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EUCOM Special Services Division
European Command

Looking for more information from military/civilian personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me.


History 

Service Clubs

Rest Centers

EUCOM Exchange System

SPOTLIGHT

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History - 1940s

Berchtesgaden, 1946 - one of the popular Rest Centers for EUCOM troops

Chart I: Organization of the EUCOM Special Services Division, Dec 1947
1947
(Source: Vol. III, First Quarter (1 Jul - 30 Sept 1947), The Third Year, OCCUPATION FORCES IN EUROPE Series)
CHIEF OF SPECIAL SERVICES

ORGANIZATION

1. Organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services on 1 July 1947.
a. The Office of the Chief of Special Services, a special staff division of Headquarters, EUCOM, was headed by Maj. Gen. Alexander R. Bolling.

b. The Office consisted of a Chief, a Deputy, an Executive Officer, six brancnes, and the EUCOM Exchange System, and operated with a strength of 32 officers, 67 enlisted men, 420 United States and Allied civilians, and 43 German and displaced persons, exclusive of the EUCOM Exchange System. Of the 420 United States and Allied civilians, all but 60 were employed in the field as hostesses, librarians, and Civilian Actress Technicians. The branches were Administration, Athletic, Entertainment, Recreation, Supply and Technical Information. Chart I (a) accompanying this chapter depicts the organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services.

c. Five companies under the operational control of the Chief of Special Services assisted in the Special Services program. These were:

(1) The 1st Special Services Company with a strength of ten officers and eighty-nine enlisted men. It operated the three rest centers at Berchtesgaden, Chiemsee, and Garmisch.

(2) The 2d Special Services Company, consisting of five officers and ninety-two enlisted men, stationed in Heidelberg and Wiesbaden. It worked with the U.S. Constabulary and the Second Military District.

(3) The 3d Special Services Company, composed of three officers and ninety-nine enlisted men, operated the 7729th Special Services Entertainment Center at Assmannshausen.

(4) The 17th Special Services Company with officers and 102 enlisted service men, stationed in Munich. It operated with Negro (African American) troops in the First Military District.

(5) The 30th Special Services Company, consisted of one officer and fifty-four enlisted men, stationed in Vienna, worked with U. S. Forces, Austria.

2. Changes in Organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services.

a. Two changes occurred in the internal organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services during the period under review. On 15 July, the Denmark Liaison Detachment, which operated under the control of the Tours Section, was dissolved and the operation of the Denmark tour was transferred to the American Express Company. The second change took place on 14 September, when the Inter-Allied Sports Section of the Athletic Branch was discontinued by direction of the Commander in Chief, EUCOM. The need for such a section ceased with the discontinuance of all Inter-Allied athletic meets at European Command level, owing to transportation difficulties, a scarcity of hotel rooms, the problem of feeding visiting athletes, and the governmental expense of inter-Allied athletic events sponsored by the United States.

b. The actual strength of officers, enlisted men, and locally recruited employees in the Office of the Chief of Special Services on 30 September was the same as at the beginning of July. The number of United States and Allied civilians employed, however, had decreased from 420 to 373. This decrease was possible because of the discontinuance of certain military establishments in the European Command.

ENTERTAINMENT

8. Live Shows


Other important parts of the entertainment program were soldier shows, radio programs, personal appearances of outstanding personalities, allied and German entertainers, and musical programs.

a. All but nine of the enlisted strength of the 3d Special Services Company which operated the 7729th Special Services Entertainment
Center at Assmannshausen were members of the various casts or were employed as advance agents. Directing all soldier shows and participating in them were thirty-four Civilian Actress Technicians (CAT's). In addition, a CAT formerly with the American Red Cross was employed to assist in soldier shows and the radio programs. One important change occurred in the soldier show program. On 22 August, Headquarters, EUCOM, announced that, since the object of soldier shows was to afford high caliber entertainment similar to that offered in the United States for small isolated units which ordinarily had insufficient facilities and means to obtain or produce entertainment for themselves, there would no longer be any price admission on soldier shows after 1 September. Priority in booking was listed as follows: Red Cross clubs, service clubs, theaters, hospitals, mess halls, and Class "B" clubs provided that there were no facilities for entertainment of the desired quality in the community or post and that no intoxicating liquor was served before and during the performance. On 15 September the order of priority for booking soldier shows was changed to read: Class "A" clubs, theaters, hospitals, mess halls, and Class "B" clubs. The number of solider shows increased to sixteen, being five more than
the another in operation on 30 June.


