| An overview of central Berlin shot from an American plane shortly after the Allied victory in Europe. Regular air raids on Berlin by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) started in 1944, with almost daily bombardments in February and March 1945. The Mauerstraße runs through the center of the photo. The ruins of the Dreifaltigkeitskirche (“Holy Trinity Church”), the round building in the center, was built in August 1739 and bombed out by the Royal Air Force in November 1943. During the 2nd World War, the interior of the Trinity Church burned down in air raid in November 1943. The ruins, which had been converted into air-raid shelter for the Nazi party Gau leadership, were destroyed down to their surrounding walls in street fighting shortly before the end of the war. In April 1945, Hermann Fegelein (October 30, 1906 – April 28, 1945) was interrogated by Heinrich Müller (April 28, 1900 – circa May 1945) in the facility shortly before Fegelein was executed. The Nazi facility was demolished in 1947. Today part of the North Korean Embassy is on the site. Behind is the headquarters of the Allianz Versicherungs-Aktiengesellschaft (“Allianz Insurance Corporation”) which was built in 1916. It was repurposed for promoting Soviet-German friendship during the Cold War. This building is still extant today, and preserves artifacts of Soviet-German friendship in some rooms. Next to the Dreifaltigkeitskirche is the Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Sozialordnung (“Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs”). The main building on Wilhelmplatz 8/9, which was destroyed during the war, was built in 1737 as the residence of the Prussian major general Karl Ludwig Truchsess of Waldburg (1685 – April 22, 1738). Between 1918 and 1933, the building served the press department of the Reich government. From this, the National Socialists formed the Reich Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda under the leadership of Joseph Goebbels. The Baroque Palace was extended to include large tracts in Wilhelm and Jägerstraße. The bombs of 1945 have significantly damaged these buildings, the ruins of the Order’s or. Prinz-Carl-Palais was removed in 1949. After the renovation of the extensions, the Central Council of the National Front of the later German Democratic Republic (GDR) took residence in 1947. In the center foreground is the devastated Postal Museum. As early as 1872, Postmaster General Heinrich von Stephan (January 7, 1831 – April 8, 1897) pushed for the establishment of a postal museum. In order to give the Imperial Postal Museum a dignified setting, a new, prestigious building was constructed on the Leipziger Straße. The opening followed in 1898. Large parts of the collection were removed during the 2nd World War. After reunification, the West Berlin Federal Postal Museum and the East Berlin Post and Telecommunications Museum merged: the former’s holdings also moved to Leipziger Straße. Today it is the Communications Museum. The bombing on February 3, 1945, focused on the government district and was designed to break the will of Berliners. This strategy failed until the end of April when the Soviet Red Army conquered the city. Germans referred to the stillness that followed the raging battles for Berlin as “Stunde Null” (“Hour Zero”), the moment of “an absolute break with the past and a radical new beginning.” Photo by Associated Press photographer Henry L. Griffin (May 19 1916 – August 22, 1992). He later fell from United States President Harry S. Truman’s (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) Douglas VC-54C Spymaster “Sacred Cow” breaking 6 ribs. When Truman asked if he needed anything, he asked for beer in his hotel room. This began a lifelong friendship between the 2 men. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1824.jpg |
| Image Size | 385.40 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1536 x 1218 |
| Photographer | Henry L. Griffin |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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