When the guns finally fall silent in Germany on May 7, 1945, people breathe a sigh of relief. An immense pressure lifts from them. They can now sleep peacefully again and go shopping or to the fields without fear of low-flying aircraft. In the towns, streetlights shine again at night, bicycles, and the few cars are back on the roads with their lights on. After Germany was gradually overrun by Allied troops from the West and East in early 1945, the official establishment of four occupation zones follows in the summer of 1945, marking the beginning of the planned decentralization of Germany. This book describes for us and all future generations what it means to live in a defeated and bombed country.