During the Nazi era, Bad Zwischenahn was one of the Nazi strongholds in Ammerland and the whole of Emsland. [3][4][5]
During World War II Bad Zwischenahn was home to the largest Luftwaffe airbase in northern Germany, the 'Adlerhorst' military airport in Rostrup (Bad Zwischenahn). From here, Luftwaffe pilots flew their attacks on the Netherlands and Great Britain from May 10, 1940. [6]
Since 1943, the airport was home of the Erprobungskommando 16 service-test unit, then Jagdgeschwader 400 each in their turn operating the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket fighter from the base. The airbase was heavily bombed in 1944 and 1945. After the war, the airbase was converted to a golf course. In April 1945, Pastor Wilhelm Schulze convinced the German troops to surrender and negotiated with Canadian troops to avoid the destruction of the town.[7]
Economy
Windmill in Kayhausen, the Rügenwalder Mühle
The main economic activities of Bad Zwischenahn were and are based on tree nurseries, the food industry (sausage and ham production), and resort community services for the well to do urban population of Oldenburg and Bremen. The lake is used for boating, bathing and recreation, with some eel fishing still undertaken.
One of the premier sites for tourists is a windmill originally built in 1811 in Westerstede. It is part of a historical museum farm consisting of 14 houses and auxiliary buildings that were moved to their today's location from 1909 to 2004.[8] One of the buildings is called the Spieker and shelters a restaurant of the same name, integrating into the centuries-old architecture.
A major source of income is the tourism industry. In Bad Zwischenahn there is an above average number of apartments from private providers. These homes often have a higher standard and are awarded with 3 stars or more.[9] Bad Zwischenahn is also a popular tourist destination for retirees, due to the numerous spa facilities.
Economically important as well is the psychiatric hospital in the village of Wehnen, 8 km east of the town itself. This Karl-Jaspers-Klinik[10] has a staff of about 1,000 men and women. It is the academic psychiatrical hospital of the University of Oldenburg. The institution, already founded in 1857 as a lunatic asylum, nowadays having a good reputation, was notorious during Adolf HitlersThird Reich. Many patients were brought to death within the nazi euthanasia policy (Aktion T4), in many cases by food deprivation. Not earlier than about the year 2000, scientific investigations into these crime against humanity were carried out. A small building on the institution's premises, Alte Pathologie, (Ancient Pathologic Lab), was transformed into a memorial centre in 2002. In 2017, a movie, starring Nadja Uhl, titled Ich werde nicht schweigen ( I will not keep silent), was brought out. This film deals with the fate of a woman, falsely declared lunatic by the Nazis in Wehnen. The film is based on true events.
There are regular ferry routes on the Zwischenahner Meer from Bad Zwischenahn to Dreibergen and Rostrup.[11]
Local traditions
Locally smoked eels are a delicacy, particularly when served with a locally produced schnapps called Ammerländer Löffeltrunk. There is a specific local tradition (also called Ammerländer Löffeltrunk) to drink it from a tin spoon along with a special drinking cheer, each line alternately spoken by the host and the guests:
