Air raids on Hanover

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The air raids on Hanover during the Second World War caused severe damage to the city of Hanover . The air strikes were carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). In 88 attacks, the USSBS gives a figure of 125, 6,782 people died, of which 4,748 were residents. A total of 1,783,612 incendiary bombs and 30,333 high explosive bombs were dropped. The heaviest attack took place on the night of October 8th to 9th, 1943 by the Royal Air Force and claimed 1,245 lives. In particular, the area bombing of civil targets (inner city, residential areas and others) by the RAF took place on the basis of the " Area Bombing Directive " issued by the British Air Ministry on February 14, 1942 .

At the end of the war the center was 90% destroyed; 52% of all buildings in the city were completely destroyed or badly damaged. A total of 7.5 million cubic meters of rubble had to be removed. Of the 147,222 apartments available at the end of 1939, 51.2% were completely destroyed or severely damaged, 43.6% were moderately or slightly damaged and only 7,489 apartments (5.2%) were still completely intact. The Aegidienkirche and the Nikolaikapelle were not rebuilt, their ruins were preserved as a memorial for the victims of war and tyranny.

Inner city of Hanover destroyed by air raids, 1945. Photo by Margaret Bourke-White

Strategic importance and targets

The destroyed Deurag and Nerag refineries after the end of the war
Bomb crater in Hermann-Löns-Park ; the bombs were apparently aimed at the Hanover freight bypass
Memorial against the war: The Aegidienkirche, destroyed in 1943

In the “Greater German Reich” , the capital of the Prussian province of Hanover was 13th in the list of the largest German cities in May 1939 with just under 471,000 inhabitants , including Wroclaw and Vienna . During the war, the number of inhabitants fell to an annual average of 287,000, mainly due to evacuations; At the end of the war in May 1945, 217,000 people were still registered in the city. Hanover was a garrison town with the 19th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht as well as the seat of the military district command XI and a military school .

As an industrial location, Hanover ranks fifth in the German Reich . The production of aircraft and vehicle tires, hard rubber parts and other rubber products in the three Continental plants in Vahrenwald , Stöcken and Limmer (until 1928 Gummiwerke Excelsior ) were particularly important for the warfare . The manufacture of guns and tracked vehicles at Hanomag in Linden and MNH Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover , a subsidiary of Eisenwerk Wülfel , which had operations in Badenstedt , Wülfel and Laatzen , and the Brinker Eisenwerk in Langenhagen, district of Brink-Hafen, were also important .

In its factory in Stöcken, which was completed in 1938, the AFA (Accumulatoren Fabrik Aktiengesellschaft - later VARTA ) produced lead-acid batteries exclusively for submarines and torpedoes of the Navy from 1940 .

On the former factory site with the assembly halls of the insolvent Hannoversche Waggonfabrik in Linden-Süd, the new buildings of the Vereinigte Leichtmetallwerke (VLW) were built from 1935 . The subsidiary of Deutsche Edelstahlwerke , built according to plans by Ernst Zinsser , was a supplier to the aircraft industry (→  arming the Wehrmacht ). From 1936 the VLW established a subsidiary in the municipality of Laatzen south of the city limits of Hanover on an area with old beech (today's exhibition grounds ). This VLW company Metallwerk Hannover (MEHA) was not a direct target.

The two large refineries of Deurag and Nerag in Misburg on the northeastern outskirts with their production of synthetic gasoline and motor oils for the Air Force were early targets of RAF and USAAF bombers and were bombed repeatedly, especially in the later course of the war.

As the crossing point of two important east-west and north-south routes, Hanover was also an important railway junction .

Attacks

RAF Lancaster bombers dropping bombs

Hanover could be reached quickly from the bases in Great Britain due to the relatively short flight distance. With the nearby Steinhuder Meer as a navigation point for the radar , the city was easy to locate despite the blackout . The 78  hectares large Maschsee on the southern edge of the center was partially covered to disguise by boards and artificial islands to complicate the orientation, but the downtown area was marked on the approach route to the northwest, the striking geometric patterns of undisguised Great Garden , with 50 hectares only little smaller than the Maschsee, clearly visible on the radar screens of the British H2S devices used from mid-1943 .

