Opening of the Exhibition “Labor Service – A Bridge between Civilian and Military Life” at Docu Center Ramstein

Docu Center Ramstein shows its new exhibition “Labor Service – A Bridge between Civilian and Military Life”. The focus is on the “Labor Service Units” (LSU), which emerged from the upheavals of World War II and continue to contribute to transatlantic relations between Germany and the USA. The US Armed Forces established the “Military Labor Service” during World War II. The first units consisted of "Displaced Persons", who initially took on guard duties for American facilities, prisoners of war, and imprisoned Nazi criminals.

With the beginning of the Cold War and in the context of the Berlin Blockade of 1948/49, their function changed fundamentally.
In the 1950s, an institutional reorganization took place, and the LSU evolved into the “Civilian Support Organizations”, which still exist today. The new exhibition highlights this development in the context of the tension between civilian life and military organization. It addresses institutional changes as well as individual life stories and examines the special form of
German-American cooperation.

The official opening of the exhibition takes place on Saturday, March 21 at 2 p.m. The bilingual exhibition (German & English) can be visited until June 28, 2026, during the opening hours of Docu Center Ramstein. These are Tuesday to Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.