Description
Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung
25 March 1945 | 54th Year | Number 12 | Price: 20 Pfennig
Publisher: Deutscher Verlag, Berlin SW 68, Kochstraße 23
Pages scanned: 20
Cover Page
Headline: “Fliegerbomben sperren die Straße!” (Aerial Bombs Block the Road!). Two pioneers burying an aerial bomb as a roadblock near a bridge approach on the Western Front. Photo credit: SS war correspondent Meschke.
Major Headlines & Content
1. Dresden — Eine Stadt klagt an! (Dresden — A City Accuses!)
Three-page photo spread on the February 1945 bombing of Dresden. Images show the destroyed Residenzschloss, Hofkirche, Grünes Gewölbe, Münzkabinett, the Zwinger (before and after), the Frauenkirche in ruins, and rubble-filled streets. Also shows the ruins of the Kunstakademie. An Allied HQ denial (17 February) that terror bombing had been agreed upon is quoted and challenged. Photos by: SS war correspondent Zschäckel.
2. An der Oderfront / An der schlesischen Front
Hitler at an army corps headquarters briefing on the Oder Front (photo by Presse-Hoffmann). Dr. Goebbels inspecting veteran Lauban fighters on the market square of Lauban after the city’s recapture. Also: Goebbels receiving a European workers’ delegation; SS-Obergruppenführer and Waffen-SS General vom Bach with Colonel Rudel discussing the Immelmann squadron’s deployment against Soviet tanks. Photos: Presse-Hoffmann, Transocean, SS war correspondent Ahrens.
3. Winterstürme / In der Marienburg
Feature on winter storms battering harbour walls, with 100,000 kg concrete blocks tossed like toys. Lower photos show the interior of the Marienburg (Malbork fortress): Stabschef Schepmann addressing Navy, Army, and Luftwaffe men in a historic ceremony; a grenadier with Panzerfaust standing watch behind the fortress walls. Photos: Köhrich and Kühn (Transocean).
4. Großstadt an der Westfront (Big City on the Western Front)
Civilian resilience in a bombed German city near the Western Front. Images: a bunker wall painted with “Allen Gewalten zum Trotz sich erhalten!”; a landlady chalking the menu for her cellar restaurant “Zum Elschen”; women fetching water from a converted fuel tanker; a Party speaker briefing residents in a cinema-turned-meeting-room. Photo credit: SS war correspondent Ahrens.
5. Brückenkopf am Gran (Bridgehead on the Gran/Hron River, Hungary)
German grenadiers advancing between Gran (Esztergom) and Donau (Danube) through flooded roads. Photos show Luftwaffe fighter pilots greeted by ground troops, tank grenadiers resting in maize stubble, and Panzerfaust-armed troops riding tanks toward a new strongpoint. Photo credit: War correspondent Waske.
6. Schule im Bunker / Rheinische Mädchen (School in the Bunker / Rhenish Girls)
Children attending class in a bunker in a front-line village (schoolhouse destroyed). Photos show the bunker entrance and a lesson in progress. Adjacent feature shows six laundry girls — bombed-out volunteers from a Rhenish city — washing clothes for grenadiers and Volkssturm men. All six hold the War Service Cross; four are nurses. Photos: SS war correspondent Henisch; SS war correspondent Unger.
7. Nur Fotos künden noch davon — Kültürdenkmäler des deutschen Volkes (Only Photos Still Bear Witness — Cultural Monuments of the German People)
Two-page spread documenting destroyed German artworks photographed in color by Führer commission before their destruction. Featured locations and works: Aachen — wall murals by Alfred Rethel in the Rathaus, including “Karl der Große rettet das Abendland in der Schlacht bei Cordova”; Mainz — ceiling fresco “Olympisches Konzert” (1767) by Januarius Zick in the electoral palace; Frankfurt am Main — wall paintings “Rettung vor den Sarazenen” (1514/17) by Jerg Ratgeb in the Carmelite monastery.
Other Content
Film feature — “Im ¾ Takt” (In ¾ Time): Photo spread from the Terra-Film production of “Die Fledermaus” (Johann Strauss operetta), directed by G. v. Bolvary. Cast includes Johannes Heesters (Eisenstein), Marte Harell (Rosalinde), Siegfried Breuer (Prinz Orlofsky), Willy Fritsch (Frank), Dorit Kreysler (Adele), Josef Egger (Frosch).
Fiction serial — “Das Unverlierbare” by Maria von Kirchbach: Romantic novel set in Engadin (Switzerland) and Lugano. Characters include Professor Luis Carlon, Olivia Muralt, Berto, Nina, and Piero. Continues across two pages.
Fiction serial — “In Bornemans Gasthof am Rande der Welt” by Norbert Jacques: Exotic adventure story set in Brazil, featuring a Swiss innkeeper, colonists, and an Aipim (cassava) teacher. Continues.
Science article — “Das Tier und sein Raum” (The Animal and Its Territory): By Dr. h.c. Rudolf Mell. Part II — observations on insects: territorial behavior of bees, wasps, beetles, paper butterflies (Cyrestis), caterpillars, and migratory butterflies. Covers the relationship between climate, geography and insect territory.
Puzzles, cartoons & advertisements: Full puzzle page (Rätsel) including crossword grid, syllable puzzle, number puzzle, small poem “Die leichte Muse” by Gerti Brode. Back-page cartoon strip “Seid nett zueinander” (Be Nice to Each Other) by R. Schwarz — wartime civilian humor. Advertisements for Mercedes-Benz, Kaweco fountain pens, Tosca/4711 Eau de Cologne, Pelikan carbon paper, and Dr. Böger photocopy machines (Berlin W35, Potsdamer Straße 64).
Editorial Note
Chief editor: Dr. Ewald Wüsten. Advertising: Herbert Hodortt, Berlin. Annual subscription: 2.60 Mark plus 18 Pf. delivery. Published and printed by Deutscher Verlag, Berlin SW 68, Kochstraße 23. This document is a historical artifact for research purposes.