Berlin After the War

Following the end of World War II, photographer Hein Gorny took spectacular aerial shots of the ravaged German capital. His son Peter explains how Hein defied a flying ban imposed by the Allies and managed to snap the dramatic shots.

Pariser Platz: The grand buildings around the 1.5-acre square east of the Brandenburg Gate were severely damaged during the air raids. On the right-hand side of the picture are the ruins of the former palace of Max Liebermann.

In the last few days of the war, many buildings around Alexanderplatz square were destroyed. From left the photo shows, the Wertheim department store, the train station, the Berolina house, the Tietz shopping center and the Alexanderhaus.

Stettin Station: Only one building was left standing from the train station built in 1842. Today Berlin's Nordbahnhof station stands on this spot.

Central Berlin. This photo gives a view of the opera, the Pergamon Museum, and the New and the Old Museums. Also visible are the stock exchange, the Berlin Cathedral, Lustgarten, the Royal Palace, the Academy of Architecture and the Friedrichswerder church.

Berlin Reichstag: The towers of the building were expanded in 1941 to serve as flak towers. The cellar was used as a birthing clinic by the local hospital during the war.

The Reichstag building, designed by architect Paul Wallot, was constructed 1884-1894. The war left it severely damaged. It remained a ruin until the 1960s.

The view towards Leipziger Street: Around Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz immediately after the war, only skeletal facades remain of the once magnificent residential and commercial buildings.

A.C. BYERS/HEIN GORNY/COLLECTION

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