GoodGuy
Posts: 1506
Joined: 5/17/2006 From: Cologne, Germany Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Doggie Things may have changed, but in the 1970s there were no German authorities of any sort at Rhein Main Airbase. Actually, US bases in Germany were considered to be "US soil" (technically and legally) until Germany regained full sovereignty in 1990. The London and Paris agreements (1954) restored vital parts of Germany's souvereignty, but also created exceptions favoring the occuyping forces, where one was (I'd guess) that US forces either did not have to put up customs authorities or it was not deemed necessary to have them IF GIs transfered from a remote base back to a US base (via Germany). Also, the Rhein Main Airbase shares the runways with Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), but the US airbase is located south of FRA and seperated from it (restricted area). And in case GIs would have left the airbase (and trespassed German territory) with their souvenirs, they may have violated US military codes, but I think that -until 1990- the US military police was the only authority GIs had to fear, IIRC, as a) the German authority/sovereignty ended at the gates of the US base and b) even US soldiers on German soil did not fall under German jurisdiction.
< Message edited by GoodGuy -- 4/15/2010 3:25:45 AM >
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"Aw Nuts" General Anthony McAuliffe December 22nd, 1944 Bastogne --- "I've always felt that the AA (Alied Assault engine) had the potential to be [....] big." Tim Stone 8th of August, 2006
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