Verantwortung im Schutt – Geburtsstunde der Demokratie in Osnabrück

On April 4, the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Center opens an exhibition with numerous photos and documents showing the destroyed city of Osnabrück and the difficult years of reconstruction. The devastating bombing raids on the city in September 1944 and Palm Sunday 1945 are documented, as is the reconstruction of the town hall in 1948, 300 years after the Peace of Westphalia. Documents from the first council meetings illustrate the hopes associated with the democratic reconstruction. At the same time, notes from Remarque's letters and diaries show how the Osnabrück-born author of the anti-war classic "Nothing New in the West" followed events. Also from April 4, a photo exhibition will open in St. Mary's Church, documenting its destruction in 1944 and the reconstruction of this now 700-year-old Gothic hall church.