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Germany at the end of the 19th century / before WWII (historical photos)

2M views 3K replies 393 participants last post by  JValjean 
#1 · (Edited)
I also included cities which were German back then but are now located in other countries. Anyway, enjoy these pics

Berlin


























Dresden












Leipzig














Breslau/Wroclaw












Stettin/Szczecin








München (Munich)











Freiburg








Hamburg




















Karlsruhe






Magdeburg






Halle








Danzig/Gdansk










Bremen








Frankfurt am Main










Hannover










Braunschweig (Brunswick)














Kassel










Lübeck








Königsberg/Kaliningrad










Bonn




Köln (Cologne)














Düsseldorf






Straßburg/Strasbourg







 
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#2,572 · (Edited)
Are photos from during the war also okay? I found this highly interesting photo of Bremen Central Station "after the bombings of 04/06/1942", with a camouflage "street" contraption built across the main building to confuse the Allied bombers:



Source: wikiwand.com/Staatsarchiv Bremen/Walter Cüppers

Especially in the earlier days of the war, German defence went to considerable lengths to protect its vital infrastructure. They built an articial road here across Central Station to keep it from being recognized as a target. As there were only maps and maybe aerial photos and no satnav or other technology to navigate, sometimes even little things such as this actually were successful: Bremen Central Station was more or less the only structure not bombed in the area, its glass station hall said to be the only such structure to have survived the war in Germany.

Please also note the color patterns on the roof of the station. They are made to look like streets as well, it is no coincidence.
 
#2,575 ·
When it comes to the lack of technology to properly identify a potential target... if you want to how bad it actually was, know the Allies accidentally bombed at least three Dutch cities mistakenly taking them for German urban centers.
Given the fact that over 110 city centers of major and mid-sized German cities were reduced to ruble and ash, the Allies cannot be accused of missing their goals by much.

Damn, i dont think then anyone can say with a straight face today that modern Germany is more beautiful then the Germany before WW2. Such amazing cities/villages.
In my opinion Bavaria is the region that kept their bavarian/germanic architecture identity.
I've actually not seen/heard anyone try to make the claim that greater beauty arose out of the destruction of WWII. At least anyone with any sense of "beauty" and historical significance in art, architecture, urban design, and such.
 
#2,593 ·
Wiesbaden is sadly one of those West German cities that didn't fare too badly in WW2, and that could have and still could be easily rebuilt to much of their former beauty, but they just didn't want to and still don't want to. There are no reconstruction ambitions to speak of like there are in Frankfurt, Dresden, Potsdam or Berlin.
 
#2,594 ·
Have you ever been to Wiesbaden? There is not much to reconstruct, it might be the second largest continous ensembles of belle epoque architecture in Germany after Leipzig. There are some post war eyesores and the occasional modernist roof but by and large it's a very histotic city.
 
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