Kassel commemorates the bomb night: memories of contemporary witness Waltraut Koeppen

Kassel commemorates the bomb night: memories of contemporary witness Waltraut Koeppen

Waltraut Koeppen looks at a childhood that was deeply shaped by the horrors of the Second World War. Today, on April 22, 2025, the 95-year-old tells of the striking events that took place in her youth. On October 22, 1943, she was just 14 years old and was with her mother in the air -raid shelter of the house in Wilhelmshöher Allee in Kassel when the city was hit by a massive bomb attack. On this fateful night, the sirens sounded at 8:17 p.m., which warned around 225,000 inhabitants.

From 8:49 p.m. to 9:11 p.m. 444 Allied aircraft attacked the city, threw 416,856 fire bombs as well as numerous explosive bombs and air mines. These attacks left devastating traces: 85 percent of the apartments and 65 percent of the industrial plants in Kassel were destroyed, while in the old town of up to 97 percent of half -timbered houses fell victim to an ruthless fire storm. The fire certificate was visible from over 50 kilometers away, and the remains burned for days.

memories of the bomb night

Waltraut remembers the terrible pictures that she saw during and after the attack. Corpses lay on Lutherplatz, and the horror of the war left her deep emotional scars. "Almost every survivor had lost relatives or friends," she reports. This tragedy changed the city of Kassel forever and left many people without home or belongings. The number of victims was given as up to 10,000 deaths, while many others were injured.

After the attack, Waltraut was sent to Melsungen as part of the children's country. It was rarely able to visit her hometown. During one of this visit you will find out the tragic loss of a friend who had lost her parents in a bomb attack and which she should never see again. After the war, she returned to Kassel with her mother after temporarily accommodating in a replacement district in Marburg.

The return and the post -war period

on March 8, 1945, during another major attack on Kassel, her home in Wilhelmshöher Allee was completely destroyed. Waltraut experienced the end of the war in Marburg. The American soldiers arriving there were perceived by the population as a liberator. Her childhood memories are characterized by great suffering and destruction, but it emphasizes the importance of gratitude and support from social associations and relatives. After the war she worked as a sports teacher at the Herderschule and lives in Harleshausen today.

Today Kassel commemorates that tragic bombing with a wreath laying and a memorial service in the Martinskirche. These memories are intended to remind the following generations of what they need to know about the horrors of the war and the inviolability of peace in order to never experience it again.