Air raids on Rostock

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During the Second World War 21 air raids were carried out on Rostock , from June 1940 to April 1943 by the British Royal Air Force and from July 1943 to August 1944 by the United States Army Air Forces . 617 people were killed. 2,942 tons of explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped on residential areas and the armaments industry in the greater Rostock and Warnemünde area , by the British at night and by the Americans at daytime. 85% of Rostock's residential buildings were destroyed or damaged, many public buildings and irreplaceable cultural buildings were destroyed and industry was badly hit.

Chronology of the attacks

The bombing of the British RAF took place from June 1940 to April 1943, the USAAF from July 1943 to August 1944. The British almost always attacked at night, the Americans at daytime. The bomb tonnage mentioned below relates to the 16 heavy attacks. Of the total of 2,942 tons of bombs, the RAF dropped 990 tons in 9 attacks and the USAAF dropped 1,952 tons of explosive and incendiary bombs in 7 attacks .

The Royal Air Force attacks

The information in this section comes mainly from the war diary of the RAF Bomber Command (ed. Middlebrook and Everitt), from “Bombs on Rostock” (ed. Bohl, Keipke and Reich) and from “Bombing war against Germany” ( Olaf Groehler ).

British bomber Wellington
British Short Stirling heavy bomber
Destruction in the historic city center from the bombings in 1942
The destroyed Krämerstrasse with the Marienkirche
American "Flying Fortress" B-17
American B-24 "Liberator"
Memorial for Rostock bomb victims in the New Cemetery
  • The second attack took place on July 3, 1940 (daytime) and was directed specifically against the premises of Aradowerke and the Kröger shipyard in the district of Warnemünde. Four people were killed and eleven injured in the air strike.
  • July 29, 1940: at night bombs fell between Hoher Düne and Schnatermann, on fields and forests
  • October 27, 1940: building damage occurred when bombs were dropped on both sides of Schwaaner Landstrasse
  • September 8, 1941: some bombs fell on the Diedrichshäger Feldmark
  • September 12, 1941: first "night of bombing" for the population in Rostock and Warnemünde. 56 RAF bombers dropped over 40 explosive bombs, 500 to 600 incendiary bombs (including numerous canisters filled with phosphorus and rubber) and leaflets over Rostock and Warnemünde between 1.40 and 3.30 a.m. There were 36 fatalities (including 11 children) and 15 seriously injured. Residential buildings, the Kurmittelhaus and the Fritz Reuter School in Warnemünde were hit. There were six major fires in Warnemünde. At the air base Warnemünde a hall with 15 training aircraft was destroyed. Numerous duds had to be disposed of.
  • “Four-day attack” (actually “four-night attack”) on Rostock: The first large-scale attacks targeted against the densely populated old town as part of the new British Area Bombing Directive took place from April 24th to 27th. April 1942. Rostock was the second German city to be attacked as a result of the new strategy of “morale bombing” (bombs to break the morale of the population). Shortly before, on the night of March 28th to 29th, 1942, the old town of Lübeck had been bombed, "burned out". Around 50% of Rostock's old town was destroyed through the combined use of high explosive and incendiary bombs . In the best military case, this combination led to a firestorm . The fire multiplied the damage caused by the explosive and incendiary bombs used. Rostock's old town - similar to Lübeck before it - was selected as the core area of ​​the attack, as the proportion of wood in the total building mass was highest here. This made it the ideal core target area for igniting a firestorm in Rostock. There was no firestorm, but devastating wildfires.

The four-day attacks were carried out by the 5th bomber group , only on the night of April 26-27 with additional forces from the 3rd bomber group. The British plan envisaged a division of the attacking machines into a main group (76%) for the Rostock city center and a sub-group against the Heinkel aircraft works. The targets were to be attacked at low altitude from only 1,000 to 1,200 meters on bright moonlit nights. The code name for the Rostock destination was "Special Samson".

