Epilogue

 

Following the armistice of November 1918, the German government closed the Half Moon Camp. They returned most remaining prisoners to their home countries.

 

 

Because of the Russian civil war, some former Russian prisoners of war remained around the camp until the early 1920s.

A small Muslim population living in Berlin visited the mosque on high holidays until around 1925. At that time, communities built a mosque in Berlin-Wilmerdork and no longer used the mosque at the Half Moon Camp.

 

 

Around 1930, the building fell into disrepair and Germany demolished the mosque. The German military built barracks and garages for tanks around the former camp.

 

 

In the late 2010s, Germany housed refugees from Syria, Iraq and Iran in the town of Wünsdorf, the place where the Half Moon Camp stood one hundred years prior. Many of the refugees were fleeing from ISIL-controlled areas in their home countries.

Scan of a pencil sketch of a mosque with sketched human figures walking around it
Lithograph of a drawing by Hermann Struck of the mosque at the Half Moon Camp.

Print, ink on paper by Hermann Struck. Circa 1915. Germany. 81.464. Leo Baeck Institute - New York.

Exhibition Navigation

Click on a section to explore the story of the Half Moon Camp.

Introduction

World War I was a global conflict. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand started a chain reaction of alliances across the globe. Networks of nations banded together, against others.

WWI and Jihad

For Germany, jihad was a useful concept to weaken rival empires. The German alliance with the Ottoman Empire gave them access to a large population of potential Muslim soldiers.

The Mosque

From the beginning of the Half Moon Camp, there were plans to build a mosque. The mosque was the first functioning mosque in Germany.

Epilogue

Following the end of World War I, the German government closed the Half Moon Camp. They returned most remaining prisoners to their home countries.

Glossary

Glossary of terms for Fighting With Faith. Refer here if you come across a word you're unfamiliar with!