Hello Folk's,
A collection of 53 photos on the liberation of the City of Frankfurt can be found here:
http://www.steel-toys.com/FL45/
The full story can be found here as an pdf file:
http://www.steel-toys.com/VETERANS/TIME ... NKFURT.pdf
The photos are starting at the River Rhein crossing at Germersheim and Nierstein (incl. Patton pissing into it
)...
...then showing some photo's of Darmstadt and the push north via the Reichsautobahn to the south of Frankfurt, passing the ruins of the Frankfurt Airport...
...and the further action's as the capture of the damaged Wilhelmbrücke and the Baseler Platz. Only some hundred meters from the badly damaged central railway station:
The primitive barricade's at the side of the Wilhelmbrücke toward's the Baseler Platz had been the last and lousy organized try of the Stadtkommandant to prevent the crossing of the river Main via this bridge.
All other bridges had been blown up by German Wehrmacht pioneer's on the 26th of March. The explosives at the Wilhelmbrücke did not work correctly so that one half was left as a passage for infantry and light vehicles.
Several soldiers have been killed at the bridge...
...and in front of the Gutleutkaserne - about 50 meters from the Baseler Platz. The Gutleut-Kaserne (in the background of the photo is the former main gate to be seen) was then up to the 1980ies a part of the US garrison in Frankfurt.
Then lateron have several officers been killed and wounded when the HQ of the Stadtkommandant Löffler was hit by a 105 mm grenade as a sort of "lucky punch" - ending the organized defense of the "Frontstadt" Frankfurt and opening the gates to the center of the State of Hesse north of Frankfurt. After all about 24 German casualties have been reported + one soldier that had been executed as a deserter... No American casualties have been reported as far as I know.
Then some more photos showing American Jeep's and troops entering the heart of the City, turning left to the Gutleut-Kaserne while other troops climbed over the anti-tank wall at the ramp of the Wilhelmbrücke and followed the Mainuferstrasse on the river banks, heading east.
By the way: the balcony of the building on this photo above has been for a while my office in about 2005.
The spearhed of the infantry was then proceeding north via the Eschersheimer Landstrasse and Berger Strasse with hundreds of remaining citizens around them - most of them smiling or laughing.
The last German troops had left only hours before the City without any further resistance, heading north.
Zero hour in Frankfurt was for many a Liberation from the Nazi-Terror at first (and no occupation).
It's from my point of view a pitty that the City of Frankfurt is not celebrating that day. Instead was a large Event on the 8th of May 2015 (VE-Day) at the Römerberg (the traditional way in Germany to celebrate the end of WW2 instead of certain Liberation Festivals).
In 2013 I was visiting the former Wilhelmbrücke (Today: Friedensbrücke = Peace Bridge) with my Dodge. Most of the building's on the Signal Corps photo's still exist today.
The screenshots are taken from the Signal Corps film material that had partwise been used for the very interesting chronological documentary of the German Spiegel TV production "Als der Krieg nach Deutschland kam".
See part 2 (of 4) from 2:46 on at youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9JUNbTn9Qw
The links to all parts:
Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYFs1DqnT4U
Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9JUNbTn9Qw
Part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYQE_pBdojc
Part 4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1YsMrqRr0Y
Keep 'em Rolling,
Joakim