The bombing raid on the night of the 25th to the 26th of February 1944 claimed 730 lives in Augsburg. 200 Fuggerei residents escaped into the World War Bunker, which the Fugger Family Seniorat had the foresight to build in late 1943. Today, the bunker houses an exhibition that provides striking documentation of the attack, the extent of the destruction and the reconstruction of the Fuggerei.
War - and what is the aftermath? An answer in the bunker.
During the Second World War, almost 70% of the Fuggerei was destroyed. Pictures, texts and films in the exhibition show how the war changed the city and the region. Reconstruction of the Fuggerei began directly after it was destroyed. The Fuggers' unshakable will to maintain the Fuggerei was expressed in the large-scale common effort that drew all of the foundations together. Sales of wood from the foundation's forests financed the reconstruction. New beginnings, expansion and restoration were the central themes at the Fuggerei into the 1970s. Interesting historical material shows how the massive task was managed. The entire reconstruction was achieved independently and, alongside the Fuggerei, it included other foundation buildings such as the Fugger Chapel in St. Anna Church.
