The historic heart of a great German city lies in ruins following Allied bombing during World War II. The stepped gables of the city's medieval civic center survive in damaged form, while the surrounding half-timbered old town has been reduced to rubble. In the distance, the city's great Gothic cathedral tower rises above the devastation, a landmark that endured even as the surrounding historic quarter was destroyed. This scene reflects the immense cultural and architectural losses suffered by Germany's historic city centers during the war. Project: 218512