Leipzig 1945: Between ruins and hope - an illustrated book is reminiscent!

Leipzig 1945: Between ruins and hope - an illustrated book is reminiscent!

The gloomy shadows of the past come alive in a new illustrated book that shows Leipzig after the devastating bombing of the Second World War. "Leipzig. Resurrected from ruins" by Heinz Peter Brogiato impressively documents the destruction that the city searched for in 1945. After the large -scale war and the Allied air strikes, Leipzig was in ruins, with tens of thousands of destroyed apartments and countless dead. The pictures by Johannes Baufeld, a photographer who has documented the city since 1933, show a city that was in a state of completely devastation.

The photographs are more than just witnesses - they are memorials of a cruel story. Brogiato, who manages the photo boards in the geographical central library and archive for geography of the Leibniz Institute for Candatory Science, emphasizes how important it is to keep these memories alive. "The smashed city was a warning that the Germans had made a cruel man's most guilty," he explains. However, the memories of the destruction fade with every generation, and the illustrated book should help not to be forgotten the dark story.

the city in change

The changes in Leipzig are obvious. Old streets and buildings that once shaped are often no longer to be recognized or were replaced by new, often inappropriate buildings. Brogiato also added current photographs by Martin Toste for the illustrated book that show today's views of the city. This comparison is amazed at the viewer of how much of the old splendor was lost and how the city reinvented itself. "Sometimes all the imagination is no longer enough to let the old street scene rise," continued Brogiato.

An urgent part of the book is the comparison of the 1946 May celebrations with today's celebrations, which only took place in a similar form in 1989. The illustrated book is not only a collection of photographs, but also an appeal to draw the teachings from the past. "Ordinary people don't want to have to experience something like this," emphasizes Brogiato. The book presentation will take place on November 22nd at 6 p.m. in the Leipzig City Library, an opportunity to immerse yourself in the eventful history of the city.