Gückelhorn, W. Kriegsende und dann ...?

When the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Germany's path to war was mapped out. In the years that followed, the state and the people were brought into line and militarised. Germany's invasions of its neighbouring countries triggered a global war. The consequences of the war were also felt in our homeland from the very beginning. The stationing of Wehrmacht troops and military hospitals in the district, the first bombing raids, casualties and deaths of our population made it clear to all citizens that the people were suffering. From 1944 onwards, the war intensified here too, the loss of life increased enormously and much of the district was destroyed in the bombing raids.

The criminal treatment of prisoners of war, forced labourers and concentration camp inmates became visible to everyone. Despite the ruthless mobilisation of citizens to defend their homeland, the ground war rolled over us in March 1945. Civilian deaths, evacuation and hardship became a matter of course. Everyday life was dominated by total defeat. Civilian structures were painstakingly rebuilt under Allied military administration. The mourning for the dead and the uncertainty about family members in foreign captivity made a new start difficult. An exemplary instinct for self-preservation and the help of former enemies created a new democratic state in the centre of Europe. In order to emphasise this value, the documentary relentlessly portrays the painful conditions in a modern war. We would like to encourage the reader to show critical civil courage. The contributors to the documentation: Agnes Menacher born in 1957 in Weißenthurm, studied history and ethnology, lives in Remagen and has been the honorary director of the Sinzig Castle Museum of Local History since 1985. Curator of the exhibition. Rudolf Menacher born in 1950 in Selters and grew up in Höhr-Grenzhausen, studied church music, German and biology, lives in Remagen and was a senior teacher at the Rhein-Gymnasium in Sinzig until 2014. Kurt Kleemann born in 1956 and lives in Sinzig, studied history and German language and literature, has worked in Remagen since 1987 for the Remagen Bridge Peace Museum, the Remagen Roman Museum and since 1994 for the town archives. Leonhard Janta born 1955, studied German and English with an M.A., district archivist in Ahrweiler, lives in Bad Breisig. Olaf Goebel born in Hannoversch-Münden in 1947 and grew up in Remagen. After leaving school, he worked as a journalist for the Rhein-Zeitung newspaper, most recently as head of the Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler editorial team. Author of hiking guides. Wolfgang Gückelhorn was born in Bonn in 1947 and has lived in Bad Breisig ever since. Studied at the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences and graduated with a degree in engineering (FH), served as a regular soldier and most recently as a retired lieutenant colonel. Author of many documentaries on the Second World War in the Rhineland since 2002.