Have you ever heard about the rubble women, or Trümmerfrauen in German? They were the bold women and girls who stepped in to reconstruct German cities after the severe destruction wrought by the second world war. Read on to get inspired by their courage and resilience.
After the second world war, the once-grand German cities were almost unrecognizable, with many streets blocked by the remains of destroyed buildings.
Following this, many females were confronted with the gargantuan task of trying to restore the pre-war image of the cities.
For us, the story of the Trümmerfrauen remains a positive factor shaping Germany’s collective spirit. However, from a layman’s perspective, it is tricky to asses today. Like with any other historic issue, there are some doubts, for example as to how many of the women were actual volunteers. If you want to dig deeper to make up your own mind, check out this article.
Sources: Trümmerfrau, Wikipedia, ”Berlin’s Rubble Women” on BBC
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illustrations: Berk Karaoglu, CC BY-SA 3.0, historic photos of the Bundesarchiv used under CC-BY-SA 3.0 licence: 1. B 145 Bild-F080294-0007 / Vollrath; 2. Bild 183-14328-0001; 3. Bild 183-25893-0001; 4. Bild 183-25093-0002; 5. Bild 183-S94177
