Peace in the north begins in Lüneburg in 1945

A few days before the official end of the war on May 8, 1945, British Field Marshal Montgomery negotiated a partial surrender for north-western Europe in the Lüneburg Heath. It will be signed on May 4th on Timeloberg.

On May 3, 1945, four German military men under General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg set off for Lüneburg:for preliminary negotiations on a partial surrender of the German troops stationed in north-western Europe. The first meeting takes place in the so-called Möllering Villa in the Lüneburg district of Häcklingen. The British units of the Allied forces had set up their headquarters here at the end of the war. When the German delegation arrives under von Friedeburg, their first point of contact is General Miles Dempsey. The decisive figure, however, is Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery as Commander-in-Chief.

Heide Hügel becomes "Victory Hill"

With the 8th Army, British Field Marshal Montgomery had decisively defeated Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, known as the "Desert Fox", and his German Afrika Korps at the end of 1942 in El Alamein, Egypt, among other places, and helped prepare the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Now he commands the advancing British troops in northern Germany. He set up camp a few kilometers east of the Möllering villa on the outskirts of Wendisch-Evern on the Timeloberg. The idiosyncratic Briton has had a caravan and a tent set up here - with a view of the old town of salt. Montgomery is said to later declare Timeloberg his "Victory Hill".

Montgomery wants unconditional surrender

The British field marshal summoned the Germans twice. He made it clear that the only option for the British was an unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht. Four days before the signing of the unconditional surrender of all German armed forces on May 7, 1945 in Reims, France, on the evening of May 4, General Admiral Friedeburg signs a partial surrender for north-west Europe:from Holland to Scandinavia and for the entire north-west German region. The agreement:ceasefire from May 5, 8 a.m. The Möllering Villa as one of the negotiation sites as well as the Timeloberg, where the partial capitulation is signed in the tent of the British headquarters, become historical sites on the way to peace after the Second World War.

Möllering villa:place of partial peace expires

Over the decades, the Möllering villa, which is privately owned, has increasingly fallen into disrepair. Historians have repeatedly called for a memorial to be erected there. The villa has been a listed building since 2007 - and a tug-of-war develops around the house:the owner applies for the villa to be demolished, arguing that renovation would be uneconomical. On the other hand, there is an association for the preservation of the Möllering villa, which in the meantime has made a purchase offer to the owner - but ultimately cannot raise the money for the purchase and renovation. And the city of Lüneburg, with estimated renovation costs of two to three million euros, does not see itself in a position to take over the building either.

In the meantime, the owner wants to have the monument protection lifted. The building is burdened with too many pollutants, a renovation economically unreasonable. The building has since been removed from the list of cultural monuments by the State Office for Monument Protection. In the future, the building could house an exhibition on the capitulation negotiations in the historic entrance area and the rest make way for a new building.