The Covid-19 lockdown is dominating our lives these days, as well as the news. Also, all public events have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. Corona is also overshadowing the remembrance of the end of World War II this spring. 75 years ago to this day, on April 20th, 1945, the US Army liberated Nuremberg from the terrors of the Nazi regime. A day not to be forgotten.
The tanks of the US Army reached the outskirts of Nuremberg on Thursday, April 16th. They wanted to take the city, already totally destroyed from the allied bomb raids, without a fight, but Hitler’s remaining officials forced the war-weary inhabitants to fight back. They threatened everyone raising a white flag with immediate execution.
Over the course of the next days, the US forces conquered the city bit by bit, while the situation for the inhabitants was hopeless. On April 20th, the tanks and soldiers of the 7th US Army finally entered the remnants of the Old Town, which ended the fighting.
From 1941 to 1945, Nuremberg suffered a total of over 6,000 air war fatalities. The Old Town was almost completely destroyed and the city as a whole was severely damaged. Result of the senseless war that the Nazis had started 6 years earlier, that costed millions of lives and put a whole continent in ruins. Testimony to what crazy and insane leaders can drive a people into. Let’s make all sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. This is why the events around the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII are not to be forgotten, despite Covid-19.
The photographs were taken by US Army photographer Ray D’Addario, who documented the destructions, while stationed in Nuremberg. He was most famous for his photographic coverage of the Nuremberg war tribunals.
Have a great Monday, and stay safe!
Marcus
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