AFRC, Armed Forces Recreation Center Stein, Berchtesgalden, Chiemsee, Garmisch, Munich

Here is an interesting bit of Cold War era history from Germany. A souvenir "Armed Forces Recreation Center" beer stein.  This stein dates prior to 1995.

Immediately after WW2, while the US military moved in to occupy their zone in Southern Germany, they set up a number of Rest and Relaxation facilities for the US troops.  These facilities were established in seized Nazi hotels and Nazi Headquarters buildings.  They later became the "AFRC", or Armed Forces Recreation Centers.  These hotels went on to serve the US Military members, their families, retirees, and other select government employees.  These original hotels and resorts were returned to the German Government in 1995, after the reunification of East and West Germany.  A new resort was built in Germany to replace the the closed ones, and others were established around the globe.  They still serve our soldiers, airman, sailors and retirees today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Recreation_Centers

The stein I have, lists the resorts and hotels that were open in Germany prior to 1995.

Here are some more shots of this piece of Cold War history:

Here are some shots of the old hotels:

AFRC Berchtesgaden 1955

AFRC Chiemsee

AFRC Garmisch