Under Frederick William I, it was also used as a military parade and drill ground from 1722 onwards, as well as a maneuvering area for the Prussian army.

[1] On 3 November 1897, the world's first rigid airship, an all-metal craft designed by Hungarian inventor David Schwarz, equipped with a 12-hp/9-kW Daimler engine, and shaped like a short, fat pencil, set off on its maiden flight from Tempelhofer Feld.

To conduct this work, thousands of forced laborers were brought from all over Europe, with their camps and accommodations located on the field itself.

Two German political parties, the CDU and FDP, initiated a referendum against the shutdown of flight operations.

[2] Later, several thousand activists came together in an alliance called Squat Tempelhof in order to occupy the site and protest against the plans for re-use.

This planned mass occupation of the closed field was to make the point that the area (unused and fenced off at the time), should be accessible to citizens.

The Berlin Senate had promised that after the closure of the airport, the space would be opened to the general population but by June 2009 this had not yet happened.

Many plans were made, including hosting the International Garden Exhibition (IGA), a state library, and housing.

[8][9] The activism necessary to save the park was ongoing for several years, starting with the founding of the citizen's action group called 100% Tempelhofer Feld in September 2011.