To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of Wiesbaden by the Allies, the Wiesbaden City Archives, in collaboration with the Frankfurt-Rhine-Main Cultural Region and the Hessian State Agency for Civic Education, organized a symposium in the spring of 2025. Under the title “80 Years Since the End of the War: A New Democratic Beginning in 1945 in the Rhine-Main Region,” approximately 100 participants gathered at the Kulturforum Wiesbaden on May 15, 2025, to exchange ideas. They discussed the end of World War II and the establishment of democratic structures in the Rhine-Main region beginning in 1945. Presentations from across the region shed light on individual perspectives and accounts of local events at the end of World War II and in the immediate postwar period. Particular attention was paid to the role of the cities and municipalities, which were the first to be staffed again with German decision-makers.

“Seen in this light, the municipalities were the foundation of the democratic state-building process in 1945,” explains Dr. Peter Quadflieg, director of the City Archives. “Eighty years ago, however, these structures first had to be rebuilt, as the Nazis had eroded local self-government starting in 1933 and replaced it with the ‘Führer principle.’” Immediately after the end of the war in 1945, the Allied occupying powers therefore began rebuilding local administrations, years before the Federal Republic was to be reestablished in 1949. Cities, municipalities, and districts were simultaneously given a key role in the democratization of political life in West Germany. 

The challenges of those days were immense. The reception of refugees and displaced persons, the repair of massive war damage, and the desperate struggle against the shortage of housing and food shaped everyday life. Amid this hardship, however, important social foundations were also laid in Hesse. Municipal assistance centers were established for those persecuted on political, racial, and religious grounds; these centers provided care for the victims of the Nazi regime, thereby initiating a necessary first confrontation with the crimes that had been committed.

“I am very pleased that the City Archives 2025 has taken on the task of commemorating the state capital of Wiesbaden’s democratic rebirth 80 years ago,” explains Dr. Hendrik Schmehl, Head of the Cultural Affairs Department. “With the written documentation of the colloquium now available, readers can review and delve deeper into the discussions from last year,” continues Schmehl, who holds a doctorate in history. “In particular, the perspective on the critical early years of our democracy 80 years ago is very fascinating.” 

The conference proceedings, now published as Volume 18 of the series “Schriften des Stadtarchivs Wiesbaden,” summarize the results of the colloquium and expand upon them with a reflection on how the end of the war has been remembered to date. “Due to the overwhelming response to the call for papers for the 2025 colloquium in Wiesbaden, not all contributions could be presented at the one-day conference at the time,” explains Quadflieg. “So it made sense to include in the conference proceedings the submissions that could not be presented at the colloquium.” Under the title “The End of the War and a New Beginning on the Rhine and Main,” the 328-page book now presents contributions from a total of 21 authors from the region. Geographically, in addition to Wiesbaden and Frankfurt am Main, the book also covers Aschaffenburg, Darmstadt, Bad Nauheim, the district of Usingen, and other locations.

Thematically, the volume covers not only accounts of the immediate end of the war and the occupation, but also the democratic establishment of local administrations, the legal and personal reckoning with Nazi crimes, and biographical approaches to the question of the challenges facing democracy in the immediate postwar period. It concludes with a reflection on the end of the war in the present day.

Published in collaboration with KulturRegion FrankfurtRheinMain and the Hessian State Agency for Civic Education, the conference proceedings are available from the Hessian State Agency and in bookstores.

Peter Quadflieg, Katherine Lukat (eds.): The End of the War and a New Beginning on the Rhine and Main. Perspectives on the End of World War II and the Beginning of Democratic Reconstruction in the Rhine-Main Region, Publications of the Wiesbaden City Archives, Vol. 18, Wiesbaden 2025, 328 pp., ISBN: 978-3-9825083-3-7, Price: 39.99 euros.