They reach Griesheim

24. March 1945

What did the population think of the end of the fighting? Karl Knapp puts it this way: »It was like an unexpected relief, the liberation from the immediate fear of death and the certainty of finally being able to sleep through the night again. The hope and confidence of a new beginning.«

And on a very personal note, through his own eyes as a twelve-year-old, the city historian says: »I was relieved when the Americans were here. Because that also meant that it was over with the nights of bombing.«

(Knapp in Voigt 2020)


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