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| Tidofeld | |
| Art: | Stadtteil |
| Town: | Norden |
| Coordinates: | 53.5956°N 7.2364°W |
| Bundesland: | Lower Saxony |
| Höhe: | 1 |
| Fläche: | 0.468 |
| Einwohner: | 991 |
| Stand: | 2016-12-31 |
| Plz: | 26506 |
| Vorwahl: | 04931 |
| Lageplan: | Norden-Tidofeld.svg |
| Lageplanbeschreibung: | Lage von Tidofeld im Stadtgebiet von Norden |
Tidofeld has been an autonomous part of the East Frisian borough of Norden since 1996 and has around 1,000 inhabitants (as at 12/2016)),[1] spread over an area of just 0.47 km².[2] Its built-up area is completely integrated with the town itself. Until 1952, Tidofeld was part of the municipality of Lütetsburg.
The name Tidofeld goes back to a schloss that was built here in the 17th century on this site. It was built by Tido, Freiherr of Innhausen and Knyphausen (1582–1638). Freiherr Tido was a brother of Field Marshal Dodo of Innhausen and Knyphausen.
Tidofeld gained particular importance from the fact that after the Second World War in a former Wehrmacht barracks (a naval transit camp), a displaced persons camp was established which held 6,000 people and was thus one of the largest camps in Germany.[3] In the middle of the camp a barrack hut was turned into a church building. It was the forerunner of the Church of Grance (Gnadenkirche) built in 1961 and - after it was deconsecrated - documentation centre.
Among the attractions in Tidofeld is a permanent exhibition in the disused Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Mercy, which documents the ethnic cleansing of the former German eastern territories.[4] This project is under the patronage of the former Lower Saxon minister-president, David McAllister. Until she stepped down, Margot Käßmann, former state bishop of the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Hanover, was a patroness of the documentation centre.