First attacks in 1939 and 1940

A first "attack" took place on September 4, 1939: an RAF Whitley bomber dropped leaflets. On May 19, 1940, the RAF bombed the refineries in Misburg. 19 people died. The bombing war on August 1, 1940 claims the first victims in the city in Seilerstrasse ( Südstadt ). Six British planes destroyed several buildings in Wülfel and Linden on September 30, 1940.

February 10, 1941

In the first heavy bombardment with 220 British aircraft, the eastern part of the city was mainly hit. 101 people were killed.

Further attacks in 1941

Further British attacks followed on 15/16. April on Vahrenwald and Hainholz as well as on 15./16. June to the VLW plant and the refineries in Misburg. Although the industrial companies suffered production stoppages, they were able to continue operating again and again in the following years.

July 26, 1943 - Destruction of the center

The interior of the Old Town Hall (1943)

During the first day of attack by 92 aircraft of the 8th US Air Force between 11:48 a.m. and 1:10 p.m., mainly industrial companies were in Stöcken (AFA-Batteriewerk), on Philipsbornstrasse (Continental's main plant) - 110 people came here alone killed -, on Fössestrasse and Badenstedter Strasse in Linden and at Nordhafen the target, but residential areas in Vahrenwald, Stöcken and in Nordstadt were also hit. Furthermore, many bombs fell in the city center and left several striking old buildings such as B. Market Church , Old City Hall , Central Station , Opera House , main armory , Wangenheimpalais and Leineschloss only are the outer walls. The market hall , the Prinzenpalais, the Alte Palais and the famous Kröpcke café were completely destroyed. 273 people were killed and 422 were seriously injured; 4,000 people were left homeless. 89 residential houses and 5 public buildings were completely destroyed, 98 residential houses and 15 public buildings as well as eight industrial plants were badly damaged.

22./23. September 1943

Between 9:43 pm and 12:41 am, 632 bombers, including five from the USAAF, attacked the city. The destination was the main train station, but most of the bombs hit the undeveloped Leinemasch, Döhren, Bemerode and Wülfel. Various industrial companies and residential areas in Döhren, Laatzen and Wülfel were hit, as well as Welfenschloss (Technical University), Bismarck School , Hainholz train station, Südbahnhof, the Martinskirche in Linden and the State Archives on Waterlooplatz . The attack left 201 dead and 176 seriously injured, and 5,000 people were left homeless. 287 residential buildings, 16 industrial plants and 9 public buildings were completely destroyed and 372 residential buildings were badly damaged.

27./28. September 1943

Between 9:59 p.m. and 12:41 a.m., 572 bombers, including four from the USAAF, attacked Hanover again. Again numerous bombs fell on open terrain, this time in the north of the city in the area from Bothfeld to Buchholz . Industrial plants from Bahlsen , Sprengel and Continental were hit. The Aegidienkirche with the old chancellery, Welfenschloss (technical university), Lukaskirche , Annastift and Bismarckschule were also destroyed or badly damaged . This attack left 196 dead and 63 seriously injured, and 20,000 people were left homeless. 341 houses were completely destroyed and 436 badly damaged. 6 industrial plants were destroyed. In the northern neighboring municipality of Langenhagen , 13 pupils from the Bismarck and Lutherschule who were deployed as flak helpers were killed in a direct hit on a flak position .

October 9, 1943 - The "black day"

During the heaviest attack on Hanover on October 9 at night between 01:05 a.m. and 01:45 a.m., 540 Royal Air Force aircraft dropped 1,660 tons (258,000 incendiary and 3,000 high explosive bombs) and large parts of the city center and the southern part of the city were destroyed. 1,245 people died and 250,000 were left homeless. The train traffic via the main station could only be resumed after four days via a track.

