Erfurt Cathedral in the air war

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Cathedral and Severikirche (2007). 1944/45: Roofs torn open / covered, remaining windows destroyed (Gothic windows had been removed), tracery and cathedral towers damaged

The unique medieval assembly of Mariendom and Severikirche on the Domberg is the landmark of Erfurt . The cathedral consists of a Gothic high choir , a late Gothic nave , with a Romanesque part in between. Sankt Severi is a Gothic hall church . In view of the air raids on Erfurt in World War II, protecting the works of art on and in these two sacred and culturally valuable buildings had to be a priority for those responsible for church and monument preservation. The Provost Joseph Freusberg , advised by the Provincial Curator Hermann Giesau , made a special contribution . Most of the church furnishings could be secured by relocating them within the churches, preferably in cellars, as well as by thick brickwork and reinforced concrete covers. The buildings themselves were detonations of mine bombs in the area and some grenades explosions severely damaged. This particularly affected the roof areas and tracery windows . The late medieval colored glass windows of the high choir could be saved by relocating them early in 1940/41. The undeveloped neo-Gothic stained glass in the nave of the cathedral was smashed in the air raids. The restoration / re-establishment of the cathedral lasted until 1951.

Air raid protection in churches

An “instruction for the implementation of air raid protection in churches” was issued on April 15, 1940 in Berlin by the Reich Ministry of Aviation and the Commander in Chief of the Air Force in agreement with the Reich Ministry for Church Affairs. After that, the churches and monasteries themselves were responsible for the "extended self-protection in civil air protection", with a company air raid protection officer, with the formation of task forces and prescribed shelters for worshipers. “In order not to let the cultural property fall victim to destruction”, regulations for air protection in museums, libraries, archives and similar cultural sites, including churches, were issued. These provided for on-site security measures, but also the extensive outsourcing of "movable cultural assets". In view of the increasing devastation of the German cities in the aerial warfare, a Führer decree followed in early 1943 for the systematic photo documentation of architectural, plastic and pictorial cultural assets that could not be recovered - before their possible or expected destruction.

Protective measures for the cathedral and its cultural property

High choir of the Erfurt Cathedral. All medieval colored glass windows saved by outsourcing in 1940/41
Medieval cathedral stalls in the high choir, protected during the war by relocation and housing
Medieval figures from the triangle portal, virgins and apostles, secured in cellars under the crypt during the war

The following description is mainly based on a publication by Martin Fischer Der Erfurter Domberg im Schatten der Schatten der Weltkrieg des Second World War (2016) and documents and information from Falko Bornschein, the art property representative of the Diocese of Erfurt (2020). The cathedral provost Joseph Freusberg reported regularly and promptly to the Episcopal Vicariate of Fulda about the protective measures taken during the war for the cathedral and the destruction that occurred .

