Air raids on Zeitz
The Zeitz area in central Germany was the target of seven heavy Anglo-American air raids during World War II from May 12, 1944 to March 31, 1945 . 1,032 strategic bombers dropped about 3,200 tons of bomb load over the area. The BRABAG Zeitz plant in Tröglitz , where the Zeitz Chemical and Industrial Park is located today, was primarily affected . On November 30, 1944, the city of Zeitz itself was the main target of an attack. The fuel production plants of BRABAG were hit hard, but always partially repaired. From the beginning of April 1945, attacks by the bomber fleets were followed by frequent fighter-bomber attacks, artillery and tank shelling. The death toll in the plant, in the city, but especially in the surrounding towns, was considerable.
Time
Zeitz is an old industrial and trading town on the White Elster . It is located in the middle of the central German lignite mining area . As part of the self-sufficiency efforts in the Third Reich , the lignite gasoline company (BRABAG) built the town of Tröglitz and a hydrogenation plant not far from Zeitz from 1937 . The BRABAG Zeitz plant was the fourth large-scale plant for the production of synthetic fuels operated by the Braunkohle-BENZ-AG alongside the BRABAG plants in Böhlen , Magdeburg and Schwarzheide . The industrial production of synthetic gasoline and diesel fuel began in March 1939. The main customer was the Wehrmacht .
Zeitz had almost 42,000 inhabitants in early 1945, including evacuees from the air war zones, "civilian foreigners" and increasingly refugees from the eastern regions. This number does not include thousands of prisoners of war and the concentration camp inmates who were housed in camps near the plant (such as near Rehmsdorf ) in order to clean up after the air raids.
Air raid
The following information about the air protection in Zeitz comes from the war years 1939 to 1945 in Zeitz and the surrounding area (2005) by the local history researcher Rolf Zabel.
In the summer of 1939 an air raid protection school was set up in Zeitz in the “Harmonie” restaurant building. Air defense training for the population was intensified. Air raid shelters were set up as early as the mid-1930s. The extensive deep cellars under the old town, which were originally created to store beer supplies, played a special role: “beer storage catacombs”. They were expanded, interconnected and made more accessible from the outside. In February 1940 a large alarm system was put into operation in Zeitz. In 1941, a model of a large aerial bomb was set up on Zeitz Nicolai Square. In January 1943, a DRK rescue bunker at Lindenplatz to accommodate seriously wounded people after air raids went into operation. From February 1943 extinguishing water basins were created, from July splinter protection trenches.
The BRABAG plant was well equipped with air raid shelters.
The city and BRABAG were in the “Zeitz anti-aircraft protection belt ”, which was equipped with heavy 8.8 cm guns. After the very effective American air raids on the fuel systems began in May 1944, the 15-kilometer anti-aircraft belt was massively reinforced. 14 flak batteries with 100 guns and two railway guns were located around the city and the BRABAG. This included headlight batteries and listening devices. A dense network of smoke cannons lay around Zeitz and the Tröglitz area. The devices were operated by volunteers from abroad, especially Italian military internees .
The attacks
The following information comes predominantly from the compilation The war years 1939 to 1945 in Zeitz and the surrounding area (2005) by Rolf Zabel and the book Der Kampf um Zeitz 1945 (2010) by Jürgen Möller (see literature)
The light air raids on the Zeitz area from 1940 to 1943 were carried out by the British RAF and always at night.
- July 21, 1940: first night air raid alarm in Zeitz, British planes reach Central Germany.
- August 13, 1940: British bombers reach the Zeitz area.
- 26./27. August 1940: Air raid on BRABAG, four bombs hit the factory premises.
- November 18, 1940: 90-minute air raid alarm in Zeitz, bombs cause damage to the BRABAG tracks
- October 2, 1942: British planes dropped “fire balloons”
- 1943: More and more frequent air raids due to Allied bombers flying over towards Berlin
The attacks by strategic bombers on the Zeitz area, with the start of the Allied air offensive against the central German fuel production centers on May 12, 1944, were mainly carried out by the 8th Air Force and always as daytime attacks. In six attacks by March 31, 1945, 704 of their heavy bombers dropped a total of 1,725 tons of bombs on BRABAG, the surrounding villages and Zeitz itself. The RAF flew the heaviest attack with 328 Avro Lancasters and (estimated, see below) 1,500 tons of bombs on the BRABAG works on the night of January 16-17, 1945.
