Ordensburg Vogelsang was intended to serve the formation of the NSDAP's future leaders. At the same time similar facilities were built at Sonthofen (Allgäu) and Krössinsee (Pomerania), and made use of the same training methods. Relevant training took place between 1936 and 1939. A barred military area for decades after the end of the NS-dictatorship, the facilities at Vogelsang have been open to the public since 2006. Franz Albert Heinen, who has received the Horst Konejung Award for his work on the NS-Order Castles, presents a concise account of the different utilisation phases of the castle in the Eifel. He depicts everyday life of the NS-cadre education and tells of the Order Squires' ruthless activities in the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Numerous historical and largely unpublished photographs complement the portrayal.

Jahrgang 1953; Journalist; seit 1979 in der Kreisredaktion Euskirchen des Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger tätig; Arbeitsschwerpunkt Politik; Mitglied im Team zur Sicherung und Auswertung von Quellen für die geplante NS Dokumentation in Vogelsang. Zahlreiche regionalhistorische Veröffentlichungen zum 20. Jahrhundert, insbesondere zur NS-Ordensburg Vogelsang sowie zum Einsatz der NS-Ordensjunker in der Besatzungsverwaltung Osteuropas.