The dramatic end of Aachen: defeat, victim and propaganda!

The dramatic end of Aachen: defeat, victim and propaganda!

Aachen, Deutschland - On October 21, 1944, Colonel Gerhard Wilck, the last German city commander of Aachen, surrendered after severe fighting and massive destruction of the city. Despite his heroic radio sayings and the claim that the German troops would continue to resist, reality was different: Wilck knew that his strongly overpaid folk grenadier divisions against the 100,000 American soldiers who advanced on Aachen were without chance. The fights between the 13th and 21st October were among the most brutal of the Second World War, with high losses on both sides - around 2,000 American and 5,000 German soldiers fell, while many more were captured.

The city, once a significant historical place, was in ruins after the surrender. Instead of 73,000 civilians, there were only about 5,000 in the city, which was now under American control and urgently had to be supplied with food. While the Allies initially planned to bypass Aachen, the bitter resistance was an unexpected turn in the battle, which delayed the Allies' fast advance to the Rhine. Wilck was captured by the Americans after his surrender, while the consequences for the civilian population and the historical substance of the city were devastating according to information from www.welt.de .