Bombings

In our story we read about bombs dropping on Nuremberg and London. There are no actual scenes, except in Renate’s nightmares, where bombs are dropped. We might suppose Renate has experienced them during visits to her mother in London. She was naturally worried about what might be happening to her mother in London, her father in Nuremberg and her grandmother in Stuttgart. It was partly this concern, alongside her confusion about her identity and her overwork, that caused her breakdown.

Actually, all three were spared injury and death from bombs. However, some of the property that Renate and her mother had managed to bring out of Germany was destroyed by an incendiary bomb.     

The Blitz on London began on 7 September 1940. The war had been slow to get started but began to feel real in March 1940. The beginning of the Blitz marked a change in German tactics; they were now prepared to attack British civilians. The Blitz, this intense time of bombing, ended on 11 May 1941. Other bombing raids still happened but they were less intense. 3000 Londoners were killed on the final night of the Blitz.

There are plenty of short films on You Tube to give you an impression of what a raid on London felt like. The Imperial War Museum North sometimes shows 360 degree films of the Blitz.

Nuremberg was in ruins by the end of the war. Two years after the war ended, when Renate went back there, there would still have been more rubble than whole buildings. See here. The most significant raids took place on: 

29 August 1942

26 February 1943

9 March 1943

28 August 1943

30/31 March 1944

3 October 1944

2 January 1945

20 February 1945

16 March 1945

5 April 1945

The well-known Bomber Harris was involved in some of these raids. About 6000 residents of Nuremberg were killed during January and February 1945. 90% of Nuremberg was destroyed in the bombings.  

Stuttgart was attacked on:

22 November 1942
11 March 1943
15 April 1943
6 September 1943
8 October 1943
26 November 1943
21 February 1944
2 March 1944
16 July 1944
5, 10, and 12, September 1944
19-20 September 1944
9 December 1944
January 28 1945
Stuttgart was saved to some extent by its shape. It was not an easy target because of the way it is built on seven hills. However, it did not escape damage. See here.

Food for thought: 

The Allies bombed German towns as well. Do you know where the worst bombings happened?
Renate's family had a dilemma.
Her mother was being bombed by the Germans in London.
The Allies were bombing towns where her freinds and family lived.
Her father was heping to design bombs for the German military.