Name and dedication plate of Karlsruhe Polytechnic's stadium, presumably 1945-1950, 85.5 × 60.5 × 0.8 cm, tinplate on wooden plate. KIT Archives 28506/30. Photograph: Amadeus Bramsiepe and Jonas Zilius.
After the victory of the Allies and the fall of the Nazi regime, Karlsruhe Polytechnic faced numerous challenges and new obligations. Many of its buildings had been destroyed, and some faculty members had been dismissed or imprisoned due to their involvement with the Nazis. The institution’s new administration, led by Rudolf Plank (1886–1973), received official permission from the American military government to resume classes in the summer semester of 1946. One notable deviation from normal academic operations was the requisitioning of its sports facilities, built in the late 1920s, by parts of the 106th US Infantry Division. After initial French occupation, Karlsruhe and a northern part of Baden became part of the American occupation zone in mid-1945. The sign shown here created by the Americans indicates their chosen name: Ardennes Stadium, for the facility they had taken over. It was a dedication to their comrades who had been killed, wounded, or gone missing during the Battle of the Ardennes. At the turn of the year 1945, German forces had launched one of their last major offensives in this region, only to be defeated by superior Allied forces. The departing occupying power left this clearly hand-made sign behind. It is perhaps the sole vestige of the presence of Allied troops on campus at KIT. kn