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Images - Living Conditions: Physical and Mental Destruction and Cold War Beginnings
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1.   After the "Storming of Berlin": Bombed-out People on the Street (May 1, 1945)
Homelessness was a common fate immediately after the end of the war. This picture shows Berliners who were bombed out of their homes during the "storming of Berlin." Photographer unknown.
After the "Storming of Berlin": Bombed-out People on the Street (May 1, 1945)
2.   Enterprising Women: Cooking under the Open Sky (1945)
At war’s end, society was in a state of collapse, and extraordinary efforts were demanded from women, who made up a large majority of the postwar population. Women, whether widows, wives, mothers,....
Enterprising Women: Cooking under the Open Sky (1945)
3.   Directing Traffic in Postwar Berlin (1945)
After the chaos of the last days of war, Soviet military authorities brought the first signs of public order to the destroyed city of Berlin. Here, a member of the Red Army directs light traffic....
Directing Traffic in Postwar Berlin (1945)
4.   Sign Demarcating the Zonal Borders in Destroyed Berlin (1945)
The zonal borders followed Berlin's district borders. This photograph shows the border between the American-occupied district of Kreuzberg and the Soviet-occupied district of Mitte. At this spot....
Sign Demarcating the Zonal Borders in Destroyed Berlin (1945)
5.   Shakespeare in the Park in Berlin-Schöneberg (August 1, 1945)
In the summer of 1945, Berlin's cultural life resumed, if only provisionally. This photograph shows a production of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" at a municipal park in the Schöneberg district....
Shakespeare in the Park in Berlin-Schöneberg (August 1, 1945)
6.   Cultural Diversions in Postwar Berlin (Summer 1945)
Berlin's cultural institutions went back to work surprisingly quickly in 1945. This photograph was taken in the courtyard of the Hebbel Theater during intermission at a performance of Brecht's "Three....
Cultural Diversions in Postwar Berlin (Summer 1945)
7.   Taking a Break during Clearing Operations in Berlin (1945-46)
Three young women take a break in front of Scherl publishing house in Berlin during rubble-clearing operations. Photo by Friedrich Seidenstücker.
Taking a Break during Clearing Operations in Berlin (1945-46)
8.   Putting Every Brick to Use: "Rubble Woman" Removing Mortar Remnants (1946)
A Berlin "rubble woman" [Trümmerfrau] chips mortar away from a brick, thereby making it usable again. The number of soldiers killed in battle, together with the number of men who were missing....
Putting Every Brick to Use: "Rubble Woman" Removing Mortar Remnants (1946)
9.   Makeshift Balcony in a Destroyed Berlin House (1946)
The postwar era was marked by destruction and housing shortages; here, a damaged apartment building in Berlin is used as a makeshift balcony. Photographer unknown.
Makeshift Balcony in a Destroyed Berlin House (1946)
10.   Seesawing in Rubble (1946)
At the end of the war, large sections of “the Reich capital of Berlin” lay in ruins. The government quarter, the scene of heavy fighting up to the bitter end, suffered particular damage and was largely....
Seesawing in Rubble (1946)
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