Stunde Null is the German language equivalent of "zero hour", a military planning term indicating the beginning of some operation or event. Historically, Stunde Null specifically refers to the capitulation of the Nazi government on May 8, 1945 at midnight, marking the end of World War II in Germany. The period immediately following this time is the Nachkriegszeit, "time after the war". German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... Jump to: navigation, search Look up Nazi on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jump to: navigation, search May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th-century conflict that...

Nachkriegszeit

When the Russians (who were the first occupying power) arrived in Berlin, they saw a city devastated by the air raids and street fighting. It was described as a Geisterstadt, a ghost town. Strategic bombing is a military strategem used in a total war style campaign that attempts to destroy the economic ability of a nation-state to wage war. ...

The extent of the devastation

• From the 245,000 buildings in Berlin before the war, around 48,000 were destroyed
• 1/3 of all private apartments were totally destroyed
• 23% of industrial capacity was obliterated and the rest was dismantled for transportation by the Russians in the Demontage
• 75 million tonnes of rubble, which equated to 1/7 of all the rubble in Germany
• All electricity, gas and water supplies were destroyed
  • It was forbidden to wash one's whole body
• The transport network was badly destroyed:
  • The underground stations had been flooded and over 900 of them had been bombed.
  • The first buses resumed service on 19 May.
• 78,000 Deaths:
  • 50,000 victims of the air raids
  • 977 suicides
• A further 4000 died on a daily basis in August 1945, because of the cholera and diphtheria epidemics
• The population shrank and the demography was significantly altered:
  • 4.3 million lived in Berlin before the war, after it was only 2.8 million
  • 1/4 of the population were over 60
  • 1 in 10 was under 30
  • 16 women to every 10 men

Devestation in Berlin File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Underground as an adjective commonly refers to something that is either below the ground or outside of public consciousness. ... A bus is a large wheeled vehicle, intended to carry numerous persons in addition to the driver. ... Jump to: navigation, search May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is an infectious disease, caused by bacteria that are typically ingested by drinking water that is contaminated by improper sanitation, or by eating improperly cooked fish, especially shellfish. ... An epidemic is a disease that appears as new cases in the population in a period of time at a rate (the number of new cases in the population during a specified period of time is called the incidence rate) that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experence. ...

Das Aufräumen - The Clean-Up

The job of cleaning up the city fell to the Russians, as they were there first (the Western Allies arrived on 4 July 1945); according to them, the clean-up operation would last 12 years. Rubble Women - Berlin File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples, within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. The term is generally understood to refer to the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (from 1939), exiled forces from Occupied Europe (from 1940), the United States (from 1941), and... Jump to: navigation, search July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

On the 29 May 1945, all women, aged between 15 and 65 were conscripted as Trümmerfrauen (Rubble Women). 60,000 women worked to rebuild Berlin. Jump to: navigation, search May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Rations and starvation

The biggest problem that the Berliners had to face was the threat of starvation. German war-time ration cards were no longer valid. Any remaining rations were either used to feed Russian troops or stolen by hungry Germans. Starvation is a severe reduction in vitamin, nutrient, and energy intake, and is the most extreme form of malnutrition. ... A ration card is a card issued by a government allowing the holder to obtain certain rations. ...

On 15 May the Russians introduced a new 5-tier ration card system. The highest tier was reserved for intellectuals and artists. Trümmerfrauen and Schwerarbeiter (manual workers) received the second tier card, which was more valuable to them than the 12 Reichsmarks they received for cleaning a 1000 bricks. The lowest card, nicknamed the Friedhofskarte (cemetery ticket) was issued to housewives and the elderly. An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, and speculate on a variety of different ideas. ... An artist is someone who employs creative talent to produce works of art. ... A 100 Reichsmark banknote from Germany of 1935 (http://www. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery or graveyard is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... A stereotypical housewife A homemaker is a person whose prime occupation is to care for their family and home. ...

During this period, the average Berliner was around 6 to 9 kg underweight. KG, Kg or kg may indicate: A Kampfgeschwader, a bomber squadron of the former German Luftwaffe Basketball Player Kevin Garnett An abbreviation for kilogram (always kg) Knight of the Garter, a British decoration Kommanditgesellschaft, German version of a limited partnership Kongo language (ISO 639 alpha-2) An abbreviation for konig...

Other sources of food

Due to the meagre rations, the black market came into its own. 4000 visited it daily. Payment was either in cigarettes or by bartering. The black market is the sector of economic activity involving illegal economic dealings, typically the buying and selling of merchandise illegally. ... Jump to: navigation, search A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... Barter is a form of trade where goods or services are exchanged for a certain amount of other goods or services, i. ...

There were even rumours of cannibalism and the trading of human flesh. A rumor (British English: rumour) is a piece of purportedly true information that is circulated without substantiating evidence. ... Jump to: navigation, search Cannibalism in Brazil in 1557 as described by Hans Staden. ... Jump to: navigation, search Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens For other uses, see Human (disambiguation). ...

Two new words entered the German vocabulary during 1945: hamstern and fringsen. Jump to: navigation, search Look up word on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jump to: navigation, search A vocabulary is a set of words known to a person or other entity, or that are part of a specific language. ...

Hamstern 

This meant to travel in to the countryside, in order to exchange possessions for food. Anything from watches and jewellery to blankets and rugs were exchanged for very small amounts of food.

Fringsen 

It meant to steal to survive. This word is etymologically based on the name Cardinal Frings, a senior figure in the Catholic Church of Cologne, who famously gave his blessing to those who had to steal in order to feed their family.

Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ... Possession is having some degree of control over something else. ... Jump to: navigation, search A watch A watch is a small portable clock that displays the time and sometimes the day, date, month and year. ... Jewellery (Jewelry in American spelling); consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... A quilt is one type of blanket. ... A rug can be: a carpet with a finished edge, particularly one that can be moved slang for a toupee a rug is a garment made by humans to protect their pets from the elements, as in a horse rug or dog coat RUG, short for Rijksuniversiteit Groningen or The... The term steal can mean either: To commit theft In baseball, to gain a stolen base In basketball, stealing the ball from the opponents team This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ... The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... Jump to: navigation, search Cologne skyline at night with river Rhine in the foreground and famous Cologne Cathedral on the right. ...

Der Elendswinter - 1945-46

This was one of the coldest winters in living memory. Temperatures plummeted to -30°C and there was no protection from the biting cold in the bombed out houses. 40,000 people suffered from hypothermia and 1000 died as a result. The Berlin Magistrat created official Wärmeräume (warm rooms) for people to warm themselves in. In many parts of the world, winter is associated with snow. ... Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ... C (lowercase c) is the third letter of the Roman alphabet. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hypothermia is a medical condition in which the victims core body temperature has dropped to significantly below normal and normal metabolism begins to be impaired. ...

Crime

In 1946, Berlin was a crime capital: In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ...

• 240 robberies a day
• 5 murders a day.

The criminals were mostly: See also Day (language) A day (symbol: d) is a unit of time. ...

• The destitute
• The homeless

External links

• The End As The Beginning - exhibit at the Deutsches Historisches Museum (in German)
• Die Stunde Null (in German)