die Kirchen----the churches

Churches in Berlin were nearly all damaged or destroyed. There were so many I at first wondered if they were designated targets by the allies. But no. The answer is that there was no precision bombing in those days, just carpet bombing in an almost blind fashion resulting in largely random strikes. Also there were many night raids with almost no accuracy, meaning they simply dropped bombs in the general area they were seeking, with hit and miss results. The day raids were a little more accurate, but there was absolutely no precision bombing in those days.

Sometimes the allies sent as many as 1000 planes carrying many tons of bombs in a given raid with specific targets but only an approximate ability to hit them. And there were more than 300 air raids on Berlin alone, resulting in "only" 30,000 civilian deaths and massive destruction. The typical air raid would be over in about 8 to 12 minutes (I heard a recording in a museum of an actual raid in 1945, from first siren to the all clear - it lasted eight scary minutes-the noise was deafening) and the bombs simply landed where they scattered. The longest and most massive air raid was on Feb.3, 1945, and it lasted 55 minutes. Houses, churches, hospitals, schools, museums, historical sites were often hit, along with some of the actual targets. Thousands of civilians were killed, along with a few bad guys. Today we call it collateral damage. Such is war.

There are typically two German verbs found on the tablets attached to the churches and other historical buildings here, and those are "zerstorben" and "aufbauen" (which I will designate as Z&A in the fotos): destroyed and rebuilt. The first two churches listed here, Marien Kirche and the Nickolai Kirche were both destroyed. Not completely of course, but severely damaged. They were slowly and eventually rebuilt, using as much as possible the original 13th and 15th century plans and as many as possible original bricks found in the rubble. You can see some different collored bricks in all the rebuilt churches and other buildings. To show the randomness and innacuracy of the bombing, the targeted Gestapo headquarters remained largely intact but the churches in the neighborhood were destroyed. Do you suppose god had anything to do with that?

Some chruches were left essentially as they were found at the end of the war -- basically as a permanent reminder to Germans as to what happens when you start a war. The most salient exsample is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at the major intersection at the Zoo Garden in central Berlin. The clock was repaired and is today accurate, but the church is left as a ruins -- as a clear reminder to all. A new 1970s modern one story avant guarde church with a 6 story modern bell tower was erected adjacent to the ruins. A touch of incongruity.

You will see plastered over bullet holes in buildings that made it through the war, or that were rebuilt, but in some others they left the holes as they were in 1945 - again, as a reminder

10/7/2007 : view on map : permalink : add a comment