Zerstörung am Haus der Schweiz

April 10, 1941

Here we can see the destroyed roof of the “Haus der Schweiz” and adjacent building at Unter den Linden 22/23 Ecke Friedrichstraße 155 on these two images taken from a video film. This original film-footage filmed on April 10, 1941, recorded the damage taken from the previous night raid by British RAF bombers over Berlin-Mitte, the one which destroyed the Opera building and several others too at Unter den Linden.

Photo: still from film, worldfilmheritagecom

Photo: still from film, worldfilmheritagecom

During the war, this zone was severely damaged by Allied bombings, the building was hit on the evening of 9/10 April 1941 during the raid made by RAF British bombers which affected many areas in Berlin-Mitte including the famous Staatsoper den Linden. Some bombs hit this area on February 3, 1945, during the massive US air strike on Berlin, with serious damage to adjacent buildings including the famous Hotel Viktoria next to the Swiss House.

Later in April 1945, the Soviet final offensive in the city inflicted more damage, shrapnel an bullets holed her walls, but thanks to the modern construction method, this building survived the bombing of Berlin at the end of war as the only one in the close area relatively intact.

Still from film taken from a Russian newsreel following the end of the battle, May 1945. Soviet troops and vehicles (notice the American Jeep) at the ruined Friedrichstraße near Unter den Linden, the Haus der Schweiz can be seen in the middle, note the facade figure. Photo: film Archive British Pathé 1157.02

The Haus der Schweiz with burnt out facade and the ruined Café Viktoria at right seen in the summer of 1945. Photo: RGAKFD

Unter den Linden Ecke Fridrichstr. with ruined Haus der Schweiz building, seen in 1946. Photo: Photo12/Collection Bernard Crochet

The Friedrichstraße/ Unter den Linden corner in the East Berlin sector in October 1946. Notice splinter damage to the walls and columns of the building. Photo: akg-images (AKG118790)

1948: the ruins of the Schweizerhaus as a background at Unter den Linden avenue. Photo by Walter Schuze/ akg-images (AKG59043)

The Swiss House or ‘Schweizerhaus’ would be partly destroyed in 1945 the final Soviet assault to capture the city. Postwar, the DDR government reconstructed the building from 1950 but did not want to mess with Swiss banks. Nevertheless, they used the house for their own purposes.

The junction of these two main streets was heavily rebuilt during the post-war years as we can see in this picture taken in September 1959. The Café Viktoria was demolished and the space left empty during many many years as was the case in several other locations in East Berlin. Note Bhf-Friedrichtraße’s bridge in the background.

Photo: Hailstone, Allan. (2017). Berlin in the Cold War: 1959 to 1966. Amberley Publishing

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Sources and Bibliography:

• Donath, Matthias. Architecture in Berlin 1933–1945: A Guide Through Nazi Berlin. Lukas Verlag, 2006

• Hailstone, Allan. Berlin in the Cold War: 1959 to 1966. Amberley Publishing, 2017

• Landesarchiv Berlin. LAB, A Rep. 001-02, Nr. 698, Bl. 24 ff., s. a. Nr. 700, Bl. 171 ff

• Langbein, Lena (2011). Das “Haus der Schweiz” in Berlin wird 75 Jahre alt. <swissinfo.ch>

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