  • Darkening : As the high cathedral windows could not be darkened, services were limited to the times of day as early as 1939 - as in other churches (exceptions: Advent and Christmas holidays).
  • Flame retardant campaign : Under the influence of the air raids with fire bombs on Lübeck , Rostock and other cities that began in March / April 1942, Hermann Göring impregnated the roof trusses and other wooden structures with lime and chemical agents for fire protection in areas at risk Additions arranged, especially in cultural monuments. This measure had already been carried out on the roofs and all other visible wooden structures in the cathedral (choir, nave, towers, cloister) and Severikirche by the end of May 1943. The impregnation was carried out with the use of high pressure spraying and under the guidance of experienced architects. This fire protection treatment was carried out, as with the other Erfurt churches and cultural buildings, despite well-founded doubts about the effectiveness of the measure. The force of the fire attacks by the British Royal Air Force on German cities increased more and more; But then no impregnation helped against fire storms .
  • Fire watch : Five employees living in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral formed a fire fighting team that was supposed to neutralize any incendiary bombs and put out fires that had occurred.
  • Military fire protection : The Erfurt Cathedral was one of the particularly important structures for which, in an emergency, military support could be requested from Grenadier Replacement Battalion 71 to fight fires “in the event of terrorist attacks”. This had a command post in the basement of the Severikirche.
  • Choir stalls : The magnificent oak choir stalls in the high choir of the cathedral (created soon after 1328), with rich figurative representations, with 83 seats in two rows under canopies, represented a considerable fire hazard in addition to its importance as a medieval cultural asset. Only its last row remained Standing away from the wall, it was walled in and covered with heavy reinforced concrete slabs. The same procedure was used with the other parts of the choir stalls: after relocating them to the neck of the choir and partly to the passage behind the sacrament altar . The choir neck of the cathedral is the space between the particularly thick Romanesque church towers.
  • Wolfram chandelier : The almost life-size bronze chandelier from the 12th century, one of the oldest free figures in German art, actually stood in the choir. It was also protected by a wall behind the sacrament altar.
  • Romanesque Madonna : The altarpiece Madonna with Child Jesus , a stucco work from the 12th century, was housed in the vault of the south tower.
  • The altar painting The Engagement of Saint Catherine to the Infant Jesus by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1529) was also secured in the vault of the south tower.
  • The bronze tombstone of Henning Göde from the Vischerschen Gießhütte (1521) was placed in the anteroom to today's Domaula .
  • The unicorn hunt, the middle part of a triptych , came into the room behind the Domaula.
  • Pillars image cycle: The eight of the pillars of the nave matched convex panel paintings of 1.80 meters (created from 1505 to 1570) were safe - as other paintings - suspended and taken to a "safe spaces".

The following art treasures in the cathedral and Severikirche have not been documented as to whether and how they were protected against bomb damage - as far as this would have been possible at all due to their nature.

  • The tumba with the bones of the saints Adolar and Eoban , companions of Boniface , remained ( housing ?) In the triangle building .
  • Grave slab (bronze) of Auxiliary Bishop Johannes Bonemilch von Laasphe (around 1510)
  • Epitaph of Johann von Allenblumen, sandstone (1429)
  • Gravestone of the "two-woman" Count von Gleichen (around 1250)
  • Relief Lamentation of Christ (1475)
  • Baptismal font with fence and wooden Renaissance superstructure (1582–1587)
  • Sacrament house , large sandstone tabernacle (1590)
  • Holy grave : reclining figure of Christ in sandstone (1420/1430)
  • Altars in the nave
  • Gothic sarcophagus of St. Severus in the Severikirche ( housing ?)
  • Marian mosaic on the western gable of the cathedral: It is no longer known whether it was covered as a possible orientation aid for attacking aircraft.
  • To be on the safe side, the entire holdings of the Cathedral Museum were placed in the Parament Chamber ( cloister 11) or the anteroom of the Domaula. The museum was not redesigned until 1932 and moved to the Auditorium Coelicum and side rooms. It represented one of the most impressive collections of medieval art in Central Germany. Its holdings included the splendid dress "Elisabeth chasuble" (early 14th century), the bronze Erfurt Sabbath lamp (around 1200), and head relics from the 12th to 14th centuries Alabaster statue "John the Baptist and Saint Andrew" (around 1450) and a silver chamber with fine blacksmithing (17th and 18th centuries).
  • The sandstone figures on the triangle portal (created around 1335) were removed and secured in the two-story cellar vaults under the crypt behind the caverns . On the west portal these were the sculptures of the foolish and wise virgins , of Ecclesia and the synagogue , of Christ as Judge of the World, Mary and John the Baptist, on the east portal the twelve apostles and Mary as Queen of Heaven, a crucifixion group and the saints Adolar and Eoban . The latter was destroyed during acceptance and replaced by a copy in 1947. Only the Archangel Michael stayed there, as it comes from a more recent period.
  • The colored glass windows in the cathedral's high choir were removed from the tracery as early as 1940/41, packed in boxes and stored in the cellars under the crypt. There are twelve almost 19 meter high and three smaller, four-lane windows reaching into the vault (made between 1380 and 1420). They show a famous cycle of stained glass with biblical and hagiographic motifs from the creation of the world to the 13th century. In total, there were almost a thousand rectangular disks measuring 40 × 80 centimeters. The window openings were then closed with simple, green panes of glass. Without the lead frames, however, these replacement panes were not stable, especially during the air mine detonations in the city in 1944/45, and some of them fell off. Therefore services in the high choir had to be stopped in 1945. The last two windows, the Elisabeth windows , were not removed. Since they were only created in 1913, the Provincial Conservator in Giesau did not consider them so valuable - and they were destroyed in the air raids. The medieval colored glass windows of the Erfurt Barfüßerkirche were also saved by being stored in the cellars under the crypt, but the church was "bombed out" and turned into ruins.
  • Written material : documents, church books of the Cathedral parish and other Catholic communities in Erfurt and surroundings and other archival "bombs and fire-safe" in the Domaula under the Kiliani Chapel were relocated. This safeguarding of irreplaceable documents was carried out in the Church's own interest, but also on the personal instructions of Lord Mayor Walter Kießling and on the basis of regulations across the Reich.
  • No cultural assets were brought outside the cathedral, as the rooms selected for storage were considered safe enough.
  • It is not known whether and to what extent the cathedral and Severikirche were included in the nationwide photographic documentation of “immovable art treasures” from 1943 to the beginning of 1945 before they were possibly destroyed during the war.

