Alfred Helm
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Alfred Helm
Born 29 August 1929 in Ostwennemar
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Died 31 May 1944 during an airraid [Terrorangriff] on Hamm (Westfalen)
Hamm is on the Lippe River. Founded in 1226, Hamm was once a member of the Hanseatic League
as well. It passed to Cleves in the 14th century and then to Brandenburg in 1614. Hamm's history is
full of sadness from plague, flooding, fire and the harshness inflicted by the French in Napoleonic
times. It rebounded in the 19th century with the railroad.
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55 Allied air raids destroyed 60 % of the old part of Hamm, starting with devastating daylight air
raids from March 4 and 6, 1943 that killed 154 people. The first large-scale attack on the entire city
followed in the evening hours of April 22, 1944 by 750 bombers and 100 fighters dropping 8,000
high explosive bombs and 3500 incendiary bombs. Within 45 minutes, the city was a sea flame and a
desert of rubble. While a marshaling yard was hit, so were the residential areas. 240 buildings were
destroyed and 350 heavily damaged. 300 civilians died in this attack. On May 31, 1944 another large
scale attack followed, killing with 200 more civilians. Hamm lost 1,029 civilians to bombing.
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