Why are postcards of Cologne in ruins following WW2 bombing sold in the city? [closed]
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Two years ago I visited Cologne and while I very much enjoyed my stay, one thing did stick out for me as incredibly odd.
Souvenir shops in addition to selling key rings, fridge magnets and standard postcards of the city, would also sell postcards with images of the Cologne cathedral or other parts of the city ruined by bombing in the Second World War.
Can someone please explain this peculiarity? Am I missing some important aspect of German culture here? I've never seen this anywhere else.
I can't imagine sending this to someone abroad, what would I say with it? 'Look at the beautiful destruction the Allied bombers inflicted upon our lovely city'. It struck me as something very right-wing (probably something the NPD would probably do) and just weird to find in a standard tourist shop.
When I asked my German friend about it, he quipped that it was so '... the Germans never forget who the true enemy is!'. But was otherwise just as dumbfound as I was.
Best Answer
There was a bombing campaign by the RAF only 4 days before the city was captured by the American forces. Perhaps it is to act as a reminder to some of the needless operations against the civilian population right at the end of the war when the outcome was fairly certain.
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The Aftermath of World War II: Collaboration \u0026 Retribution
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