October 18, 1943

Herrenhausen Palace - view of the garden in the 19th century.

Another major attack took place on October 18 from 7:26 p.m. to 9:17 p.m. with 332 bombers. Since Hanover was under a closed cloud cover, it was not possible to mark a target area more precisely, and the bombs fell widely, especially in the west and north of the city. The districts of Limmer, Linden and Vahrenwald were particularly hit, as was the area from Stöcken to Buchholz. Extensive damage was also caused in Langenhagen. 157 people were killed, 77 seriously injured and 7,000 homeless. 180 residential houses and 8 industrial plants were destroyed and 288 houses were badly damaged. The previously undamaged Herrenhausen Palace burned out completely.

1944

After a dogfight collapsed on January 11 fighter aircraft of the Air Force in a building cleaning company Stichweh . 28 workers died. USAAF bombings killed 31 people on June 18. Another attack on the center on October 26 resulted in 201 victims. The attack of November 4th destroyed u. a. the Jakobikirche in Kirchrode.

March 28, 1945 - Last attack

The destroyed central station (1945). The ruins of the post and telegraph office, today the location of the Ernst-August-Galerie shopping center , can be seen at the bottom left.

After bombings on January 5th and 10th, February 11th, March 3rd, 14th, 15th (refineries in Misburg) and March 17th, the last two air raids on Hanover on March 25th and 28th 1945 caused 600 each British and American bombers were badly damaged , including three of the five barracks on Welfenplatz . The production of tracked vehicles at Hanomag / MNH had to be stopped.

On April 10, 1945 troops of the 9th US Army occupied the city with almost no fighting.

As a photographer for the USAAF, Margaret Bourke-White traveled through Germany with General George S. Patton and documented the destruction in Hanover from the air.

consequences

Long after the reconstruction of Hanover , which significantly changed the historical layout of the city ​​center , the effects of the air raids are still present today. The city ​​models of Hanover in the domed hall of the New Town Hall impressively show, among other examples, the destroyed city center. An estimated 10 to 15 percent of the bombs dropped were duds , including many with a long detonator . The explosive devices are mainly found in the course of construction work or when evaluating old aerial photographs and are cleared by the Lower Saxony ordnance disposal service .

literature

Web links

Commons : Air raids on Hanover  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Gottwaldt : Hannover und seine Eisenbahnen , Alba, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-87094-345-9 , p. 83.
  2. ^ Heinz Koberg: Hannover 1945. Destruction and rebirth. , P. 9.
  3. ↑ a b Civil Defense Division (ed.): The United States Strategic Bombing Survey, Hanover Field Report . Second Edition, 1947, p. 125-128 .
  4. ↑ a b Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (ed.): Hanover Chronicle: From the beginnings to the present , figures • data • facts, Schlütersche, Hanover, 1991.
  5. ↑ Jörg Friedrich: The fire. Germany in the bombing war 1940–1945 , p. 83.
  6. ^ Exhibition of the Lower Saxony Volksbund: "Lower Saxony at War" - The bomb war (pdf, 533 kB).
  7. ↑ Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (eds.) And a .: City Lexicon Hanover . From the beginning to the present. Schlütersche, Hannover 2009, ISBN 978-3-89993-662-9 , p. 694.
  8. ^ Frank Köhler: The manufacture of tracked vehicles at the MNH company in Hanover from 1939–1945. In: Association of Friends and Patrons of the Defense Technical Study Collection Koblenz , first published in 1994, online since October 22, 2011, accessed on December 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ Burkhard Nadolny , Wilhelm Treue : VARTA - A company of the Quandt Group 1888–1963 , Verlag Mensch und Arbeit Munich 1964.
  10. ↑ AC Grayling: The Dead Cities: Were Allied Bombing War Crimes? P. 367. Munich 2009.
  11. ↑ AC Grayling: The Dead Cities: Were Allied Bombing War Crimes? P. 368. Munich 2009.
  12. ↑ October 9, 1943: Hanover in ruins at: ndr.de of October 9, 2013 .