Secured art

  • Tungsten chandelier: Relocated and walled in during the war

  • Madonna with baby Jesus moved into the vault of the south tower

  • Saint Catherine moved to the vault of the south tower

  • Unicorn altar picture spent in safe room

Miscellaneous

  • Shelters: The cathedral crypt officially served as an air raid shelter for worshipers and the neighboring population, other rooms under the cathedral and Severikirche as armed forces shelters. Cellars were also made available to the municipal museum.
  • Metal mobilization: Metal objects such as doorknobs, some of the crucifixes, brass candlesticks, smoke barrels and holy water basins had to be given and made available to the armaments industry as reserves. However, they were not melted down and returned in 1945.
  • Church bells delivery: As early as 1942, seven of the ten bells in the cathedral had to be delivered. Only three bells were excluded: the famous Gloriosa (cast in 1497), also the second largest bell with its richly decorated pictures and the oldest bell (from the 12th century).
  • Securing Torah scrolls: shortly before the Erfurt synagogue burned down during the pogrom night on 9/10 November 1938, the Jewish Torah scrolls could still be brought out and secretly entrusted to the Provost Freusberg, who made sure they were safely hidden under the cathedral.

The destruction of the cathedral and Severikirche

Since the heavy bombing of the USAAF on July 20, 1944, a number of Erfurt churches were also affected by destruction or severe damage in the air war. The two large churches on the Domberg were spared direct hits from high-explosive bombs or incendiary bombs , although they were numerous in their vicinity. A mine bomb is said to have exploded in the height above the cathedral and Severikirche. The effects of mine bomb explosions, both near and far, on the roofs and windows of both churches were particularly noticeable.

