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

[soren5en]

Hamburg





















DeutscheFotothek

[artObserver]

Berlin






Commerzbank


Romanisches Haus




Mosse Palais


Kaisergalerie


Reichstag

https://archimaps.tumblr.com/

[keepthepast]

Originally Posted by artObserver

Berlin

Reichstag

https://archimaps.tumblr.com/

Did this sculpture survive the war?

[artObserver]

Originally Posted by keepthepast

Did this sculpture survive the war?

Unfortunately, it was scrapped in 1946...

[Fatfield]

What's the name of the U-Bahn station?

[Weissenberg]

Originally Posted by Fatfield

What's the name of the U-Bahn station?

Hallesches Tor.

[artObserver]

Originally Posted by Weissenberg

Hallesches Tor.

Yes, it's Blucherplatz, and here is what this area looked like in the 1900s (source - Getty Images)

[Fatfield]

Originally Posted by Weissenberg

Hallesches Tor.

Cheers. It was my first thought as I stayed at a hostel nearby a couple of years ago and used it regularly. I couldn't quite match it on Google streetview though hence my previous question.

[Heinzer]

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.

[Weissenberg]

When it comes to the lack of technology to properly identify a potential target... if you want to know how bad it actually was, the Allies accidentally bombed at least three Dutch cities mistakenly taking them for German urban centers.

[NobleAzorean]

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.

[keepthepast]

Originally Posted by Weissenberg

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.

Originally Posted by NobleAzorean

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.

[JHAMMER]

Originally Posted by keepthepast

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.



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.

That is true if you ask normal people, but if you ask German architects which styles and movements are the best and the most beautiful, they will insist that the pragmatic styles are the epoch of architecture. Indeed, they are often at the forefront of (often successful) attempts to heritage-list horrifically ugly buildings and spaces. I have heard (but cannot vouch) that there is a religious contempt for classicism and beauty in the architectural academy in Germany. Architecture, like anything else in Germany, is a fraught and complicated matter that is still unable to resolve the past.

[Hertog]

Originally Posted by Weissenberg

When it comes to the lack of technology to properly identify a potential target... if you want to know how bad it actually was, the Allies accidentally bombed at least three Dutch cities mistakenly taking them for German urban centers.

That is, at least partly, propaganda. The bombing of Nijmegen, one of the most famous 'accidental' bombings, has since been revealed as not a mistake but a valid 'secondary target' with most flyers knowing full well that they bombed Nijmegen.

In short, since bombing raids were very difficult and landing with bombs very unsafe, if a primary target could not be hit there were secondary targets. Nijmegen was one of those targets as the railway station was known to be an important part of the German-used infrastructure. It was later called 'a mistake' for propaganda reasons.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Nijmegen

[Mr Bricks]

Originally Posted by JHAMMER

That is true if you ask normal people, but if you ask German architects which styles and movements are the best and the most beautiful, they will insist that the pragmatic styles are the epoch of architecture. Indeed, they are often at the forefront of (often successful) attempts to heritage-list horrifically ugly buildings and spaces. I have heard (but cannot vouch) that there is a religious contempt for classicism and beauty in the architectural academy in Germany. Architecture, like anything else in Germany, is a fraught and complicated matter that is still unable to resolve the past.

This is not a problem specific to Germany, and at least in Germany you get major reconstruction projects off the ground. That would be impossible in Finland.

[artObserver]

Berlin. Courthouse of the Mitte district. NW elevation

[Oliszydlowski]

Looking at all those beautiful and excquisite structures one realises that we made progress in every field over the past 100 years except architectural design. What a shame

[artObserver]

Originally Posted by Oliszydlowski

Looking at all those beautiful and excquisite structures one realises that we made progress in every field over the past 100 years except architectural design. What a shame

Alas, the long-term tradition of ornamentation was mostly lost in the previous century (not least due to the fastest population growth in the history of humanity), but sometimes our modern age can give us such geniuses as Santiago Calatrava or Zaha Hadid.

[artObserver]

Konigsberg. Deutsche Michel statue

[Sir Moc]

In cooperation with East_Clintwood, I made a video that shows germany in color before the world war II. More videos will follow.