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April 22nd Journal Entry-200 miles on the Autobahn



22nd Moved up to Merrine (Close to Chimitz) on Reich Autobahn. 200 mile trip in rain. Rigged tarp. Route marked.

Marilu: Chemnitz/Meerane was a big relocation for Lu. 

Meerane is a town in the Zwickau district of Saxony, Germany. It lies midway between the towns of Altenburg and Zwickau, west of Chemnitz. As of 31 December 2015, there were 14,851 inhabitants. The population has declined from a peak of over 26,000 in the 1940s. Wikipedia

Find Cologne on the west side near Belgium, then look for Dresden on the east above the Czech Republic. Chemnitz is a little to the west and slightly south of Dresden. Merrane is on the west side of Chemnitz. 


The Reichsautobahn system was the beginning of the German autobahns under the Third Reich. There had been previous plans for controlled-access highways in Germany under the Weimar Republic, and two had been constructed, but work had yet to start on long-distance highways. After previously opposing plans for a highway network, the Nazis embraced them after coming to power and presented the project as Hitler's own idea. They were termed "Adolf Hitler's roads" (German: die Straßen Adolf Hitlers) and presented as a major contribution to the reduction of unemployment. Other reasons for the project included: enabling Germans to explore and appreciate their country, and there was a strong aesthetic element to the execution of the project under the Third Reich; military applications, although to a lesser extent than has often been thought; a permanent monument to the Third Reich, often compared to the pyramids; and general promotion of motoring as a modernization that in itself had military applications.

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