British multi-purpose aircraft of the Mosquito type , often over Erfurt in 1944/45, also with mine bombs
  • November 11, 1944 : At around 9 p.m. on a clear, clear night, a small group of British high-speed bombers of the Mosquito type dropped a large-caliber mine bomb (1.8 tons of high-explosive explosives) in the area of ​​Meienbergstrasse, Johannesstrasse and Futterstrasse. The "blockbuster" ("blockbuster") caused considerable damage in the city center. The merchant's church, the Schottenkirche and the Lorenzkirche were also damaged. The cathedral about a kilometer away was also affected. “Some of the replacement windows in the high choir have been smashed. In addition, some stones have broken out of the stone window ribs. The service is not hindered ”(Provost Freusberg).
  • 26./27. November 1944 : At night, shortly after 2 a.m., RAF mosquitos, which had been guided to their target with the help of the oboe beam method, threw three large-caliber HC 4000 IB mine bombs into downtown Erfurt when visibility was very good. One of the mines destroyed the Barefoot Church and the neighboring residential area. The cathedral, a few hundred meters away, was again affected. Dompropst Freusberg describes the damage: “In the high choir, the majority of the windows have been smashed. Some of the ribs of the window were destroyed and fell off. In the nave, too, several panes have been smashed and pieces broken out of the ribs of the window. The service can continue with some restrictions ”.
  • February 19, 1945 : From 7.55 p.m. onwards, there was a major attack on downtown Erfurt with incendiary, high explosive and mine bombs (100 tons in total) by 79 RAF mosquitos. At the beginning Erfurt was lit up as bright as day by " Christmas trees ". Three mine bombs fell in close proximity to the cathedral and Severikirche. At the cathedral, large parts of the roof of the high choir were covered and all the replacement window panes in the choir were smashed. Several panes and two windows in the nave were also completely destroyed. According to a report by Provost Freusberg, “a mine had died in the air between the cathedral and Severi. In fact, parts of a mine bomb were found in the central tower of the cathedral the next day ”.
  • March 15, 1945: 22 RAF mosquitos dropped 26.5 tons of explosive and mine bombs on the city center at 8:55 p.m. Several mines went down on the Petersberg near the Domberg. The roofs of Severikirche and its rectory suffered severe damage. In addition, other windows and stone ribs were destroyed in both churches.
  • March 30, 1945 ( Good Friday ): A concentrated drop of 57 tons of incendiary, high explosive and mine bombs by 43 RAF mosquitos hit the southern part of the city and the city center hard. “A heavy bomb fell at the feet of the cathedral, which completely destroyed the windows of the cathedral. The cathedral now no longer has an intact window, five of the large windows including the ribs have been completely destroyed ”(Provost Freusberg). The destruction also affected all colored glass windows in the nave, which came from the 1860s and 1870s and had not been removed.
  • “The days from Good Friday to April 12th were the most exciting of all time. The alarm, attacks by fighter pilots and low-level aircraft attacks changed constantly ”(Provost Freusberg).
  • April 12, 1945 : In preparation for the occupation by American ground troops, the Petersberg, the industrial buildings in Brühl and the city center were under heavy fire from 3:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. from almost a thousand (incendiary) shells from US artillery . The city was brightly lit by the many house fires. The cathedral received three, the Severikirche one hit. The parapet and pinnacles of the central and north tower of the cathedral were damaged, as was the wooden construction of the north tower. "Damage to the towers, roof, vaults and tracery" occurred at Severikirche.
  • The British Bomber Command had prepared two heavy air raids on Erfurt for the beginning of April 1945 with a total of 685 four-engine Halifax and Lancaster bombers. These widespread destruction attacks in accordance with the British Area Bombing Directive (example: air raids on Dresden in February 1945) were only omitted because the US ground forces had already moved too close to Erfurt and their leaders feared for their safety. If the British plans had been implemented, the Mariendom and Severikirche would have had the same fate as the Frauenkirche and the Hofkirche in Dresden. The question is whether the security measures taken for the art treasures in the cathedral itself would have been sufficient if they hadn't been relocated outside.

The elimination of the war damage

"With great energy" from Cathedral Provost Johannes Freusberg and "active concern" from Severi Pastor Heinrich Mette (quoted from Rudolf Stein), the repair of war damage to the cathedral and Severikirche began soon after the war. The well-known architect and art historian Rudolf Stein , who had fled from Breslau, took over the technical, artistic and scientific management of this work . The inventory of Stein when he started work: “During the Second World War, the cathedral in particular, but also the Severikirche, suffered considerable damage. The roofs of the cathedral and the chapter house were torn open to a large extent by the action of mines, some of the roof trusses were lifted from the tenons, all glass windows were destroyed and the ribs and tracery of most of the windows were partially dented and smashed. The central and north towers received direct grenade hits, and the cavates and the row of houses next to the straight line, including the Boniface Chapel , were severely damaged. At the Severikirche the covering of all roofs was completely destroyed. The large roof structure (of the cathedral) was hit by a shell, which also penetrated the vault of the north nave. The north tower with the stair tower fell victim to a second (hit) to a considerable extent. Also at Severi's (are) all glass windows destroyed and the tracery and ribs partly badly damaged. "

