History to touch: US Army and your route to Leipzig!

History to touch: US Army and your route to Leipzig!

Leon Ziegler and Alex Müller, two video makers, deal with a unique challenge: They document an eight-day tour of the US Army, which leads from landing in Normandy to the liberation of Germany. Her last stop is Leipzig, an important place in the history of the Second World War.

Ziegler and Müller visited significant historical sites such as Omaha Beach, Paris, Bastogne and Weimar on their trip. You share this content via social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok to make history tangible for a younger target group. Ziegler emphasizes the importance of personal conversations and tells of her encounters with historians, pilots on the US Airbase Ramstein and a French content creator who reports on the Résistance.

memory of the liberation

On Tuesday, the opening of the exhibition "Ways of Liberation: From D-Day to Elbe-Day" takes place in the Capa House in Leipzig. This exhibition shows an interactive map that traces the Route of the US Army from landing on June 6, 1944 to the take of Central Germany. The event forms part of the culture of remembrance and illuminates a slightly noticeable chapter of US history in East Germany.

The project is seen as a community initiative of the Capa house, the city history museum in Leipzig and the US general consulate. The exhibition is open from Wednesday to the end of July and admission is free. The Capa house itself has a moving story; It was neglected for decades until it was restored by a civic initiative. The famous photo series "Last Man To Die" by the American war photographer Robert Capa was also created here

A look at the story

The city of Leipzig played an important role in the Second World War. On April 18, 1945, units of the 2nd US Infantry Division reached the city and occupied the districts of Lindenau and Leutzsch. During this time, Robert Capa photographed the fallen soldiers Raymond J. Bowman, whose picture became known as "Last Man to Die". The picture shows the cruel reality of the war and remains an integral part of the collective memory of the time.

The Capa House, named after the famous photographer, is recognized in the exhibition "War Is Over", which will be permanently accessible from September 2023. Robert Capa, born in Budapest in 1913 and fled the National Socialists as a Jew, developed into one of the most famous war photographers. His commitment during the D-Day, where he was the only photo journalist and took eleven iconic pictures at Omaha Beach, strengthened his place in history.

In order to illuminate this historical context, it is important to mention that the victorious powers in 1944 in the Jalta conference had decided to strike Saxons of the Soviet occupation zone. Leipzig also experienced the change of crew on July 2, 1945. The discussions about Capas D-Day photos and its role in various conflicts, including the first Arabic-Israeli War, show the complexity of the 1945 war year.

in memory of the fallen soldiers and the events 80 years ago in Leipzig, the liberation from National Socialism is commemorated, and the Capa house plays a central role in this. The work of Ziegler and Müller helps to keep history alive and to bring the resulting teachings closer to future generations.

The exhibition "Paths of Liberation" emphasizes the importance of the culture of remembrance, which combines both historical and current perspectives and reminds of the historical events with a clear focus on education and exchange.