ONS ZERSCHLOEN DIERFER

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“Wat kascht dat Iéchternach ons vill souen!” This is how the responsible reconstruction commissioner Joseph Schroeder is said to have voiced his consternation at the harsh conditions in the war-ravaged border town of Echternach in mid-1946. 

The “oldest city in Luxembourg“ had been particularly battered, having been bitterly defended as a “bridgehead“ by Third Reich troops in September 1944 until, after evacuation of most of the civilian population, it was belatedly captured by the 83rd Infantry Division in October 1944. However, the Ardennes Offensive, which raged in December 1944 and January 1945 and definitely reduced the badly mauled Echternach to rubble, put a stop to a speedy return of its inhabitants.

Many Echternach residents did not return until mid-1945 and found themselves facing a pile of rubble. The post-war period meant cleaning up the war chaos and tackling the Herculean tasks of reconstruction.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes? Following the double exhibition “Ons zerschloen Dierfer” opened in 2021, we invite you to the new special exhibition “Ons zerschloen Dierfer – Echternach“, which focuses on the multi-layered challenges of local reconstruction.