The priority was to seal the torn roofs, the wooden structures of which had already become heavily saturated with rainwater. The provisional window in the choir were almost completely destroyed, so the Baroque high altar (1697) and the remote station of the organ strongly behind him were exposed to the elements. The roofing work dragged on until 1948 due to difficulties in procuring materials, especially the copper sheet from Mansfeld (for both churches). During the repair work in the cathedral's high choir, it was separated from the neck of the choir (the choir room of the former Romanesque church) by a partition wall , in which the services were now held. The material for the partition wall was obtained from the dismantled air protection walls inside the cathedral. The thirteen extremely valuable medieval windows of the high choir with almost a thousand sheets of leaded glazing were partially damaged when they were removed in 1940/41. The repaired panes were used again at great expense from 1947 to 1949. In some cases, sandstone from old, "ceded" grave monuments in the cathedral was used to replace the window ribs destroyed by the detonations. Material from the sandstone base of the Victory Monument 1870/71 in the Hirschgarten , which was demolished in 1947, was also used. The quarries in the Großer Seeberg near Gotha , from which the building material for the cathedral and Severikirche came, could not yet deliver again. The baroque high altar (consecrated in 1697) in the choir and the organ ( Johannes Klais 1906) had suffered from the effects of the weather and had to be laboriously overhauled.

The figures from the triangle portal that were relocated to the cavern cellars were reinstalled. The sandstone statues had suffered from the damp in the cellar. The figure of St. Adolar broke during transport and had to be replaced by a copy.

The dividing wall was dismantled in autumn 1949 and the high choir was ceremoniously handed over to its worship service on October 30th.

The entire neo-Gothic colored glass interior of the nave of the cathedral from the 1860s and 1870s had suffered severe damage from the heavy detonations of mine bombs in the neighborhood. The "Kaiserfenster" (by Georg Eberlein ) donated by Wilhelm I and installed in 1879 in the Holy Blood Chapel opposite the triangle main entrance was also lost. After provisional emergency glazing / boarding and frustrating repair attempts in the 1940s, the nave was re-glazed from 1950 to 1953.

The art objects of the cathedral museum that were outsourced and distributed for air raid protection were not brought back together after the war. At first there was no longer a museum.

The restoration of the two churches was also taken as an opportunity to “free the cathedral and the cloister from burdens from the 19th century” (Rudolf Stein).

Overall, the restoration work on the cathedral lasted until 1951.

Most of the art objects delivered for armament had not yet been melted down and could be returned to the church. Of the seven bells delivered, however, only two returned to the cathedral.

In summary, it can be said that the protection of cultural property at the cathedral and Severikirche during the aerial warfare and afterwards - in the context of the catastrophic circumstances - was largely successful. There were also parallel rescue efforts in many other church monuments, such as Magdeburg Cathedral .

Evaluation of the attacks under international law

The legal question as to whether the Allied (primarily British ) bombing of the sacred buildings in Erfurt ( Augustinian monastery , Barfüßerkirche ) was a serious war crimes is ignited in particular by the different interpretation of the then relevant Article 25 of the Hague Land Warfare Code :

"It is forbidden to attack or shoot at undefended cities, villages, dwellings or buildings, by whatever means."

In addition, such an attack is in contradiction to Article 27 of the Hague Land Warfare Regulations, which calls for the protection of appropriately marked and not militarily defended cultural assets, “around the buildings dedicated to worship, art, science and charity, historical monuments and hospitals and to spare as much as possible assembly points for the sick and wounded ”.

With the new regulation in the Geneva Convention of 1949 and especially through Article 51 of Additional Protocol I of 1977, such attacks on civilian targets are generally considered war crimes.

