Initiative against Neo-Fascism.” And in Kassel, another initiative launched a campaign “to ban on SS meetings in Arolsen.” These groups organized a large demonstration in the town on the day of the meeting, attracting thousands of participants.
Against a tense backdrop of support and protest, SS and Wehrmacht meetings continued to take place in Bad Arolsen well into the 1980s.
In 2021, Bad Arolsen set up a “Commission to Raise Awareness of the History of the Town during the Nazi Era.” It includes representatives from the local administration, political parties, schools, churches, the princely family, and the Arolsen Archives. The members meet regularly to set strategic targets and plan new projects with a focus on the remembrance of Bad Arolsen’s Nazi history. Thanks to their efforts, a new memorial has already been set up in the former barracks. The Commission is currently working on a project to commemorate the Jewish citizens who once lived in the town.
Today: Remembrance in Bad Arolsen
The Old Palace
… is today the residence of the Princely Family once again, and it also serves as a venue for temporary art and cultural exhibitions. The court library is also open to visitors. Prince Carl Anton, who is now in charge of preserving the palace, is keen to find a suitable way to remember the Nazi past and the post-war period in the near future.
The New Palace
…is now a clinic and still lacks any reminder of the building’s use as an SS site or of the work that was later carried out there for the Tracing Service by the Allies and the DPs.
Remembrance in the barracks
The former barracks staff building is now a place of remembrance. In the “Historicum – Forum Zeitgeschichte” (Historicum – Forum for Contemporary History), the Bad Arolsen Museum has set up a permanent exhibition that focuses on the use of the barracks. It includes an extensive section on the Nazi period and the “Arthur” sub-camp.
No memorial plaques on the buildings
The former concentration sub-camp “Arthur” (photo) now houses a supermarket and an electronics store. So far, no information board has been put up on the building. The former parade ground is now a huge parking lot. Some of the large barracks buildings have been preserved, but many parts of them are vacant. There are no memorial plaques.
Student project about the concentration camp prisoners
In the former prison yard of the barracks, memorial plaques were set up early in 2022 to commemorate the prisoners of the concentration sub-camp. Students of Christian-Rauch-Schule in Bad Arolsen produced the content for the memorial site and designed a website concept to present the prisoners’ biographies.