Who Dropped the Bombs on our House?

Who Dropped the Bombs?   ... And WHY?

Just to refresh your memory, World War II lasted 6 years, from 1939 - 1945.  Thirty countries were involved.   Eighty million people died.   Most of them were civilians in China and Russia.


For the entire last year of the war, British and American bombers devastated Vienna.  Their main targets were the oil refineries at Floridsdorf and Schwechat, but 37,000 houses were also destroyed, about 20% of the city.

Boeing B17 and B24

"In February and March 1945, 80,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Vienna by US and British aircraft, destroying more than 12,000 buildings, and 270,000 people were left homeless  [Wikipedia  LINK]."

On March 12, 1945 Allied bombs hit the State Opera, the Burgtheater, the Albertina Museum, and some apartment buildings.  Schwarzenberg Palace and the Schönbrunn Zoo were also destroyed. (Why???) 

The Allied bombing of Vienna ended on April 16, 1945, after Soviet ground forces invaded Vienna (from April 2 - 13).  Like Berlin, Vienna was then divided into four occupation zones, an "American sector," a "Russian sector," a "French sector," and a "United Kingdom sector."  Occupation troops remained in Austria for 10 years, until 25 October, 1955.

OK, now I can show you some family photos.

This was our grandmother Bianca's home in central Vienna before the bombing.  Her apartment is visible in the building on the left, just above the trees, under the tower.  Third from the top.  The building was probably built around 1910.  Her husband Lt. Col. Franz Böhm had rented the apartment in 1922 right after they were married.  Franz passed away in 1936 when he was 56. 

Bianca's apartment (left) in central Vienna before the bombing, circa 1926.
On the ground floor there was paper factory and a 
restaurant "Gastwirtschaft Aspernkeller."

In 1944 Bianca (42) was living with her two children Erna (22) and Peter (19), but Peter was away in the army.  He was drafted at age 17 while in high school.  Bianca's sister Erna Colnago may have been staying there with her.  Erna Colnago was single and worked as a nurse in Vienna.

Bianca's apartment (left) before the bombing, circa 1926.
The smaller building (center) with the domed tower is
an astronomy observatory called "The Urania."

Below is a photo of my Uncle Peter Böhm (9) and my mom (Erna Böhm, 12) in front of their apartment with Curt Pillau and his family.  Curt and Cia's son Horst Pillau lived with Bianca in the apartment for several years while he attended school at Gymnasium Stubenbastei.  The same school I attended in 1963!

Left to right: Peter Böhm (9), Curt Pillau, Horst Pillau (2), Cia Pillau (born Colnago), and Erna Böhm (12).
Bianca's apartment is on the third floor on the left above the sign "PAPIER-PAPPEN FABRIK."
Schallautzerstraße, Vienna, summer, 1934.

It was probably in mid-March, 1945 when a bomb hit the apartment building.  The story I heard was that it was at night.  The air raid sirens went off and everybody ran to the basement.  Luckily everyone survived!

Bianca's apartment was hit by Allied bombs in 1945.

The tower on the right collapsed and fell down one story.  None of the windows had any glass.  The railing at the edge of the river "Wien" looks damaged.  Bianca's apartment is the third one from the top, with no more roof and a gaping hole where the dining room used to be.  In the photo below there is a ladder going up to the next floor.

One of the rooms in Bianca's Apartment after the bombing, 1945.

In this picture (below) Bianca is standing in one of the rooms.  You can see one wall and part of the ceiling was knocked down, so the room was open to the sun, rain and wind.

Our grandmother Bianca Böhm in her bombed-out apartment, Vienna, 1945.

Here is another photo of Bianca in her apartment.  Reconstruction probably took several years.

Bianca and 2 friends reviewing some maps in her damaged apartment, 1945

Bianca's grandson Georg and her great grandchildren still live in the apartment.  This is the view from the dining room window at 7 am.  You can see the Donaukanal and the river "Wien."

This is the view from Bianca's apartment.
Vienna, 2019

Here are some recent photos of the building after several renovations.  The building on the left is the former War Department "Kriegsministerium."

The apartment building in 2019 (Center).  The river "Wien" is on the right.
The former War Department is on the left.  

Here is the entrance lobby.

The entrance lobby, Reischachstraße 3, 2019

Another photo of the apartment building.

Reischachstraße 3, Vienna, 2019

It remains a mystery why this building was bombed.  It was a civilian residence.
We came up with several possibilities.

1. Maybe the bombers were aiming at the bridge and missed.

2. Maybe the bombs were intended to hit the "Kriegsministerium" (War Department) next door on the left.

3. Maybe they were trying to destroy the military officer's quarters next door to the right.

Anyway, I consider myself lucky to be here today!

Al Kordesch's birthday!
Vienna, 2019