What is "heidmark"

The ' Heidmark' is an area of the Lüneburg Heath, much of which has not been accessible to the population since about 1935/1936. The establishment of a large military training area (Truppenübungsplatzes Bergen) by the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, as part of their rearmament and preparation for war resulted in the evacuation of 24 villages and, since then the training area has been out-of-bounds to non-military personnel. Today it has become the Bergen-Hohne Training Area, the largest of its kind in Europe.