The attacks in April 1942 in detail:

  • 23/24 April 1942: 161 bombers ( Wellingtons , Stirlings , Whitleys , Hampdens , Manchesters and a Lancaster ) carried out a planned "concentrated fire attack" on the old town (143 aircraft) and a smaller one on the Heinkel aircraft works (18 Aircraft). The result was disappointing for Bomber Command, as the bulk of the downtown bombs fell 2 to 6 miles away and the Heinkel plant was not hit. The regulatory police reported six destroyed houses, seven dead and 32 injured residents.
  • 24./25. April 1942: 125 bombers of six different types took part in the attack, 91 against the city and 34 against the Heinkel works. The center of Rostock was badly hit: 500 houses were destroyed or damaged, light and electricity failed. The mass drop of incendiary bombs exceeded the extinguishing capabilities of the fire brigades in Rostock, Güstrow, Wismar , Bad Doberan and Hamburg . According to Groehler, damage to the Heinkel factory resulted in a 10% loss of production, according to other authors the factory was missed. A Hampden was shot down.
  • 25./26. April 1942: 128 bombers attacked, 110 the city and 18 the Heinkel aircraft works. The city of Rostock was heavily bombed again, causing numerous wildfires. 300 high explosive bombs, 3,635 stick incendiary bombs and 35 liquid incendiary bombs were dropped. Large parts of the historic old town burned: "Total destruction of 1080 buildings and damage to 80 others." The incendiary bomb turned out to be the most terrible means of destroying the city in Rostock "(Groehler). The Heinkel works on the outskirts were less affected April 26th, 30,000 to 40,000 Rostock residents were homeless, which led to an intensification of the mass exodus and evacuation to the closer and then further surroundings.
  • 26./27. April 1942: 106 bombers carried out the attack, half against the city, the other half against the Heinkel aircraft factory, which was the main blow. Three bombers were shot down. Official British war history describes the attack as the "masterpiece" of successful bombing.

Of the 520 bombers deployed over the four nights in April 1942, 400 were deployed against the residential city of Rostock: 77%. The attacks resulted in the total destruction of 1,765 buildings and serious damage to 513 others. 130 hectares of the city were destroyed, 60% of the inner city. 204 (221) people died, 89 were wounded. According to the city administration, 216 people died, including 187 civilians, 27 members of the Wehrmacht and two foreigners. Bomber Command assumed it could have been much more if many residents had not fled the city after the initial attacks. In the reports on the attacks on Rostock, the Germans used the expression "terrorist attack" for the first time . Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary: "Community life in Rostock is practically at an end". Of the 130,000 inhabitants of Rostock, around 35,000 were left homeless .

  • On the night of May 8th to 9th 1942, the Royal Air Force flew 167 bombers, especially Wellingtons, an attack in high and low flight with 316 tons of bombs on the Arado aircraft works , the Kröger shipyard near Warnemünde and against the town . Rostock was also affected. There were 4 dead and 6 seriously injured. 19 (20) machines were shot down, which the German air defense recorded as a great success: " Flak battle", "Major attack successfully repulsed". The British rated the attack as "moderately successful". The anti-aircraft guns had been significantly reinforced after the April attacks and 90 blocking balloons made the attacks more difficult.
  • September 30, October 2, 1942: Night raid with high-explosive and incendiary bombs on Rostock and Warnemünde. The attack is said to have been aimed at Wismar : navigation errors by three bomber crews. As in April, the Marienkirche was hit again. This time phosphor bombs hit the roof. The successful extinguishing and thus the salvation of the church was thanks in particular to the commitment of church servant Friedrich Bombowski, his wife and daughter, along with other helpers.
  • 20./21. April 1943: Last major British attack. 77 heavy British Short Stirling bombers particularly attacked Rostock. 133 tons of bombs were dropped: 43 high explosive and 6,600 incendiary bombs. 84 houses and the Borwin school were destroyed, the Neptun shipyard and the passenger station were also hit. Six industrial companies were partially destroyed. Only minor damage occurred in the Heinkel aircraft factory. The death toll was 40 and the number of injuries was 120. Eight aircraft were shot down.

