Juncker bombing

[tegunn]

"Glaser & Sohn, Dresden were bombed out too and the factory was totally destroyed. But the dies survived and were found .... they were "destroyed" some days later by the rain because the were very sensitive against rust and couldn't be used anymore."

Andreas,
Yes, apparently the dies didn't take a direct hit! Sounds the the factory was rendered unusable..
Randy

[Leroy]

I'm bringing this old thread back to the top based on some new research results I have.

The belief seems to be that Juncker was destroyed in a bombing in late 1944. Although it is POSSIBLE that Juncker was hit by a stray RAF bomb during that time period, British missions over Berlin were basically flown by Mosquitos and other lighter aircraft beginning in the Summer of 1944 and continuing into the first part of 1945, the "heavy" bomber offensive having concluded in the Spring of 1944 as Allied forces concentrated on targets relating to the Invasion. The British missions were basically "harassment" missions.

The great bulk of bomber missions to Berlin, following the main bomber offensive of Fall, 1943 to Spring, 1944, were flown by the American Air Force; however, between September, 1944 and the middle of February, 1945, the U.S. flew only THREE missions to Berlin. I know this is hard to believe, but it is true and verifiable. Of those three missions, two were nowhere near the Juncker location, instead concentrating on other areas of the city. Only one, on February 3, 1945, went to the area of the city occupied by Juncker.

I was able to obtain from the U.S. National Archives, this Summer, bombing reports (declassified for the first time as part of this research)
to follow up on my interest in resolving the Juncker question. Here is the bombing report of February 3, 1945, including a "post-strike" photo of the "bomb tracks", showing the Juncker location (in red) as being directly involved. Because of the type and number of bombs dropped, I personally have no doubt that Juncker was badly damaged, if not totally destroyed, by this particular attack. Now whether a previous raid had already damaged it, I do not know at this point. And, by the same token, I can't say for sure that the dies were really destroyed (whether by a previous stray bomb or the raid on February 3, 1945). I DO think it is possible to say with relative certainty that following February 3, 1945, Juncker was as least so badly damaged that continued production would have been impossible.

Additional research is ongoing and I have been assured of more detailed information (immediate postwar de-nazification programs) in the next few months.

Here's the post-strike report. Look especially at iii (A)(5). Juncker was Southwest of the Air Ministry (approximately 1300 yards away).

[Leroy]

Second page.

[Leroy]

Third page.

[Leroy]

Fourth page.

[Leroy]

Post-strike photo. Juncker is red dot.

[Douglas 5]

Hi Leroy :
What great documents ! You made my day ! I knew sooner or later bombing reports would be releast , just a matter of time . This report is important and aids the information I have been able to obtain through another source . Juncker factory was spread over 4 lots/building sites of which 3 were leveled one survide dammaged -the Ritterstrasse location .

Douglas

[Dietrich Maerz]

Hi Gentry,

as I already said: great information! And it proves that if you dig deep and long enough one will find the real thing! It is out there!

Thanks for that!

Dietrich

[Leroy]

Thanks, guys!

I have been assured that there is significant information still to be found, as very comprehensive records were kept, especially in Berlin, regarding Allied efforts to investigate and totally "de-nazify" commercial companies involved in production of material (including badges, decoration and insignia) for the former government.

We'll see what's still sitting in boxes. It really is like the giant warehouse from 'Indiana Jones'!

[Robert T.]

We'll see what's still sitting in boxes. It really is like the giant warehouse from 'Indiana Jones'!

Nicely done!...

___________
Robert

[Leroy]

I'm bringing this back up for a status report.

More records have now been examined at the National Archives. This time, the search was in material relating to seizure (in Berlin) by Allied authorities of property owned by Party members. Unfortunately, nothing for Juncker, BUT the search did reveal that Alte Jacobstrasse ended up in the RUSSIAN zone, so there are no real postwar records of seizure activity in this area in the U.S. archives, except for one (which was due to mistake, because of a zone mix-up). The property seized came from the grounds of 65 Alte Jacobstrasse, just down the street from Juncker. Of great interest is that the structure there was noted as being "Completely destroyed". While not conclusive, this certainly indicates that the street was hard hit by the bombing shown in my previous posts.

Because this area ended up in the Russian zone, there is little hope of finding anything else in U.S. records.

Here are some photos. First, some of the boxes in the Archives.

[Leroy]

Cover page.

[Leroy]

Second page. Fascinating to me that all this stuff is still kept, unread, in the Archives.

[Leroy]

Last page.

[Douglas 5]

That is quit interesting . Then Alte Jakobstrasse as one of the Juncker properties ended up in the Russian sector but -at least the Ritterstrasse was assigned to the US Sector . Not sure how far apart the Juncker properties were from each other . My dad had been on the site at Sass- Wolf & CO Ritterstrasse 12-14 - holding Depot for very important and much needed Medical Supplies . It survived the bombong . As a Canadian RCAf pilot my dad was involved with bomb impact assesment , just post war in ordenance cleanup of unexploded heavy arial ordenance - he was able to speak German - so he was used alot for translation purposes . The old war time arial lens from the camera he used I have on the table beside me .

Douglas