The Battle of Berlin, 1935

JF Ptak Science Books LLC  Post 869

 

Well, it wasn’t really a battle, but the Nazi government was getting ready for one. As reported in this 30 March 1935 issue of The Illustrated London News.  There was an elaborate preparedness drill conducted in the Kreuzberg district of south Berlin ten days earlier—“the most realistic air raid exercises ever planned”. 

The Germans attacked themselves with scores of low flying planes that dropped “deafening” false bombs; meanwhile the streets were swirling with gases that smelled like poison gas, cars were blaze, abandoned buildings were lit up with pyrotechnics, and there were heaps of rubble here and there.  The population not otherwise engaged in defense measures were all sent to evacuation shelters and centers.  There were drills for gas attacks and subsequent decontamination, firefighting, saving people from collapsed buildings, caring for children and the elderly, aid stations, medical triage, and so on.  Anti-bombing measures were also taken for nighttime raids, with blackouts, and general light-lessening measures on all levels and quarters—for example, streetlights and street sign lamps were replaced with much lower wattage bulbs.  It looks like it was a pretty big event--I’ll have to check my Illustriete Zeitung/Leipzig for the German coverage.

 

Without being an historian of the 1930’s preparations for war defense, it seems to me that there was an awful lot of this going on in England, France and Germany through most of the decade.

[The illustration above is a charming overstatement of the obvious, right down to the little flaglettes on either side of the (500-pound ?) bomb.  The sign reads "Closed Thoroughfare//Danger to Life" (sorta).

I doubt that there would be that much need for a sign or flags, but if I was going to use anything at all I might place it a little further away from the unexploded device.  (I can just imagine people inching forward to be able to read what the relatively small print on the sign actually said...)

 

At this point it may be interesting to have a look at an older post here on the creation of the false Paris.    

Comments

[Brett]

Without being an historian of the 1930’s preparations for war defense

Well, who is? :)

it seems to me that there was an awful lot of this going on in England, France and Germany through most of the decade.

Yes, although it started later in the UK than in other countries. Public ARP programmes, including drills, only started there in mid-1935, whereas France, Germany and Italy had all been carrying out exercises since at least 1933.

[John Ptak]

Brett--well, I can think of at least one person who probably is. Thanks for the info!