The USAAF attacks

From July 1943, the 8th Air Force took over the bombing of the Rostock and Warnemünde area. Their four-engine bombers were each accompanied by a large number of long-range fighters.

The following information comes from the war diary of the 8th Air Force (Ed. Roger A. Freeman) and from "Bombs on Rostock" (Ed. Bohl, Keipke and Schröder).

  • February 24, 1944: Around lunchtime, part of an association of 295 B-17s occupied the city of Rostock and "unidentified targets" with 685 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs
  • April 9, 1944: At noon, 85 “Flying Fortresses” B-17 dropped their bombs on Warnemünde: the train station, the Kröger shipyard and the Arado Flugzeugwerke. There were 12 dead.

Previously, 18 B-17s had occupied the Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke airfield in Rostock- Marienehe with 180 ten-hundredweight bombs.

  • April 11, 1944: In the late morning and noon a heavy American double attack on Warnemünde and Rostock took place.

In the late morning, 172 B-17s unloaded 700 (780) heavy explosive bombs and 500 (1,450) liquid incendiary bombs on the city of Warnemünde and its (armaments) industry. Both were badly hit. With the exception of two halls, the Arado factories were totally destroyed. 11 “fallen” and 34 wounded were registered (incomplete figures).

At noon, 200 heavy US bombers threw four carpets with 600 high-explosive and 400 liquid incendiary bombs on residential areas in the city of Rostock . In addition to these, two clinics, the gas and waterworks, the freight yard and a subsidiary company of Heinkel were hit. 51 dead, 80 wounded, 20 missing and 4,000 to 5,000 homeless were announced.

  • August 4, 1944: In the early afternoon, 148 B-24 "Liberator" bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Division carried out six carpet-throws of bombs on the Marienehe plant of Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke. They threw 1,600 incendiary bombs weighing 50 kg and 800 high explosive bombs weighing 1,000 to 2,000 kg, 50 of them with long-term detonators (detonation 15 minutes to three days after the impact). The explosive bombs were partly linked by chains. The 9,000 " followers " were housed in five air raid towers and five air raid shelters . There were 62 dead, including 14 Germans. The building damage was estimated at 60%. In addition, there were many damaged Heinkel He 111 and He 111 N aircraft . Immediately after the attack, 300 members of the Wehrmacht and 200 "political leaders" were deployed to rescue and clean-up work.
  • August 25, 1944: At noon the Marienehe plant of Heinkel-Werke was attacked again: by 116 heavy B-24 bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Division with 311.5 tons of bombs. Another figure of 250 aircraft probably includes the escort fighters. From a height of 4,000 to 7,000 meters, 12 carpets were thrown with 600 explosive bombs weighing 1,000 to 2,000 kg, 8,000 stick bombs (partially bundled) and several hundred liquid incendiary bombs . Of the 8,000 workers at the plant, three (Germans) died. The building damage was 30%, again He-111 aircraft were destroyed.

After these extermination attacks, the Americans decided, after detailed aerial reconnaissance, to forego further bombing raids on Rostock and the rest of the industry - as it was no longer worthwhile.

A total of 2,942 tons of bombs had been dropped on Rostock, 990 tons by the British Royal Air Force and 1,952 tons by the USAAF

Situation at the end of the war

At the end of the war, 85% of Rostock apartments and 42% of commercial buildings were destroyed or damaged. Among other things, were in ruins or were badly damaged: the medical clinic (Gertrudenplatz), gas and electrical works, post and telegraph office, district court, higher regional court , district office, eight schools (including the Blücher , Borwin and Sieben-Linden schools ), the city theater , four parish churches ( St. Jakobi , St. Nikolai , St. Petri , Christuskirche (Schröder-Platz)). The closedness of the streets and squares, what had made the character of the Hanseatic port city, was destroyed. A large part of the residents had been evacuated to the close and wider area of ​​Rostock . There were still 60,000 inhabitants in Rostock. On May 1, 1945, Rostock was occupied by the Red Army without a fight .

