May 8, as the official end of World War II, is associated with vastly different personal experiences for people of that era. Germany was now a defeated and occupied country. At the same time, this date marked the end of the Nazi regime in Germany. For concentration camp survivors, May 8 was a day of liberation, while for the majority of Germans it signified the occupation of the German Reich. Refugees and displaced persons associated the end of the war with their expulsion from their homeland. Prisoners of war and forced laborers, on the other hand, were able to return home. 

In any case, the end of World War II marks a fundamental turning point in German history. War losses, as well as the confrontation with the roles of perpetrators and victims, triggered social discourses in the immediate postwar period that shaped the collective memory of the German people. For a long time, the end of the war in West Germany was associated with the defeat and downfall of the old Reich. Starting in the 1970s, the significance of May 8 as the day of liberation from National Socialism gained acceptance. “The horrors and atrocities of the war’s end are remembered very individually within families. In particular, the loss of loved ones, as well as the experience of losing one’s home, shape memories within families,” says Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende. “The immediate postwar period is also associated with food shortages, scarcity, and uncertainty,” says Mende. “It was the municipalities that had to take on the difficult task of addressing these shortages. At the same time, it was also up to them to rebuild destroyed administrative structures,” emphasizes the mayor. 

In the culture of remembrance, May 8 is not only associated with the end of the Nazi regime but is also regarded as the beginning of democratic reconstruction. The state capital of Wiesbaden is marking the 81st anniversary of the end of the war by exploring the thesis of democratic reconstruction during a commemorative ceremony. On Friday, May 8, at 5 p.m. at WerkRaum (the former Sport-Scheck building, Langgasse 5-9), Dr. Philipp Kratz will examine political rule and denazification in Wiesbaden in 1945 and 1955. Following opening remarks by Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende, the historian will use Wiesbaden as an example to explain the thesis that the new beginning was initially anything but democratic. This becomes particularly clear when the power structures and the degree of denazification in 1945 are compared with the situation in 1955. This comparison is based on the speaker’s local historical studies as well as the findings of recent historical research on National Socialism and its aftermath. 

Dr. Philipp Kratz’s lecture is based on his contribution to Volume 18 of the series “Schriften des Stadtarchivs Wiesbaden” (Publications of the Wiesbaden City Archives), titled “Kriegsende und Neuanfang an Rhein und Main” (End of the War and New Beginnings on the Rhine and Main), which was recently published in collaboration with the Hessian State Agency for Civic Education and the KulturRegion Frankfurt-Rhein-Main.