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They are located here on the eastern edge of the former barracks site. When the barracks were rebuilt after the Second World War, the French used the foundations of the previous buildings, but also erected new buildings on the site. These included the officers' mess, which was completed in 1953, and a guest house on the meadow slope of the Hohberg.
During the Canadian occupation, receptions with leading political and social figures were regularly held in the local officers' mess (dining and recreation rooms for command personnel).
During the Canadian period in Lahr, the officers' mess served as a dining and recreation room for the command staff. Receptions were held here regularly - not only for Canadian officers, but also for guests from politics, business and society. Many Lahr residents remember festive evenings with music, good food and a glass of wine.
The term commonly used in Germany, especially by the German Armed Forces, is "Offizierheim", but in everyday life it was often referred to as a "casino", a term originally used in the US. In the Canadian Armed Forces, on the other hand, the facility is called "Officers' Mess" in the British tradition. In all cases, it refers to the same thing: the officers' dining and recreation room, a place for communal meals, cultivated camaraderie and social events.
Such facilities were half formal, half convivial: an exclusive room for officers that served not only for dining but also for representation and socializing - comparable to a club in the British sense.
The Officers' Mess was of course the most exclusive - but officers form only a small group in all armed forces. The other soldiers also had to be catered for, and so there were several separate facilities in Lahr: The WO's + Sgt's Mess (A1) in the Annex was reserved for warrant officers and sergeants, i.e. experienced non-commissioned officers. For the lower ranks, the Junior Ranks' Club (A22) was available on the airfield near the fence, which served as a social meeting place with a bar, music and leisure activities in addition to meals. Further inside the airfield grounds was the OR's Mess (A55), which served as a functional troop mess, primarily for daily supplies.
Contemporary witnesses report that a finer distinction was sometimes made in Lahr - for example, there was a Corporal's Mess, a Master Corporal's Mess or a Sergeant's Mess. Most of these facilities were located in the area of the annex at the airfield, where a discount store and a garden center are located today. Initially, new soldiers had to enter the mess hall in uniform, but over time the rules were relaxed and there were hardly any strict controls anyway.
The building of the former Officers' Mess has hardly changed to this day. Today it houses a law firm, a real estate agency and a beauty salon. The dimensions of the building still show how prestigious and important the Officers' Mess was for the Canadian Armed Forces.
We played music here, I played percussion instruments, later I became the drum leader and sometimes I stood in for the drum major at parades. We also served when we had time, in the red uniform. Privately, I was a DJ for the military and we danced a lot. Some people stayed in the officers' mess as guests or to pass the time until they found an apartment, but only for a short time. We partied there, drank and spent the evenings together. But they were officers and we were non-commissioned officers - we respected the fact that they were officers and we were just "men". We did what the boss said.
The Black Forest Officers' Mess, or 'BFOM' as we called it: as welcoming as the Lahr community was - and it was! - it was also important to have a place where you could relax with Canadian friends. I was a member of the BFOM. Not only were the building and surroundings beautiful, but the special events were unforgettable. The Copper Room on the bottom floor was decorated with the tops of champagne bottles that were "sabered" - that is, the neck of the bottle was severed - with a dramatic saber swing each time they were opened. Every Friday evening there was an informal evening to relax. In the fall, there was the wine festival - we tasted 80-90 wines in small groups to find the best ones and exchange ideas. And the New Year's Eve parties - second only to the one I attended in Baden-Baden! Just past the BFOM, on the road to Langenhard, there was a frog crossing, with "cute" signs asking drivers to slow down so the frogs could pass without harm. I'm not saying it was the Canadians who "borrowed" many of these signs, but I do remember that they seemed to disappear with some regularity
Behind the officers' mess, the children of the soldiers planted maple trees, oaks and poplars with the scouts. The mice smelled the sweet sap in winter and pounced on the roots like children on sweets and destroyed them.