Sacrifice, burial and memorial sites

The air war victims from Rostock and Warnemünde were distributed over the war years as follows: 4 deaths in 1940, 41 deaths in 1941, 223 deaths in 1942, 130 deaths in 1943 and 236 deaths in 1944. It is proven that a total of 617 people lost their lives in the air raids, including over 100 foreign workers and Prisoners of war. In May 1942 an honorary grove was laid out in the New Cemetery in Rostock, with a grave field with row graves for the more than 200 bomb victims from April 1942 alone. Later beds were made after the other bombing raids. The monument that now exists in the center of the complex symbolizes collapsed walls of houses with the names of the victims.

The Allied crew members who were shot down and the foreign workers and prisoners of war who died in the bombing were buried in the western part of the New Cemetery.

See also

literature

  • Hans-Werner Bohl, Bodo Keipke, Karsten Schröder (eds.): Bombs on Rostock. War and the end of the war in reports, documents, memories and photos 1940–1945 , Konrad Reich Verlag, Rostock 1995, ISBN 978-3-86167-071-1 .
  • Roger A. Freeman: Mighty Eighth War Diary . Jane's. London, New York, Sydney. 1981. ISBN 0-7106-0038-0
  • Olaf Groehler : bombing war against Germany . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1990. ISBN 3-05-000612-9
  • Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt: The Bomber Command War Diaries. An Operational Reference Book 1939–1945 . Midland, 2011. ISBN 978-1-85780-335-8
  • Arno Krause: Rostock (Rostock city district) . In Fate of German Monuments in World War II . Edited by Götz Eckardt. Henschelverlag, Berlin 1978. Volume 1. pp. 57-75

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ingo Sens: Beer for Rostock The history of the Hanseatic brewery . Hinstorff Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-356-02069-4 , p. 144 ( preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ Torsten Schaar, Beate Behrens: From the school desk to the war: Mecklenburg pupils and apprentices as air force and naval helpers 1943–1945 . Neuer Hochschulschriftenverlag, 1999, p. 17 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ^ Hanno Ballhausen: Chronicle of the Second World War . Wissenmedia Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-577-14367-7 , pp. 190 ( preview in Google Book Search).
  4. ↑ April 1942: Hail of bombs on Rostock. In: ndr.de. April 21, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Volker Hage: Walter Kempowski on the bombing war: "Old Europe was destroyed". In: spiegel.de. July 23, 2003. Retrieved June 28, 2017 .
  6. ^ Martin Kaule: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1933–1945: The historical travel guide . Ch. Links Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-86153-853-0 , p. 50 .
  7. ^ Achim Schade, Matthias Redieck: Rostock in the firestorm: the four-day bombardment from April 24 to 27, 1942 . Ostseezeitung, 2012, ISBN 978-3-942673-13-6 .
  8. ^ Olaf Groehler : Bomb war against Germany. 1990. pp. 48, 49
  9. ↑ Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt: The Bomber Command War Diaries . Midland. 2011. p. 259 ff
  10. ^ The Bomber Command War Diaries . 2011. pp. 259-261
  11. ^ Olaf Groehler: Bomb war against Germany . 1990, p. 59
  12. ^ Olaf Groehler: Bomb war against Germany . 1990, p. 59
  13. ^ Olaf Groehler: Bomb war against Germany . 1990, p. 59
  14. ^ Olaf Groehler: Bomb war against Germany . 1990. p. 449
  15. ↑ Bodo Keipke in Bombs on Rostock . 1995. pp. 187-191

Web links

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