literature

  • Hildegard Bernick: The rescue of the choir stalls from the Magdeburg Cathedral 1943 to 1954 . Published by Förderkreis Schlosskirche Erxleben eV, Magdeburg 2009/2016
  • Falko Bornschein: The preservation and restoration of the Erfurt cathedral windows from the Middle Ages to the present . In: Falko Bornschein et al: Sources and studies on the restoration history of medieval colored glazing. Berlin 1996
  • Falko Bornschein: The so-called Imperial Window from 1879 in the Holy Blood Chapel of Erfurt Cathedral - a work by Georg Eberlein . Yearbook for the history of Erfurt 2014. Society for history and local history of Erfurt. Erfurt 2014. pp. 115–233. ISBN 978-3-939885-08-5
  • Falko Bornschein: The Erfurt Cathedral in the years 1941–1951. Precautions, destruction, re-establishment . Public lecture in Erfurt, November 18, 2015
  • Falko Bornschein: On the interior of the Erfurt Cathedral at the beginning of the 16th century and on elements of its artistic furnishings . Yearbook for the history of Erfurt 2019. Society for history and local history of Erfurt. Erfurt 2019. pp. 17–99. ISBN 978-3-939885-13-9 .
  • Anja Buresch: Fight for Erfurt. The American occupation of the city in April 1945 . Sutton-Verlag, Erfurt 2016. ISBN 978-3-95400-718-9
  • Cathedral book: Diocese archives Erfurt, Cathedral St. Marien
  • Martin Fischer: The Erfurt Domberg in the shadow of the Second World War . Yearbook for Central German Church and Order History. 12th year, 2016. pp. 77–115
  • Jens Garthoff and Anja Buresch-Hamann: The destruction in Erfurt by the Second World War, and its scars . Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2020. ISBN 978-3-95966-457-8
  • Olaf Groehler : bombing war against Germany . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1990. In it: excursus art protection . Pp. 306-315. ISBN 3-05-000612-9
  • Edgar Lehmann and Ernst Schubert : Cathedral and Severikirche in Erfurt . Koehler and Amelang, Leipzig 1988. ISBN 3733800419
  • Rolf-Günther Lucke: The Erfurt Cathedral . Schnell-Kunstführer No. 1887. Schnell and Steiner, Munich 1991
  • Rolf-Günther Lucke: The Severikirche in Erfurt . Schnell-Kunstführer No. 2067. Schnell and Steiner, Regensburg 1993
  • Klaus Mertens : The St. Severi Church in Erfurt . Series: The Christian Monument, Issue 27. Union Verlag, Berlin 1965
  • Klaus Mertens: The Erfurt Cathedral . Series: The Christian Monument. Issue 21/22. Union Verlag, Berlin 1965
  • Klaus Mertens (photos by Klaus G. Beyer): The Erfurt Cathedral . The Christian Monument series, special issue 4th Union Verlag, Berlin 1975
  • Walter Passarge : The cathedral and the Severikirche in Erfurt . Publishing house August Hopfer, Burg near Magdeburg. 2nd edition 1935. Series: Deutsche Bauten, Volume 8, Ed. Hermann Giesau
  • Rudolf Stein : Cathedral and Severi in Erfurt. History, description and guide . 1951. Manuscript in the diocese archive in Erfurt
  • Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939–1945 . Writings of the association for the history and antiquity of Erfurt eV, volume 4. Glaux-Verlag, Jena 2005. ISBN 3-931743-89-6

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Instructions for air raid protection in churches (1940)
  2. ^ Walter Passarge: The cathedral in Erfurt . 1935. pp. 25-27
  3. ↑ Martin Fischer: The Erfurt Domberg in the shadow of the Second World War . 2016
  4. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . 2005. pp. 149-150
  5. ↑ Martin Fischer: The Erfurt Domberg in the shadow of the Second World War . 2016. pp. 93-94
  6. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . 2005. pp. 154-156
  7. ↑ Martin Fischer: The Erfurt Domberg in the shadow of the Second World War . 2016. p. 94
  8. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . 2005. pp. 169-170
  9. ↑ a b c Martin Fischer: The Erfurt Domberg in the shadow of the Second World War . 2016. p. 97
  10. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . 2005, p. 285
  11. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . 2005. pp. 188-191, 286
  12. ↑ Anja Buresch: Battle for Erfurt . 2016. p. 83
  13. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . 2005, p. 240
  14. ↑ Martin Fischer: The Erfurt Domberg in the shadow of the Second World War . 2016. pp. 101, 104
  15. ↑ Klaus Mertens: The St. Severikirche in Erfurt . 1965. p. 30
  16. ↑ Helmut Wolf: Erfurt in the air war 1939-1945 . Pp. 62, 212, 213
  17. ↑ admin.ch