Assmannshausen on the Rhine River - home of the
7729th Special Services Entertainment
Center
(German postcard)

b. The radio subsection of the Office of the Chief of Special Services presented radio programs through the American Forces Network (AFN). Five programs were broadcast regularly. In addition, spot announcements were made and special broascasts were planned when it was deemd necessary. Every Wednesday, during the period 1300-1330, a record entitled "AFN Librarian" was transmitted by one of the Special Services librarians in Munich. On Sundays, during the period 1300-1330, AFN Frankfurt broadcast a program called "Special Services Radio Theater." It was a record made by either a soldier or civilian show performing in the vicinity of Frankfurt. A live show entitled "It's All Yours" was transmitted every Sunday in Bad Nauheim during the period 2000-2030. The cast consisted of twenty-two enlisted men who were musicians, two enlisted men who were vocalists, one CAT, and three specialists from AFN. This show was perhaps the most popular and, because of the great demands that came from all parts of the European Command it was placed on the road for personnel appearances on 6 July. "Special 15," a program featuring Special Services and EUCOM Exchange System news, went on the air from 0845 to 0900 hours on Saturdays beginning on 23 August. Also, when available, guest stars were interviewed. The Eagle Club in Wiesbaden sponsored a program entitled "Easy Listening" during the period 1530-1600 on Thursdays. The program featured enlisted men in an informal variety show which was formerly sponsored by the American Red Gross.

c. The Cultural Activities and Special Events Subsection (the Cultural Subsection prior to 11 July) of the Office of the Chief of Special Services procured outstanding personalities to perform gratuitously in the European Command. The first person to appear during the period under review was Rita Hayworth who appeared at Wiesbaden, Wetzlar, Giessen, Marburg, Hersfeld, Fritzlar, Kassel, Fulda, Hanau, Frankfurt, Bad Nauheim, Würzburg, and Nürnberg, during the period 30 June - 7 July. During the period 31 July - 17 August, a cast called "Berlin Express," consisting of Merle Oberon, Paul Lukas, Robert Ryan, Robert Coote, Charles Korvin, and Peter vaon Zerneck made several personal appearances in hospitals, Army clubs, and messes in Bad Nauheim, Frankfurt, and Friedberg. A quartet consisting of Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Pauline Betz, and Sarah Cooks appeared at Bad Nauheirm, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Garmisch during the period 7-14 August. On 14 August, Yehudi Menuhin played a concert in Munich. Chico Marx, Peggy Ryan, Jimmie Cross, and the Bobby Naret Band appeared in Bad Nauheim, Frankfurt, Munich, Garmisch, and Nürnberg, during the period 18-23 August. At Bad Nauheim, this group broadcast over AFN under the title "Thirty Minutes of Radio Fun." In addition, Miss Ryan was interviewed over AFN on the program "Special 15." Wallace Berrey visited clubs, messes, and hospitals in Bad Nauheim, Wiesbaden, and Berlin from 11 to 15 September. He was also a guest of Berlin Command Special Services at the inter-Allied
track and field meet held in Berlin and was interviewed over AFN in "Special 15."

d. Two important changes occurred in the Allied and Gerrman show program. On 23 July it was announced that rail transportation costs of all militay and civilian personnel traveling on United States military duty trains and military coaches attached to German civilian trains on show business would be borne by the EUCOM Civilian Show fund. On 15 August it was announced that the cost of operating government motor vehicles used to transport civilian entertainers within any post would be charged to Special Services of that post at an hourly rate as specified in EUCOM Circular 68, 15 August 1947. Twenty-four shows and a 20-piece dance orchestra France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, were employed at an verage weekly cost of $850.00 compared to an average weekly cost of $900.00 during the previous quarter. Fulda ceased being a booking center when the military post with headquarters in that city was discontinued on 1 September 1947. Berlin and Frankfurt ceased being booking centors when a poliomyelitis epidemic developed in the former city and when the military post with headquarters in the latter city was being reorganized. Booking centers listed on 30 September were Nürnberg (two bookings), Darmstadt, Munich, Bad Kissingen, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Bad Nauheim, Wiesbaden, Tegernsee, and Wetzlar. As the period ended, a revised Standing Operating Procedure which governed the pay, messing, billeting, and post exchange privileges of Allied entertainers was under consideration.

e. German shows and bands, unlike Allied shows and dance orchestras, were provided to units upon payment of a fixed sum for each performance. The price for each performance averaged $93.00. Sixty-three units and 5 bands vere employed.

