6 - From celebration to lamentation: dealing with the legacy of the air war, 1960–1995

Summary

Introduction

‘A Look at the Time of Hopelessness’ was the title of a commemorative article that the journalist Wolfgang Hermsdorff wrote for the Hessische Allgemeine in 1965 on the occasion of the twenty-second anniversary of the air raid (Fig. 26). The article was accompanied by an image that took the reader back in time, visualising memories of wartime desolation: a street lined by collapsed buildings and burnt-out façades; overhead cables hanging down; rubble clearance detachments at work. ‘A desolate picture,’ as Hermsdorff summed up the scene in order to continue, ‘All the greater are the reconstruction achievements that Kassel and her citizens were capable of in the past two decades.’ The return of the day of remembrance elicited mournful reflection but also pride in a collective achievement. Functioning as a foil to a brighter present, memories of urban destruction were integrated into a wider narrative of successful overcoming.