Dusseldorf History Part III

The First World War brought this growing city to a standstill. By World War 2 the city was just a heap of rubble. Continuous air raids and about a seven week bombardment in 1945 demolished not only industrial buildings but whole residential areas also which claimed many lives. Almost 400,000 locals were left with a city of rubble. Almost 250,000 of the townsfolk lost their lives. The Jewish community was wiped out through murder and deportation, where before the war there was up to 5,200 living in the city and what was left was 249 survivors. This was the darkest period in the history books of Dusseldorf.

When the British occupied Rhineland and Westfalia after the war, they named Dusseldorf as the capital of this whole area, and so this brought major development to the city and it was like an economic miracle that transformed Dusseldorf into a metropolis of trade, service industries, and administration, which gave this city a new lease of life. New buildings were popping up everywhere, with global companies locating their main headquarters in the city, and with also the creation of the Trade Fair shows , Dusseldorf was getting a touch of the cosmopolitan feel to it. The population of the city (now 600,000 with another 180,000 living on the outskirts) is no match to Munich or Hamburg, but it has everything to offer in terms of culture, dining, nightlife, shopping and can stand on its own for hospitality. Come here and you will see!

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