8/23/2023 0 Comments Ww2 aftermath on us cities![]() Had Churchill not refused to even consider an accord with Hitler, something that was being suggested by other members of the Government, we would most certainly as suggested above be speaking German and the return of slavery, suppression and extermination would swiftly have arisen. The American public had no wish to involve itself in what it considered a European problem, at the time it was not realised that it was a problem for mankind. He annihilated all opposition in Europe and would have easily gone on to dominate the whole of Asia and Africa had the British sued for peace. Their political system allowed the legal rise to power of Hitler and his henchmen, his manipulation of the system allowed him to attain total control of every aspect of life in Germany which he extended gradually to every conquered territory. Their fighting air force, the Luftwaffe was gaining skills and experience prior to the outbreak war. Most who have made comment do not appreciate the situation at the point of the BEF retreat from Dunkirk, the United Kingdom was standing alone in the world against the might of the largest and most modern army in history, that had been training and equipping with the finest equipment. ![]() During this period, the average Berliner was around 6 to 9 kg (13 to 20 lb) underweight. On May 15, the Russians introduced a new five-tier ration-card system: The highest tier was reserved for intellectuals and artists rubble women and Schwerarbeiter (manual workers) received the second-tier card, which was more valuable to them than the 12 Reichsmark they received for cleaning up a thousand bricks the lowest card, nicknamed the Friedhofskarte (cemetery ticket) was issued to housewives and the elderly. Any remaining rations were either used to feed Russian troops or stolen by hungry Germans. German war-time ration cards were no longer valid. ![]() The biggest problem that the Berliners had to face was the threat of starvation. In all, 60,000 women worked to rebuild Berlin. On May 29, all women aged between 15 and 65 were conscripted as Trümmerfrauen (rubble women). ![]() It was described as a Geisterstadt (“ghost town”).Īccording to Soviet estimations, the clean-up operation would last 12 years. When the Soviets (who were the first occupying power) arrived in Berlin, they saw a city devastated by air raids and street fighting. Estimates of the total number of dead in Berlin from air raids range from 20,000 to 50,000.Įxcellent aerial view showing the devastation and bombed-out buildings over a wide area. About a third of the city, especially the inner-city, was in ruins: 600,000 apartments had been destroyed, and only 2.8 million of the city’s original population of 4.5 million still lived in the city. It was also attacked by aircraft of the Red Air Force, especially in 1945 as Soviet forces closed on the city.īritish bombers dropped 45,517 tons of bombs the Americans dropped 23,000 tons. The city was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 19, by the USAAF Eighth Air Force between 19, and the French Armee de l’Air between 19 as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany. Palaces, museums, churches, monuments, and cultural sites fell victim to the bombs. The irreplaceable architectural gems of the Schlüter, Knobelsdorf, Schadow and Schinkel were annihilated. Other areas were rows of building walls with collapsed interiors - the skeletons of a destroyed city. There were vast piles of rubble everywhere. One of the largest and most modern cities of Europe was left a wasteland. Note the portrait of Stalin in the center.īerlin after the War was a post-apocalyptic world. The area extending north beyond the Brandenburg Gate was later controlled by the Soviets for almost 40 years.
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