Clearing the bombing rubble

[AikinutNY]

How was the rubble cleared from the streets after the bombings? Did they use civialiam labor or the military units to clear the ribble from the streets. Do anyone have any pictures?

[knieptang]

AikinutNY, please search the Internet for the term "Trümmerfrauen" / "Trümmerleute" / "Trümmermenschen", you will find many links and pictures like this.



Source: http://www.schilke-archiv.de/lexikon/chro1945.htm

DHM: http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/Nachkriegsj ... rauen.html

Regards Michael

[knieptang]

A very GOOD picture, typical for that time, a "Trümmerfrau" in Germany, cleaning brickstones by hand... (1946)



Source: http://www.geschichte.schleswig-holstei ... e5bild.htm

Regards Michael

[knieptang]

Two memorials for the "Trümmerfrauen", both in Berlin

Trümmerfrau
Berlin-Neukölln, Volkspark Hasenheide,
1955 von Katharina Singer

Aufbauhelferin
Berlin-Mitte, Rathausstraße,
1952/53 von Fritz Cremer

Source: http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/d ... riegszeit/

Regards Michael

[Y Ddraig Goch]

This vehicle was used somewhere: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=49818

[Landser]

And after the war it was mostly the Trümmerfrauen who cleaned up the cities,since the men were held by the victors as POW slave workers.

[Reader3000]

Sometimes there also were concentration camp prisoners used. For example in 1944 to 1945 at Bremen there were women from Poland and Hungary, mostly jewish. They had to march 16km a day, later more, to get to the work and back to the camp.

[varjag]

And after the war it was mostly the Trümmerfrauen who cleaned up the cities,since the men were held by the victors as POW slave workers.

I think that knieptang's pictures refer to just that - the gigantic job of clearing the rubble after the war where the Trümmerfrauen (Rubblewomen) gave a superservice to Germany that certainly deserves the monuments that were raised to them. But - as reported at the time - the women said 'that it's always a womans job to clean up the mess that men have caused...' The second picture - shows the toil of chipping off mortar from recovered bricks for recycling. There must be many millions of WW2 recycled bricks in buildings still standing in Germany. And isn't there a 'Trümmerberg' - a large hill, in Berlin - that consists entirely of broken bricks - now nicely grassed over?

[Landser]

Verjag wrote

And isn't there a 'Trümmerberg' - a large hill, in Berlin - that consists entirely of broken bricks - now nicely grassed over?

Jus about evey major city has "monuments" like this.In Munich it's the former Oberwiesenfeld Airport and now is called "Monte
Scherbelino".Also the Olympic Facilities for the 72 games were build alongside this now city park

[Geoff Walden]

There must be many millions of WW2 recycled bricks in buildings still standing in Germany. And isn't there a 'Trümmerberg' - a large hill, in Berlin - that consists entirely of broken bricks - now nicely grassed over?

Not sure *where* in Berlin, but I'm sure there are some, because just about all other major cities have "Trümmerbergen" or "Schuttbergen." Here in Schweinfurt, the Schuttberg is now a landscaped city park with a memorial marker. The rubble was moved to this site (which was an open area in 1945) by narrow gauge railway over the course of 3-4 years. One of the Schuttbergen in Nürnberg is on the planned site of Albert Speer's huge stadium (which wasn't built) - this is the Silberbuck hill. There are several Schuttbergen on the north side of Munich that you can see as you go into town on the Autobahn. I would imagine that any time you see an oddly shaped hill on the outskirts of a German city, that looks like it doesn't really belong with the local geology, chances are good that it is a Schuttberg.

Geoff Walden

[Xavier]

I do not remember how it is called, but Berlin's rubble mountain (yes it is a mountain) is on a park, near a cemetary on the road to postdam, departing from the kurfürstendamm ..

I was there in 1995, and it does not look like a pile of rubble anymore, because is all grown over with trees and tall grass, but is there.

The cemetary contains several mass graves for the victims of the batlte for the city.

I had trouble finding it, most present day berlienrs don't care for the city's past....

best regards

Xavier
Instandsetzungtrüppfuhrer

[knieptang]

OT, but these more than hard working women in later years had to struggle very hard here in Germany for their old-age pension, this is a crying shame, there are thousands and thousands of "Trümmerfrauen", still alive - these women cleaned up the mess, brick by brick, many of these women gnaw on very small pensions, on social welfare and destitution, these women not only lost their beloved men in the war, after that they were punished, a second time...

This is a crying shame, most of us germans do not want to know, or are not aware about that!

Shame on our administration, for this!

Michael

[knieptang]

Sometimes there also were concentration camp prisoners used. For example in 1944 to 1945 at Bremen there were women from Poland and Hungary, mostly jewish. They had to march 16km a day, later more, to get to the work and back to the camp.

Panzerass, I read about this, do you have any links or pictures, so please post them here, I lived in Bremen many years ago for one year, a very nice city and a good place to be, Bremen was bombed massive by the allies, I know that very well, from wich "Lager" or "Camp" came these prisoners, perhaps from a camp in the area of Delmenhorst, or nearer to the city of Oldenburg?

Any information for me very welcome?

Regards Michael

[knieptang]

In the town of Delmenhorst at that time, there was a very large factory, "Norddeutsche Kammgarnspinnerei" (?), it is well known, that slave-workers and (most?) of the women working there, were of russish or polish origin.

Tons of hair from several KLs were send to Delmenhorst, the poor people there had to make felt/felt-products for the german army, like winter-boots, or whatever...?

This would state the 16(?) kilometer march, to clean the rubble in the city of Bremen, Delmenhorst was and is a suburb to the city of Bremen.

Regards Michael

[knieptang]

I am sorry, the term is "Norddeutsche Wollkämmerei" in Delmenhorst:

The link: http://www.fabrikmuseum.de/

Sorry for the false information above.

Regards Michael