Editing Braunschweig (section)

===Early to mid-20th century===
[[File:Braunschweig.jpg|thumb|right|Braunschweig around 1900]]
[[File:Braunschweig15101944.jpg|thumbnail|left|Braunschweig in the early hours of 15 October 1944]]

On 8 November 1918, at the end of [[World War I]], a [[socialist]] [[workers' council]] forced Duke [[Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick|Ernest Augustus]] to abdicate.<ref>{{Harvnb|Moderhack|1997|pp=193–194}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first = Bernd |last = Rother |title = Die Sozialdemokratie im Land Braunschweig 1918 bis 1933 |year = 1990 |language = de |publisher = Verlag J. H. W. Dietz Nachf. |location= Bonn |isbn=3-8012-4016-9 |pages = 27–30}}</ref> On 10 November, the council proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Brunswick under one-party government by the [[Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (USPD); however, the subsequent [[Brunswick Landtag elections in the Weimar Republic|''Landtag'' election]] on 22 December 1918 was won by the [[Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (MSPD), and the USPD and MSPD formed a [[coalition government]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Rother|1990|pp=36–37 and 288}}</ref> An uprising in Braunschweig in 1919, led by the [[communist]] [[Spartacus League]], was defeated when ''[[Freikorps]]'' troops under [[Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker]] took over the city on order of the German Minister of Defence, [[Gustav Noske]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Rother|1990|pp=67–72}}</ref><ref>Hans-Ulrich Ludewig (2000): ''Der Erste Weltkrieg und die Revolution (1914–1918/19)'', in: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck / Gerhard Schildt (eds.), ''Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region'', Braunschweig: Appelhans Verlag, pp. 935–943. {{ISBN|3-930292-28-9}}.</ref> An MSPD-led government was subsequently established; in December 1921, a new [[constitution]] was approved for the [[Free State of Brunswick]], now a [[parliamentary republic]] within the [[Weimar Republic]], again with Braunschweig as its capital.<ref>{{Harvnb|Moderhack|1997|pp=194–195}}</ref>

After the ''Landtag'' election of 1930, Brunswick became the second state in Germany where the [[Nazi Germany|Nazis]] participated in government, when the [[Nazi Party|National Socialist German Workers' Party]] (NSDAP) formed a coalition government with several conservative and right-wing parties.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rother|1990|p=234}}</ref> With the support of [[Dietrich Klagges]], Brunswick's minister of the interior, the NSDAP organized a large [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] rally in Braunschweig. On 17–18 October 1931, 100,000 SA stormtroopers marched through the city; street fights between Nazis, socialists, and communists left several dead or injured.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rother|1990|p=244}}</ref> On 25 February 1932, the state of Brunswick granted [[Adolf Hitler]] German citizenship to allow him to run in the [[1932 German presidential election]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Rother|1990|p=247}}</ref> In Braunschweig, Nazis carried out several attacks on political enemies, with the acquiescence of the state government.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rother|1990|pp=247–248}}</ref>

After the [[Nazi seizure of power]] in 1933, several state institutions were placed in Braunschweig, including the ''[[Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt]]'' in [[Völkenrode]], the [[Hitler Youth]] [[Academy for Youth Leadership]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/akademie.htm |title=Akademie für Jugendführung |publisher=Vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref> and the [[Waffen-SS|SS]]-[[SS-Junker Schools|Junkerschule Braunschweig]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/schloss.htm |title=Braunschweiger Schloss / SS-Junkerschule |publisher=Vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref> With the [[Reichswerke Hermann Göring]] in [[Salzgitter]] and the [[Wolfsburg|Stadt des KdF-Wagens]], as well as several factories in the city itself (including [[Büssing]] and the [[Volkswagenwerk Braunschweig]]), the Braunschweig region became one of the centres of the German [[arms industry]].<ref>Jörg Leuschner (2008): ''Die Wirtschaft des Braunschweigischen Landes im Dritten Reich (1933–1939)'', in: Jörg Leuschner / Karl Heinrich Kaufhold / Claudia Märtl (eds.), ''Die Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte des Braunschweigischen Landes vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart'', vol. 3, Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag, pp. 468–522; {{ISBN|978-3-487-13599-1}}</ref>

During the [[World War II|Second World War]], Braunschweig was a sub-area headquarters of [[Wehrkreis XI]] (one of Germany's military districts),<ref>Dieter Lent (2000): ''Kriegsgeschehen und Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg'', in: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck / Gerhard Schildt (eds.), ''Die Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region'', Braunschweig: Appelhans Verlag, pg. 1026; {{ISBN|3-930292-28-9}}</ref> and was the garrison city of the [[31st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|31st Infantry Division]] that took part in the invasions of Poland, Belgium, and France, largely being destroyed during its retreat following the invasion of Russia.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} In this period, thousands of [[Eastern workers]] were brought to the city as [[forced labor]],<ref>{{cite book |editor1 = Fiedler, Gudrun |editor2 = Ludewig, Hans-Ulrich |title = Zwangsarbeit und Kriegswirtschaft im Lande Braunschweig 1939–1945 |year = 2003 |language = de |publisher = Appelhans Verlag |location= Braunschweig |isbn=3-930292-78-5 }}</ref> and in the 1943–1945 period at least 360 children taken away from such workers died in the ''[[Ausländerkinder-Pflegestätte|Entbindungsheim für Ostarbeiterinnen]]'' ("Maternity Ward for Eastern Workers").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/entbind.htm |title=Entbindungsheim für Ostarbeiterinnen |publisher=Vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de |access-date=2015-07-12}}</ref>

