Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche Berlin

The Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church was built as a Protestant church from 1891 to 1895 by order of Emperor Wilhelm II in memory of his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I. The church is popularly known as Gedächtniskirche.

On the night of November 22-23, 1943, the Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church was heavily damaged in an Allied bombing raid on Berlin. Only a portion of the tower and the reception area remained standing.

After the Second World War, it was decided to preserve the remainder of the tower and the reception area as a reminder of the war. Amongst other items a "Cross of Nails" is placed in the remains of the tower and the reception area in memory of the German bombing of the English city of Coventry.

In addition to the remains of the church a new octagonal church hall and an octagonal bell tower were built with around 20,000 windows of stained glass. The new church hall and bell tower were inaugurated in 1961.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Bert Deelman (1, 2, 3, 4), Fedor de Vries (5)
• Battle of Berlin: November 22nd 1943
• MIDDLEBROOK, M. & EVERITT, C., The Bomber Command War Diaries, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, 2014.