Heidelberg remembers: Photo exhibition shows life after the war!

Heidelberg remembers: Photo exhibition shows life after the war!

On May 8, 1945, World War II ended in Europe, a historic turning point that ended the Nazi reign of terror. In this context, the University of Heidelberg is presenting an important photo exhibition entitled “1945: Heidelberg – All Lost?” This will be ceremoniously opened on May 4, 2025 and is dedicated to the diverse perspectives of the people who lived during this time marked by war and persecution. How uni-heidelberg.de Reportedly, Heidelberg was undestroyed in 1945 except for the Neckar bridges. However, the population was deeply affected by the experiences of the dictatorship and the war.

In the first post-war years, Heidelberg was not only home to US occupation soldiers, but also former forced laborers and victims of National Socialist persecution. These groups had to come to terms with bombed-out people, war returnees and refugees, which turned the city into a microcosm of the post-war period. Prof. Engehausen describes Heidelberg as a way station, home, place of repression and goal of hope.

The exhibition in detail

The photo exhibition addresses five important aspects of this time:

• Einmarsch der Amerikaner und Beginn der Besatzungsherrschaft.
• Entnazifizierung und demokratische Reorganisation.
• Lebenswelt der Displaced Persons (DPs).
• Ernährungs- und Versorgungslage in der Stadt.
• Wiederbeginn des öffentlichen Bildungswesens und Kulturlebens.

The exhibition offers impressive insights into the realities of people's lives through city views and photographs from the first months after the war. During the research by doctoral students, materials from the Heidelberg City Archives, the Heidelberg University Archives and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum were used.

The situation of the displaced persons who lived in Germany in the post-war period is particularly worth mentioning. In the spring of 1945, the Allied armies in Germany numbered an estimated 6.5 to 7.5 million DPs. The term “DP” stands for people who fled, were expelled or deported from their homeland due to the Second World War. germanhistorydocs.org explains that the DPs included forced laborers, prisoners of war and former concentration camp inmates, while German refugees from East Prussia and the Sudeten Mountains were not given DP status. The living conditions for many of these people were extremely difficult.

Challenges of repatriation

A significant problem for DPs, especially for people from the Soviet Union, was (forced) repatriation. Repatriation often took place under problematic conditions; Many Ukrainians and people from the Baltic countries were threatened with returning to substandard living conditions. bpb.de points out that the Western Allies initially tolerated the repatriation of Russian DPs, but soon realized the difficulties involved. A UN resolution from 1946 ultimately called for repatriation to be voluntary.

Resistance and difficulties when returning meant that many DPs stayed in Germany and sometimes tried to build a new life in urban areas. These complex realities of life also led to tensions with the German population, who often showed envy and resentment towards the DPs. Prejudices and anti-Semitic comments did not make the situational assessment of the DPs' status any easier.

The photo exhibition in Heidelberg, which will be on view from May 5th to July 11th, 2025, provides both historical and human perspectives on a barely illuminated phase of post-war history. The opening on May 4th at 11 a.m. in the foyer of the New University will initiate an important discourse about the experiences of the DPs and the challenges of the post-war period. The introduction to the event will be given by doctoral student Nils Jochum.