In 1944, two [[subcamp]]s of the [[Neuengamme concentration camp]] were established in Braunschweig. The subcamp ''Schillstraße'' or ''Büssing-NAG/Schillstraße'', located where the BraWo Park's parking lot is today, held about 800 male prisoners, who were forced to work in the arms production at [[Büssing|Büssing-NAG]]. After about 300 had died due to disease, hunger, and maltreatment over the course of just a few months, a further 200 were transferred to the infirmary of a nearby subcamp in early January 1945 in order to reduce the number of deaths. However, this was only effective to some degree, as another 80 bodies landed in the city's crematory until the subcamp's closing in March 1945, when Büssing-NAG had to halt production due to severe bombing damages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Braunschweig (Büssing-NAG) |url=https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de/geschichte/kz-aussenlager/aussenlagerliste/braunschweig-buessing-nag/ |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=KZ-Gedenkstätte Neuengamme}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Die Geschichte des KZ-Außenlagers an der Schillstraße |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/schillstrasse_geschichteneu.htm |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Gedenkstätte Schilstrasse |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/schillstrasse-kz.htm |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de}}</ref> Today the ''[https://www.schillstrasse.de/ Gedenkstätte Schillstraße],'' located very close to the former premises of the subcamp, documents Braunschweig's history during the [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Aufgabe / Gedenkstätte Schillstraße · Braunschweig |url=https://www.schillstrasse.de/gedenkstaette/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=www.schillstrasse.de}}</ref> Büssing-NAG also had another subcamp in the nearby [[Vechelde]], which held a further 400 male prisoners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vechelde |url=https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de/geschichte/kz-aussenlager/aussenlagerliste/vechelde/ |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=KZ-Gedenkstätte Neuengamme}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Historischer Ort / Gedenkstätte Schillstraße · Braunschweig |url=https://www.schillstrasse.de/historischer-ort/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=www.schillstrasse.de}}</ref>

The subcamp ''SS-Reitschule'', named so as it was located on the former premises of the [[SS-Junker Schools|SS-Junker School]]'s riding school, held approximately 800 prisoners, all female, who were tasked with clearing away rubble. This subcamp was commissioned by the city of Braunschweig. Although it was only open for two months - from December 1944 until February 1945, there were at least 17 deaths and a transfer of about 50 prisoners to a nearby subcamp's infirmary. The number of survivors is unknown.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Braunschweig (SS-Reitschule) |url=https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de/geschichte/kz-aussenlager/aussenlagerliste/braunschweig-ss-reitschule/ |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=KZ Gedenkstätte Neuengamme}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=KZ-Außenlager SS-Reithalle |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/reit.htm |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de}}</ref>

Piera Sonnino (1922–1999), an Italian author, writes of her imprisonment in Braunschweig in her book, ''This Has Happened'', published in English in 2006 by MacMillan Palgrave.{{citation needed |date=July 2022}}

The [[Bombing of Braunschweig in World War II|Allied air raid]] on October 15, 1944, destroyed most of the city's churches, and the ''Altstadt'' (old town), the largest homogeneous ensemble of half-timbered houses in Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dw.com/en/braunschweig-steeped-in-history/a-1474038 |title=Braunschweig: Steeped in History |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=2005-03-02 |access-date=2015-07-17}}</ref> 100 out of 800 half-timbered houses survived as well as the most important places and streets, preserved in 5 areas of the old town.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://leopard.tu-braunschweig.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dbbs_derivate_00004908/Aa-747.pdf|title=Die fachwerkhäuser der Stadt Braunschweig |website=leopard.tu-braunschweig.de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730131919/https://leopard.tu-braunschweig.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dbbs_derivate_00004908/Aa-747.pdf |archive-date=30 July 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tour100.blog/braunschweig-industrie-und-wissen/die-traditionsinseln/|title=Die Traditionsinseln &#124; Tour100 in Braunschweig|website=Tour100 - die 100 größten Deutschen Städte}}</ref>

The city's cathedral, which had been converted to a ''Nationale Weihestätte'' (national shrine) by the Nazi government, still stood.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de/dom.htm |title=Dom - Überblick |publisher=Vernetztes-gedaechtnis.de |access-date=2015-07-12}}</ref>