Rubble Women
The initial work of reconstruction was done by the Trümmerfrauen, or rubble women. With so many men killed in the war, the Allies relied on women between the ages of 15 and 50 to do the hard work of clean-up.
Once again, women clean up the street all over Germany, with an overwhelming number of deaths of men, women are left to start the reconstruction for all of Europe.
Once again, women clean up the street all over Germany, with an overwhelming number of deaths of men, women are left to start the reconstruction for all of Europe.
Debatable Landmarks
After the war, a debate broke out in Germany over whether to rebuild exact copies of old buildings or to radically depart from pre-war Germany. Many felt that exact reproductions were tantamount to acting as if the war had never happen. Others felt that radical modernism ignored centuries of pre-war German history. Some projects, like the Neues Museum in Berlin, pictured here after a 1943 bombing raid, managed to find the balance between those two views.
Buildings like this, were things that German citizens thought should be rebuilt over again for the historical value, but then again other German citizens did not agree, for the reason of it looking like the war never happened. So they came to an agreement to put it in the Neues Museum.
Buildings like this, were things that German citizens thought should be rebuilt over again for the historical value, but then again other German citizens did not agree, for the reason of it looking like the war never happened. So they came to an agreement to put it in the Neues Museum.
Not Worth Spending
Badly damaged in the war, the original palace was razed in 1950. For now, it is unclear whether the palace will ever be built due to funding problems, and not everyone is a fan of the project. Due to savings measures passed in response to the economic crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has decided to postpone reconstruction of the palace during its current term in office, which many see as a death blow to the ambitious project.
Even though the palace was a great historical landmark in Germany, people thought it wouldn't be necessary to rebuild it. And to this day are still going from yes, to no, to maybe.
Even though the palace was a great historical landmark in Germany, people thought it wouldn't be necessary to rebuild it. And to this day are still going from yes, to no, to maybe.