Friesoythe, ( or ; ;
Saterland Frisian: Ait or Äit) is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in the
district of Cloppenburg,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, on the river
Soeste, northwest of
Cloppenburg
Cloppenburg (; ; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Bremen and the Dutch ...
, and southwest of
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
* Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
* Ol ...
.
History
In 1227, Count
Otto von Tecklenburg made
Oite Castle in Friesoythe, which had just been built, his residence. Farmers, merchants and craftsmen quickly settled near the castle. As early as the first half of the 13th century, Friesoythe had extensive trade relations, as evidenced by the coin find from Friesoythe, whose more than 300 silver coins from Cologne, Münster, Osnabrück and other cities were only in circulation until 1235. Today's city center was soon surrounded by a massive city wall and was long considered impregnable. 1308 Friesoythe was first mentioned as a town. Friesoythe is occasionally referred to as a "Hanseatic town" and is said to have enjoyed Hanseatic privileges. It is unclear whether Friesoythe actually belonged to the Hanseatic League.
Friesoythe shares a diverse culture in Lower Saxony history. Many cultural influences of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
,
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
,
East Frisia
East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...
n,
Danish and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
culture are noticeable in the town and
citizen
Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state.
Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...
s. The town has a large following of
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and small percentages of
Calvinism
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
and
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
. It was part of the
Duchy of Oldenburg
The Duchy of Oldenburg (), named for its capital, the town of Oldenburg, was a state in the north-west of present-day Germany. The counts of Oldenburg died out in 1667, after which it became a duchy until 1810, when it was annexed by the First ...
and also under rule to the
French Empire in the 18th century.
Second World War
In April 1945, the town of Friesoythe was evacuated and then occupied by the
4th Canadian (Armoured) Division
The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. The division was first created as a ...
, under General
Christopher Vokes
Major-General Christopher Vokes (13 April 1904 – 27 March 1985) was a Canadian Army officer who fought in World War II. Born in Armagh, Ireland, he commanded the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Promoted to ...
. Most of the town's population of 4,000 had moved out to the surrounding countryside on about April 11–12, 1945.
The town was defended by some 200 paratroopers of Battalion Raabe of the
7th German Parachute Division. These paratroopers repelled the first attack by the
Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) on April 13. The Lake Superior Regiment suffered two dead and nineteen wounded. German casualties are not known.
Vokes ordered the resumption of the attack the next day by
commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Frederick E. Wigle. The attack went well, with the Argylls securing the town by 10:30 hours. However, at 08:30 a small number of German soldiers caught Wigle's tactical headquarters by surprise, killing Wigle and several other soldiers. Lieutenant Alan Earp survived a bullet through the head.
Vokes ordered an immediate reprisal. "A first-rate officer of mine, for whom I had a special regard and affection, and in whom I had a particular professional interest because of his talent for command, was killed. Not merely killed, it was reported to me, but sniped in the back". According to Vokes, "I summoned my GSO1 . . 'Mac,' I roared at him, 'I'm going to raze that goddam town.'"
Units and soldiers of the Argylls had spontaneously begun burning buildings in Friesoythe as revenge for the death of their colonel, but Vokes later issued a direct order, and the town was systematically set on fire with flamethrowers mounted on
Wasp Carriers. The rubble was used to reinforce district roads for the division's tanks.
[Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, iUniverse, 2000, , p. 437.] According to German estimates, 85% to 90% of the town was destroyed, making it one of the most devastated towns in Germany at the time.
Vokes commented that he had "No feeling of remorse over the elimination of Friesoythe."
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) were awarded the battle honour "Friesoythe".
21st century
Friesoythe has grown from a village to a small city and shares traditional and modern style buildings of German
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
,
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
,
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
style,
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
and
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style. Large
multinational companies
A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...
are settled giving the city a modern appearance and lively feeling.
Hospital
A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
,
schooling
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of fo ...
,
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
service,
health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
service are all available in the city centre. The city has good
communication
Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
and
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...
and many
American Germans,
Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
and
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
integrated into its population.
Climate
Mayors
*
Gerhard Wreesmann: 7 April 1945 – 2 February 1946
*
Heinrich Vogel: 1946–1948
*
Heinz Stuke: 1948–1953
*
Gerhard Block: 1953 – 28 July 1967
*
Heinrich Olberding: 20 October 1967 – 1 October 1972
*
Ferdinand Cloppenburg: 14 November 1972 – 2 March 1984
*
Heinrich Niehaus: 11 April 1984 – 14 November 1996
*
Johann Wimberg: 15 November 1996 – 31. October 2014
*
Sven Stratmann: 1 November 2014
Notable people
*
Wilhelm Abeln (1894–1969), farmer and politician, member of Oldenburg Landtag
*
Monika Hilker (born 1959), biologist
*
Franz-Josef Holzenkamp (born 1969), politician (CDU)
*
Heinrich Totting von Oyta (c. 1330–1397), theologian and philosopher, co-founder of the Catholic Faculty of Theology of the University of Vienna
References
Bibliography
* G. L. Cassidy, ''Warpath; the Story of the Algonquin Regiment'', 1939–1945. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1948.
* Ferdinand Cloppenburg, ''Die Stadt Friesoythe im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert''. Friesoythe: Cloppenburg, 2003. Limited to 1,000 copies.
* Tony Foster, ''Meeting of Generals''. Toronto; New York: Methuen, c1986.
* Robert L. Fraser, ed. ''Black Yesterdays; the Argylls' War''. Hamilton, ON: Argyll Regimental Foundation, 1996. A work of 608 pp., numerous photographs, many illustrations, (some col.) limited to 1,000 copies. A lavish, massive, even monumental history of the Canadian Argylls during World War II and a model of its kind.
* ''Friesoythe 25 Jahre danach: 1945-1970''. Friesoythe: Stadt Friesoythe, 1970.
* ''Landkreis Emsland. Wege aus dem Chaos; Das Emsland und Niedersachsen 1945-1949''. Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung. 2. Aufl. Hrsg. vom Landkreis Emsland. Meppen: 1988.
* C. P. Stacey, ''A Date with History; Memoirs of a Canadian Historian''. Ottawa, ON: Deneau, c1983?
* C. P. Stacey, ''Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War''. Vol. III. ''The Victory Campaign; the Operation in North-West Europe, 1944–1945''. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1960.
* Chris Vokes, ''Vokes, My Story''. By Major General Chris Vokes with John P. Maclean. Memorial Edition. Ottawa, ON: Gallery Books, 1985.
* ''War Diary, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada'', April 14, 1945, pp. 10–11. Ottawa, ON, Canada. National Archives of Canada, RG 24, v. 15,005
* ''War Diary, 1st Battalion, The Lake Superior Regiment (Motor)'', April 12, 1945, sheet 15. Ottawa, ON, Canada. National Archives of Canada, RG 24, Vol. 15,099.
* ''War Diary, General Staff, 4th Canadian Armoured Division'', April 14, 1945, p. 15. Ottawa, ON, Canada. National Archives of Canada, RG 24, no. 13,794.
* August Wöhrmann, "Die Kämpfe 1945 in und um Friesoythe," IN ''Friesoythe 25 Jahre danach: 1945-1970'' (Friesoythe: Stadt Friesoythe, 1970) 8-29. Wöhrmann was the first to make a serious examination of the issue, and this work is a ground-breaking study of great value which identifies many of the relevant sources. Unfortunately Wöhrmann, a former soldier himself, reports he was unable to make any contact with the German paratroopers who defended Friesoythe.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Cloppenburg (district)
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
Populated places established in the 1220s