Munich ES (formerly Perlacher Forest ES) History
Opened: 1946
Closed: 1992
The first school in Munich, Munich Dependent School, was in an old two-story brick house in the city. The original buildings for the combined high school and elementary had been the residences of the Harlaching family. During World War II, the buildings were used as arsenals for Germany’s ammunition. The two buildings that housed the original schools were on Holzkircher Strasse and were the first buildings to be used by American troops when they entered Harlaching. The Dependent School confiscated the building in 1946 and repaired them in order that they could be used as schools for the dependents of personnel of the American Army of Occupation in Germany. The schools in Munich were some of the original dependent schools in Germany after World War II.
On January 5, 1948, a new school building was obtained on Rotenbucher Strasse. The American Dependents’ School was greatly improved with these better facilities and more modern equipment.
In 1951, the school moved into another new building during the Christmas holidays.
The principal for the 1954-55 school year was John Warnock, and there were 1,850 students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
For the 1956-57 school year the Munich Dependent School became two separate schools, and the school complex was located on the outskirts of Munich in a section called Perlacher Forest. The school building housed the elementary school at one end and the high school at the other end. The two schools were connected by a long corridor from which radiated classroom wings. Off the main corridor were the auditorium and cafeteria, which were jointly shared by the elementary and high schools. There was a separate building housing the gymnasium. All the buildings were designed and constructed for school use.
By the 1981-82 school year, there were 550 students in grades kindergarten through six, with twenty-six teachers. A second elementary school was opened on the Alabama Kaserne. The elementary school had approximately twenty classrooms, as well as kindergarten classes and a library. There was a reading improvement specialist, school nurse, physical education specialist, speech specialist, a music teacher, learning abilities teacher, librarian, and a counselor.
For the 1987-88 school year, the elementary school was combined with the high school. The school was now Munich Elementary/High. There were 1,005 students in grades kindergarten through twelve.
The school was closed in June 1992.
Information from DoD School Information Guides and school yearbooks