The Americans in Giesing 1945-1992: Half a century of everyday life in Munich. They brought chocolate, Coca-Cola, and democracy: The Americans marched into Munich as occupiers at the end of April 1945 and took control. With their policies of democratization and denazification, they guided the Germans on their path to self-governance and the people of Munich from being the capital of the movement to a cosmopolitan city with heart. It wasn't until 1992 that the last American soldiers left. The facilities of the US Army shaped everyday life in Munich for half a century. Soon after the war ended, the former Reichszeugmeisterei on Tegernseer Landstrasse became McGraw Barracks, the seat of the US military government. Here, there were also sports facilities, entertainment venues, and the University of Maryland. Numerous other buildings were constructed in Little America at Perlacher Forst.