Bethel under National Socialism
Were there bomb attacks on Bethel?
During the Second World War, Bethel was also hit during several air raids on the city of Bielefeld and the surrounding railway and industrial facilities. More than 60 people died and many care homes were completely or partially destroyed.
The effects of the war were also felt by the people in their own country. According to the Geneva Convention, military hospitals and infirmaries were marked with the symbol of the Red Cross, which was supposed to protect them from bombing.
Bethel was hit hard on the night of 18 to 19 September 1940 and in March 1941. Despite extensive air-raid defence measures, numerous patients lost their lives. By October 1944, there was only minor destruction of nursing homes. During the air raid on the viaduct in Schildesche, the two agricultural wards Halhof and Oberhof were destroyed, many people died and an important source of supplies for the patients in Bethel was lost. On 29 January 1945, six nursing homes were hit by bombs and more than 300 men and women lost their homes. During the last air raid on 24 February 1945, large parts of the Gilead general hospital, an important medical provider for the city of Bielefeld, were damaged.
A research project is currently being carried out into the effects of the war. Each destruction of care homes had consequences for the daily lives of the people cared for at Bethel. They suffered from supply shortages and had to move closer together in the remaining care homes, which meant that infectious diseases could spread more quickly.