Germany’s Army Revival Runs Up Against an Acute Housing Shortage

Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, rides in an Leopard 2 A6 battle tank.Photographer: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg

For the past decade, the city of Heidelberg in southern Germany worked to transform a former US army base into a buzzing neighborhood for 10,000 residents and thousands of new jobs, with a vision to create a “unique new district that shines beyond the region.”

Then in August, the government stepped in and said it would instead consider returning the venue to its original purpose.