"The Lost Church Bells of World War II" Topic
2 Posts
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 Editor in Chief Bill   | 21 Dec 2025 1:15 p.m. PST |
For centuries, the joyful pealing of church bells was the heartbeat of European life. The bells marked holidays, called parishioners to worship, and rang at times of celebration. But during World War II, a chilling silence fell across the continent when Hitler's troops began confiscating the bells to melt them down for armaments. During the war, Germany stole some 175,000 church bells. Still others were removed and hidden to prevent them from being looted. Following the war, extensive efforts were made to reunite surviving bells with their original homes. That effort continues to this day, with buried bells uncovered as recently as 2021… Fold3: link |
robert piepenbrink  | 21 Dec 2025 3:51 p.m. PST |
Some of the TYW crowd need to get in on this one. Church bells were confiscated to make cannon--or ransomed by their communities--at least that far back. The status of church bells used to be a standard item dealt with when besieged cities negotiated surrender. |
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