f. The music subsection of the Office of the Chief of Special Services continued to plan and supervise musical activities. The butget submitted for Fiscal Year 1949 totaled $343,066.03. Two transfers of the four Special Services bands (TD/A units) were made. On or about 7 July, the 7764th Special Services Band, a African American unit, was transferred from Headquarters, EUCOM, to the Nürnberg Military Post. On or about 22 September, the 7766th Special Services Band was transferred from Assmannshausen to Bad Nauheim. It continued broadcasting "It's All Yours" over the AFN radio network. The other two Special Services Bands, the 7765th and 7767th remained in Gelnhausen and in Assmannshausen, respectively. Army bands (T/O& E units), stationed in various parts of the European Command numbered twenty-one. Arrangements were made with OMGUS for the manufacture of 2000 bugle call records by a German manufacturer. On 6 September, the 7701st EUCOM Band Training Unit was activated at Seckenheim. It was under the operational control of the Chief of Special Services and consisted of a faculty of two officers, one warrant officer, twenty-eight enlisted men, and twenty-three Germans. Enrollment for the first class consisted of sixty-five white and thirty African American students.

RECREATION

9. Service Clubs.


Special Services accepted control of sixteen Red Crow clubs, the first to be transferred under a policy established by the War Department in April. Other service clubs were in localities where they were most needed, keeping within the number of clubs and hostesses authorized, which were 85 and 298, respectively. Four clubs, the Whistle Stop and the Journey's Inn at Bremerhaven, the Air Corps Club at Schweinfurt, and the RTO lounge in Frankfurt, were closed. Meanwhile, the club at Amberg was transferred to Regensburg and the one at Gelnhausen was transferred to Headquarters Command, EUCOM. The hostess stationed at the Eibsee Hotel in Garmisch was transferred to Berlin and the American Graves Registration Command hostess in Fontainebleau and Versailles was not replaced when the incumbent returned to the United States in September. In all, there were sixteen hostesses whose contracts terminated and sixteen Red Cross supervisors were employed to replace them. In addition, a requisition was placed with the Office of the Chief, Recreation Branch, Washington, D.C., for forty hostesses to arrive in the European Command on or about 1 November and for an additional fifty hostesses to arrive on or about 1 December. Also, Special Services requested additional funds to employ a total of 353 hostesses by 1December so as to allow an average of four hostesses for each club.
By September, there were 203 hostesses, 68 clubs, and one RTO lounge in the European Command and records indicate that there was an attendance of approximately 2,703,505 at service clubs during the three months under review.

10. Rest Centers.


The three rest centers at Berchtegaden, Chiemsee, and Garmisch, all in southern Germany, continued to operate for the convenience of EUCOM, USFA, and USAFE personnel and their dependents. Although figures are not available on the number of persons visiting the three centers, quotas allotted to EUCOM and USAFE for the three months period at Berchtesgaden (including Chiemsee) and Garmisch recreational areas were 711 and 985, respectively.

(a) The organizational chart provided in the scan of this manuscript is incomplete -- poorly scanned. In its place, I have taken the organizational chart from the Second Quarter, 1947 (see above)


 
SPOTLIGHT - EUCOM Special Services Newspaper

December 24, 1948 Issue (Webmaster's collection)

 
Service Clubs - 1940s
(Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 26 1949)
Service Clubs in the EC

In the 97 Special Service clubs throughout the European Command (EUCOM), 338 hostesses help visiting families; sew on emergency buttons; guide soldiers to good off-post entertainment; pick, wrap, and send presents suitable for grandma; organize stunt parties, quiz programs, tours and shows.

In 63 craft shops and 75 photography labs, soldiers can learn an off-duty hobby or a lifetime trade.

Under a "reimbursement program" started on January, manual arts shops offer courses in woodcarving, leather, plastic and metalmaking, blockprinting, silkscreening, ceramics and the fine arts. Lab workers now pay for the supplies they use.

In May 1947, Special Services started to take over operation of the former Red Cross Clubs in the EC. The first club switched over was the Palmgarten in Frankfurt. By March 1948, all of the Red Cross Clubs had been taken over by the Special Services Division. The last club transferred to Special Services was the Crown Prinz Club in Berlin.

Flyer for the Palmgarten Red Cross Club, c 1946
The policy of the Army service club remains unchanged - it provides the American soldier with a place to spend off-duty time beneficially.

Some of the more noteworthy clubs in EUCOM:

Clam Gallas Club, Vienna, Austria -- a 46-room palace, built in 1935 by the godson of Empress Maria Theresa, it is set in two acres of grounds. Each week, 7,000 GIs pass through the glass doors to get information on the latest tours, try their hand at pingpong, billiards, or pool, or spin the wheel at "Little Reno." They might develop film in the club's dark room, work in the craft shop, or listen to some of the latest records in the music room.

