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Schweinfurt, Part 2 --
City Damage
In April 1945, after more than 20
bombing attacks in 18 months, much of the city of Schweinfurt was left in ruins. Although
only the ball bearing factories had actually been targeted, collateral damage to the city
center and surrounding areas was severe. Over half of the houses in Schweinfurt were left
uninhabitable. During the war, the city's population dropped by 50 percent due to
departing refugees.
The Marktplatz as seen from the tower of the
Rathaus (town hall).
A postcard view from 1943, before the first bombings. (author's collection)
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| Views of the Marktplatz
from the Rathaus. On the left, a view of the east side of the Marktplatz sometime in 1944.
Compare to the pre-war views in
Part 4. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
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East side of the
Marktplatz, then and now. This bombed building was only rebuilt to its
original height in 2005. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
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Looking down
Spitalstraße after an attack, with buildings on the Marktplatz on fire. The tower of the
Heilig-Geist-Kirche (Church of the Holy Spirit) appears in the distance - a view from the
Rathaus tower. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
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Kesslergasse, a quaint street in
the old town area, was left in ruins. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
The ruins were rebuilt in about
the same style. |
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Much of
Rückertstraße, leading east off the Marktplatz, was destroyed. (Städtische
Sammlungen Schweinfurt) |
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Houses along both sides of
Luitpoldstraße burn after a bombing attack. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
Most of these buildings post-date
the war. |
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The area around the Zeughaus (old
arsenal, built 1591) was largely destroyed. Only the Zeughaus itself remains
relatively unchanged today. (The tower seen on the left side in the previous photo was actually
attached to a building behind the Zeughaus, no longer standing.) (Städtische Sammlungen Schweinfurt) |
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Wolfgasse, looking
toward the Roßmarkt. Many of the streets were blocked by rubble to all but pedestrian
traffic. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
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Ruined houses on Fischerrain, near
the Main River. Most were rebuilt to approximate
their original appearance, but the street was widened on the left side.
(Städtische Sammlungen Schweinfurt) |
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The area around the main train
station suffered heavily due to its proximity to the factories. This view looks down
Hauptbahnhofstraße toward the station, which burns in the distance. Only the small building just left
of center in the period photo remains. The larger house was later destroyed, and not
rebuilt. The postwar headquarters building of FAG-Kugelfischer appears in the right
distance. (Stadtarchiv
Schweinfurt) |
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The
residential and business areas adjacent to the bearing factories were particularly hard
hit. This view shows buildings on Schrammstraße, across the street from the VKF-1 factory
(on the left). (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
By the end of the war, the destruction in this
area of Schweinfurt, just a few
blocks west of the city center, was nearly complete. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt)
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Buildings
along Cramerstraße, across from the VKF-1 factory,
were substantially destroyed during the war. (Stadtarchiv Schweinfurt) |
End of the War in
Schweinfurt
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Allied bombers
strike Schweinfurt one last time on 10 April 1945, as the 42nd Bomb Wing (1st
Tactical Air Force) "softens up" the city in preparation for the infantry advance the next day. In almost a duplicate of the
first
attack on 17 August 1943, bombs have fallen down Niederwerrner Straße from the Panzerkaserne barracks on the
left, into the downtown area toward the right, ignoring the bearing factories (which were already in ruins). (National
Archives, RG 342-FH 3A22474)
Click here
to visit a page concerning the fighting west of Schweinfurt, during the American
advance from the Rhein.
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The
principle bridge across the Main River, the Maxbrücke, was collapsed by demolition on 11
April 1945, as German defenders retreated before the advancing American troops. When the new
Maxbrücke was built in 1960, it was placed just east of the original site.
(National Archives, RG 111-SC-323993) |
As American troops advance into the city from the
west, on the morning of 11 April 1945, they observe
a cloud of smoke resulting from the destruction of the Maxbrücke. (42nd
"Rainbow" Infantry Division. Baton Rouge, LA, Army & Navy
Publishing Co., 1946)
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When the U.S. Army
moved into Schweinfurt on 11 April 1945, much of the city was in ruins. Here, M4A3 Sherman
tanks attached to the 42nd Infantry Division (probably from Combat Command
A, 12th Armored Division) move along rubble-strewn Ludwigstraße. (U.S. Army
Signal Corps photo, courtesy Mike Haines; thanks to Klaus Roth for finding this photo location, which had eluded me.) |
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42nd Infantry Division
soldiers move on up Ludwigstraße (above), to its intersection with Friedenstraße
(below). (U.S. Army
Signal Corps photo NA RG 111SC-271389, courtesy Mike Haines; below - U.S. Army
Signal Corps photo NA RG 111SC-341782) |
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This Sherman tank is
moving through the rubble of the destroyed Gelatine Fabrik on
Friedrich-Stein-Straße. The modern layout of this area precludes a
matching view today, but the building in the modern photo can be seen in
the right background of the 1945 photo (partially destroyed). (U.S. Army Signal Corps photo, courtesy Mike Haines; also National
Archives, RG 111-SC-336818; thanks to Florian Lang for identifying this
location.) |
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The 42nd "Rainbow"
Infantry Division held a memorial formation on 13 April 1945 for President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. The Division formed its famous color-guard of flags from all 48 states, with the
bombed-out St. Kilian's Church as a background. The ruins of the church
were torn down, and a modern design erected on the spot in 1953. (42nd
"Rainbow" Infantry Division. Baton Rouge, LA, Army & Navy
Publishing Co., 1946) |
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An M4 Sherman bulldozer tank
clears the rubble in the Schweinfurt streets. On the right, Major General Harry J. Collins,
commanding the 42nd "Rainbow" Infantry Division, presents a Nazi flag taken from
Schweinfurt to the 42nd Bomb Wing, U.S. Army Air Forces, for their assistance in helping
the infantry take Schweinfurt by bombing the city on 10 April 1945. (42nd
"Rainbow" Infantry Division. Baton Rouge, LA, Army & Navy
Publishing Co., 1946) |
The mounds of rubble that had accumulated in the
city were moved by narrow gauge railway to a dumping area north of the Kugelfischer
factory.
This formerly flat area was built up into a hill, which has been landscaped and is now a
city park.
This commemorative marker was erected on the "Schuttberg" (Rubble Hill) in 1960.
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On 12
April 1945, all Schweinfurt men between the ages of 16 and 60 were
required to report to a holding area near the Goethe School and Goethe
Bunker (one of the large air raid shelters - see other photos here),
where they were questioned and processed for return to their homes. The
large open area has been partially built over now, but the modern photo
shows the same side of the former Goethe-Schule - now the
Friedrich-Fischer-Schule - that appears in the period
photo. (U.S. Army Signal Corps photo) |
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At the
same time that the Schweinfurt men were required to assemble, Schweinfurt
women were required to turn in all radios, cameras, binoculars, and
firearms to the U.S. military authorities. This collection took place near
the men's internment area at the Goethe-Schule. On the right, MPs watch as
German POWs march past in Schweinfurt. (U.S. Army Signal Corps
photos) |
 Continue to Schweinfurt, Part 3 -- protecting the
city's inhabitants, and the victims
 Back to the Third Reich in Ruins homepage
Click
here for a link to a MapQuest map of Schweinfurt.
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