Schweinfurt 1945. End of the war and invasion of US troops

End of the war in Schweinfurt in 1945. Poster: Schweinfurt City Archives

B17 “Flying Fortress” approaching Schweinfurt in 1943. Image: National Archives / Historiathek

Schweinfurt Kugelfischer 1945. Foto: National Archives / Historiathek

Schweinfurt Kugelfischer 1945. Foto: National Archives / Historiathek

April 11, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the capture of Schweinfurt by US troops. To mark the occasion, original films from the National Archives documenting the advance of the 42nd Infantry Division, the “Rainbow Division,” on Schweinfurt will be shown on that day. These historical recordings not only show the final combat operations at the end of the war, but also the image of a city that had already been severely destroyed by the devastating air raids of 1943. Particularly impressive are the film sequences showing the heavily damaged industrial facilities of Kugelfischer and Fichtel & Sachs – companies that played a central role in arms production during the war and therefore became preferred targets for Allied bombers.

As part of the film screening, I will give a brief introduction to the background of the recordings. I will discuss the US Army Signal Corps, which was responsible for documenting the war on film. Of particular note in this context is the Special Film Project (SFP), which was created for the US Air Force under the direction of renowned director William Wyler. Wyler, already a respected filmmaker in Hollywood, was commissioned to capture the air war against Germany in moving images. The documentaries produced by his team served not only to inform the US public, but also to analyze and evaluate military operations.

The films in the screening are impressive historical documents that visualize the destruction of Schweinfurt. They offer an opportunity to relive the last days of the war from the perspective of the Allied cameramen and to reflect on the historical significance of this day.