The building was requisitioned by US forces and set up as a Red Cross club just after the occupation of Austria started in 1945. It switched over to the Special Services Division on March 15 1948.

Mirabell Service Club, Salzburg, Austria -- served once as a casino (before the war) frequented by personalities such as (Wilhelm) Furtwänlger and (Arturo) Toscanini. The Mirabell features floor shows, tintype photos, door prizes and GI shows. Each Saturday a different theme lends variety. In the summer, the outdoor patio is used for wiener roasts and informal dancing.

The Mirabell Service Club, Salzburg
Casual Corner Club, Marburg -- not as luxurious as the afore-mentioned clubs, it still boasts one of the largest daily attendances in the EC. Located in a former German artillery kaserne, it was once used as a motor pool by the 380th Station Hospital in the early days after the war. In November 1947, the American Red Cross opened the club. Special Services took over on March 18, 1948.

About 2,000 soldiers frequent the club every day. All of the men who are assigned to the European Command pass through the Replacement Depot at Marburg. So, the Casual Corner Club provides these men with their first real welcome to the Zone. Club activities center around mass spectator entertainment such as shows, music and tournaments, plus lots of recreational activities

Radio City Service Club, Bremerhaven -- the club with all of its activities is housed in a vast former hangar in the Staging Area (a former German air base). The "City" includes the biggest gym in the Bremerhaven Port of Embarkation area, a movie theater, bowling alleys, a snack bar and club. About 17,000 troops - homeward-bound soldiers and Bremerhaven personnel - taken advantage of the Special Service Club's activities every week.

Radio City Service Club, Bremerhaven, here in the 1950s - still going strong
(6913th Radio Squadron, Mobile - website)
Lotus Club, Frankfurt -- the Lotus is somewhat unique within EUCOM as it is a purely cultural Army serivce club. It has the largest collection of classical records, holds regular art exhibits and tours, includes a "hobby lobby" where visitors may sculpt, fingerpaint, study photography and also a 1,800-book library. At bi-weekly concerts, eminent musicians such as Walter Gieseking and Thomas Magyar have performed.

Heidelberg Special Service Center, Heidelberg -- the club is located in the Heidelberg town hall and is one of six clubs in the area.

Crossroads Club, Stuttgart -- the Crossroads is one of seven clubs in the Stuttgart aea, but the only one among those seven that previously served as a Red Cross club. The club is the only one in EUCOM with roofgarden dancing. It is currently located in the city opera house but is preparing to move into its new quarters located across from the Stuttgart main train station.

Crossroads Special Service Center, Stuttgart (LIFE archives)
 
Static Club, Ansbach -- this club is located in an eighth-century monastery. The club's program is geared towards the students of the EUCOM Signal School and personnel of the Ansbach sub-post. Originally set up as a Red Cross Club, it switched over to the Special Services Division in April 1948.

Bürgerbräu Keller
, Munich -- although the Bürgerbräu is only one of nine service clubs in the Munich Military Post, it has without a doubt the most colorful history of all of them. It opened in the 14th Century as a respectable stube and was the starting point of Hitler's abortive beer-hall putsch in 1923. The Keller served as an American Red Cross Club starting in late 1945 and became a Special Services club in September 1947. An average of 1,700 servicemen use the various facilities of the club every day.
 

The Bürgerbräu Keller under new management - 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division, 1945
("Rainbow" insignia visible on the sides of the entrance)
 

The Bürgerbräu Keller in 1947 - starts at 2:20 min into the video (YouTube)
 
Anchor Club, Berlin -- located on Berlin's Wannsee (Lake), it is visited by an average of 980 service members daily. Besides the normal fare of Special Services activities, the club is equipped with 12 Olympia class craft, two two-masters, two motor cruisers, and 60 kayaks and canoes. For the two-masters, sailing courses are provided. (As can bee seen by the accompanying photo from the Berlin Observer (a 1990 issue), the club was in continuous use by the military community until it closed in the early 1990s.)
 

Wannsee Recreation Center (1990), formerly Anchor Club, Berlin
 
Eagle Club, Wiesbaden -- the Eagle Club is housed in the Wiesbaden Kurhaus, set in a spacious, formal grounds dotted with fountains. This popular club serves about 2,600 persons daily.
 

The Eagle Club in Wiesbaden - here still under ARC management, 1946

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