Lehre is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The current population is 11,539 and is situated approximately 13 km southwest of Wolfsburg, and 12 km Braunschweig.
The municipality received the name of Lehre on June 10, 888 and is made up of eight surrounding villages. They are Beienrode, Essehof, Essenrode, Flechtorf, Groß Brunsrode, Klein Brunsrode, Lehre, and Wendhausen with Lehre being the largest.
In 1934, construction began on the Army Ammunition Institute in the Kampstüh Forest 2.4 km east Lehre. More than 100 buildings on 225 ha were constructed and was connected to the railway system. The Institute produced ammunition for infantry weapons, anti-tank mines, tank shells, artillery guns and .38 cm. Up until February 1945, 6,000 tons of chemical weapons were transported to the Institute. It was not bombed during World War II and up until the end war, most of these weapons remained on site. In 1945, the location also housed Russian prisoners of war. On 11 April 1945, the area was liberated by the United States' 5th Armored Division and the Army Ammunition Institute was occupied without a fight. In mid 1945, the area was handed over to British troops who had a local presence until 1951. Today, many original buildings still remain standing and some are still in use.