- May 12, 1944: 116 B-24 “Liberator” of the 2nd Bombardment Division of the 8th Air Force drop 256 tons of bombs at the BRABAG works. This results in a complete loss of production. 100 civilians die in the area.
- May 28, 1944 (Whitsun): 187 B-24s of the 2nd Bombardment Division unload 447 tons of bombs over the BRABAG near Tröglitz in three hours. 1,200 of the 2,500 bombs hit the area. There are again many dead among the civilian population. The anti-aircraft defense is massively strengthened. 14 flak batteries with 100 guns are stationed around Zeitz: at Profen , Predel , Theißen , Nonnewitz , Grana , Kuhndorf, Geussnitz , Nißma , Falkenhain and Rehmsdorf .
- August 16, 1944: 101 "Flying Fortresses" B-17 of the 3rd Bombardment Division attack in the Zeitz area with 226 tons of bombs. In addition to BRABAG, the city of Zeitz itself will also be met for the first time. Bomb damage occurs to residential buildings in the Badstuben suburb, and the gas works is destroyed. The serious damage in the BRABAG plant will be repaired by September.
- November 30, 1944: While the BRABAG is well fogged and does not suffer as much damage, the 151 B-17s of the 1st and 3rd Bombardment Divisions occupy the city of Zeitz and the surrounding area with 367 tons of bombs in a 90-minute daytime attack on a clear day. 64 buildings are destroyed (including 17 commercial and four public buildings) and 36 seriously or slightly damaged: valuable town houses on the east side of the Altmarkt (11-13), the town hall, the Reichsbank am Steinsgraben, the Donalie Foundation am Steinsgraben, residential - and commercial buildings in Freiligrath-Straße, Lutherstraße (today Fischstraße), Zeppelinstraße (Villa Nerger) and Albert-Kühne-Straße (today Semmelweisstraße). Time fuse bombs cause damage even later, for example in the Humboldtstrasse at the villa of Dr. Gütte. The roof structure of the monastery church of St. Franziskus, Antonius and Clara is destroyed, the vault is damaged and the interior is destroyed. 76 people lose their lives in Zeitz, including many women and children. A total of 138 people are killed, 11 seriously and 34 slightly wounded in the city and district area (especially in Tröglitz, Falkenhain, Rehmsdorf). 855 residents have become homeless . The funeral mass for the 138 victims takes place on December 6th at the Michaelisfriedhof in Zeitz, and on the same day the funeral service for 17 bomb victims in Falkenhain. 32 prisoners from the Rehmsdorf camp were killed in the attack on the BRABAG plant .
- 16./17. January 1945: 328 British Avro Lancaster bombers of the 1st, 6th and 8th Bomber Group start the heaviest attack on BRABAG in England at around 5 p.m. and almost all of them load their bombs over BRABAG and the surrounding area from 10 p.m. at night from. A Lancaster crashed on the outbound flight over Belgium, with "severe damage to the engine and surface", probably by the German air defense. It exploded on the floor. Her cargo had consisted of an air mine 4,000 lb High Capacity Demolition Bomb ( Cookies ) (approximately 1,800 kg) and 12 GP (General Purpose) explosive bombs 500 lb (12 × 227 kg). Assuming this total of about 4.5 tons of bombs from the crashed Lancaster and multiplied by 327 (aircraft), you get about 1,500 tons that were dropped over the target area. Around 1,000 bombs fell on the plant and 2,800 on the area. The Lancaster were led by 14 mosquitos of the 8th RAF Pathfinder Force , the sky was lit by light bombs and fire by incendiary bombs , the fogging had not started in time. Fuel production was completely paralyzed. The Zeitzer Tagblatt recorded 25 deaths, 3 military internees and one prisoner of war died in Rehmsdorf. 10 bombers were shot down. On January 19, fuel production started again.
- March 26, 1945: 12 "Flying Fortresses" B-17 of the 1st Air Division attack BRABAG and the surrounding area with 30 tons of bombs.
