Most of the time I'm here primarily because I'm writing a novel based in Berlin, Germany. The novel features characters that interact with the real people and events in the city, which means I need to accurately portray events and historical figures. I am blessed with a wonderful research associate who lives in Leverkusen, and her information often allows me to make corrections or additions to these pages.
Scratchpad work:
Trümmerfrau
Trümmerfrau (literally translated: Rubble Woman) is a German slang term that was created shortly after the end of World War II. It refers to the women who worked clearing the rubble from the cities and streets in Germany during the early days of the allied occupation.
History
When Germany surrendered on May 10, 1945 the country was largely in ruins. Most of the major cities had been extensively bombed, and with few exceptions they had endured direct assault by troops and artillery of the allied forces. The German economy was largely non-existant, with nearly all factories destroyed, damaged, or closed due to lack of raw materials. Housing and infrastructure was also heavily damaged. In Berlin, German records record that 556,500 flats, or 37# of the city's pre-war total were destroyed by bombing or street fighting (The Berlin Raids, pg 321). In Hamburg, the firebombing raids of Gomorrah (link), along with other bombing, resulted in 55 to 60% of the city destoyed, completely burned out 12.5 square miles, wiped out 300,000 dwelling units, and made 750,000 people homeless. (Over-All Report of the US Strategic Bomb Survey (The Night Hamburg Burned, pg 129).
When the war was over, there were no machines available to rebuild or clear/clean. In addition, the civilians, mostly women, children, and old people, were unemployed. In exchange for rations of food, the people were put to work clearing the rubble. Each day, in exchange for a hot noon-time meal, people cleaned and sorted bricks, clearing the streets, taking down broken buildings, and whatever.