Cologne, Nullzeit

I looked at the liberation of Cologne in 1945.

The image of the cathedral, surrounded by the rubble, was also a reminder that the past -- the mythic past of German nationalism -- was irretrievable. What was left behind was the city made by the empire; what remained was the medieval city and its faith.

I also found some links to the music of the Edelweiss Pirates, a youth group that opposed the Hitler Jugend, and posted Eric Johnson's description of youth and persecution in Nazi Germany.