- March 31, 1945: 137 B-17s of the 3rd Air Division drop 399 tons of bombs on BRABAG and the surrounding area in the morning. Of the 8 waves of attack, two hit the plant directly, the rest caused considerable damage in the villages with a total of 110 deaths. At least one bomber was shot down. The planned resumption of fuel production on April 16 never happened.
- April 1945: From the beginning of the month, US Thunderbolt and Mustang fighter-bombers are almost constantly in action over Zeitz and the surrounding area. They fight their targets with bombs, missiles and on-board weapons. Civilians also fall victim to them.
- April 10: Heavy low- flying aircraft attack on the freight yard at the Tiergarten. There is a military transport train from Berlin, wagons with concentration camp prisoners and a train with tank wagons that contain chlorine gas . The trains received heavy hits and the deadly chlorine gas spreads across the terrain. Over 100 soldiers and civilians die in the inferno (more than half are buried as “unknown”), the number of prisoners who died is not documented. 133 victims of this attack are buried in two mass graves in the Michaelis cemetery.
- April 13th: at 9.00 am the "enemy alarm" sounds in Zeitz. In the previous days, US armored troops had advanced to the city and the Elster crossings, against some fierce resistance, especially from the anti-aircraft positions that had been converted for ground combat. There is fighting in the city; it is under fire from tanks and grenade launchers. The population only stays in the air raid shelters, especially in the deep cellars below the city. In the evening the city is partially occupied. 14 victims of this day are buried in the cemeteries. The Zeitz registry office records 37 casualties, including 32 civilians.
- April 14: The fighting is concentrated in the barracks area, where soldiers from the NCO school and flak soldiers defend themselves. In addition to artillery, the Americans also use fighter-bombers. Most of the buildings are captured by the evening. In the death register there are 8 civilian victims of that day.
- April 15: Even at night and in the morning there are fights for the last barracks building using heavy weapons. At 2 p.m., the last 100 defenders surrender. There are 6 dead civilians in the death register.
Burial places
The Michaelis cemetery in Zeitz is home to the graves of the Zeitz bomb victims, along with fallen soldiers. 138 victims of November 30, 1944 were buried in individual graves after a funeral mass, 100 (133) in two mass graves after the fighter-bomber attack on trains at the freight yard on April 10, 1945. In total there are 144 individual graves from the second and 136 in the cemetery Individual graves from the First World War. Between two grave fields there is a memorial with the inscription “For you. 1914–1918, 1939–1945 ”, above it depicts a nurse caring for a wounded man.
Adding the number of victims mentioned by Zabel and Möller results in around 550 aerial warfare deaths in the Zeitz area - without claiming to be exhaustive. As a rule, the burials took place in the local cemeteries.
Memorial for victims of World War I and II at Michaelisfriedhof
Bomb victims at Michaelisfriedhof in Zeitz
Bomb victims on Nov. 30, 1944
Bomb casualties on April 10, 1945
Bomb casualties on April 10, 1945
literature
- Roger A. Freeman: Mighty Eighth War Diary . JANE'S. London, New York, Sydney. 1981. ISBN 0-7106-0038-0
- Renate Kroll: Zeitz (Zeitz district) . In: Fate of German Monuments in the Second World War . Edited by Götz Eckardt. Henschel-Verlag, Berlin 1978. Volume 2, Halle district. P. 338
- Jürgen Möller: The fight for Zeitz 1945 . Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza 2010. ISBN 978-3-86777-477-2
- Rolf Zabel: The war years 1939–1945 in Zeitz and the surrounding area . On behalf of the History and Antiquity Association for Zeitz and Surroundings eV, Zeitz 2005
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Roger A. Freeman: Mighty Eighth War Diary . Janes's. 1981
- ↑ Excerpt from the war diary of the British Bomber Command for January 1945: https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/raf-bomber-command-diary-jan-1945.635/
- ↑ Recovery of 576 Sqn Lancaster PD 309 W-Williams 2 in Belgium: http://www.fiskertonairfield.org.uk/photo_15.html
- ↑ Jürgen Möller: The fight for Zeitz 1945 . Bad Langensalza 2010. pp. 15 and 68