Areas of Amsterdam are destroyed by bombing during the Second World War.

In May 1940, air raids and bombing sorties carried out by the Luftwaffe destroy a large part of Rotterdam’s Old Town.

In 1944, the small Normandy town of Coutances is severely damaged by the Allied bombings.

View of the quays in Le Havre, a city largely destroyed by the bomb attacks during the Second World War.

In September 1944, as the Allied troops advance into Luxembourg, the retreating Nazi occupying forces blow up the bridge in Dommeldange, completely destroying the structure and causing major damage to the neighbouring residential area. Nearly 200 houses in this district of Luxembourg City are hit by the effects of the blast, and nearly 30 subsequently have to be completely demolished.

In May 1945, the Brandenburg Gate, located to the west of Berlin city centre, is surrounded by ruins and bears the scars of the final combats between the German army and the Soviet troops.

In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the city of Berlin is a picture of desolation; destruction and ruins can be seen everywhere in the German capital.

In 1945, the German town of Wesel, located on the banks of the River Rhine, is partly destroyed by Allied bombings, giving the impression of a lunar landscape.

View of the destruction caused in the City of Dresden following the Allied bombings at the end of the Second World War.

Im Oktober 1946 zieht der luxemburgische Generalkommissar für den Wiederaufbau Jos Schroeder eine Bilanz der Zerstörungen im Großherzogtum und erläutert detailliert die ersten Maßnahmen zum Wiederaufbau des Landes.

In diesem Interview spricht Max Kohnstamm – Mitglied einer Delegation der niederländischen reformierten Kirche auf einer Mission in Deutschland im Sommer 1947 und ab Mai 1948 Assistent des niederländischen Regierungskommissars für die Verwaltung des Marshall-Plans und deutsche Angelegenheiten Hans Max Hirschfeld – über seinen Eindruck der wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Lage im besiegten Deutschland nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges.