On New Year’s Day 1945, Joseph Goebbels observed in his diary:
Day and night heavy enemy attacks again have taken place, especially on Koblenz, Kassel and Cologne. The city of Koblenz has been hit especially hard in recent weeks, and Cologne slowly is being transformed into a complete pile of rubble. These Rhenish cities are to be most deeply pitted. Their remaining population is leading a truly hellish existence. I have received a dreadful report about the last heavy night attack on Heilbronn from a colleague whom I sent there. The city is 70 to 80 percent destroyed. It exists without water, without gas, without electricity. The mood in the city is very grave. Again and again one has to ask oneself the question: How long will our people endure these terrible bombardments without sinking into lethargy? We can be happy that the current situation at the front is not contributing further to such a development of morale. The situation at the front currently is halfway bearable again. But I believe that where it is calm, that is the calm before the storm.
Source:
Bessel, Richard. “A World in Flames.” Germany 1945: From War to Peace. New York, NY, HarperCollins, 2009. 10, 11. Print.
Original Source Listed:
Fröhlich (ed.), Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels, Vol. 15, pp. 32-33.
Further Reading:
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