Berlin’s Ruins in Color: Aerial View of 1946 War Damage – Part 1!

This captivating colorized footage, restored with motion stabilization, speed reduction, sharpening, contrast and brightness enhancement, noise reduction, and color intensification using Topaz A.I. software, unveils war-torn Berlin in the summer of 1945—filmed around 1946, though exact dates are unknown. Heavily bombed by the British RAF and U.S. Air Force during World War II, especially during the Battle of Berlin (April 16–May 2, 1945), the city lies scarred by Soviet and Allied assaults from the east and west. From an aerial perspective, the film reveals largely rubble-cleared streets, an eerie emptiness with occasional pedestrians and cars, and the exodus of most inhabitants to less-damaged rural areas. Key landmarks emerge: the damaged Reichstag with its iconic "Dem Deutschen Volke" inscription, the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden’s devastated avenue, the Anhalter Bahnhof’s skeletal ruins, the Landwehrkanal, U-Bahnhof Möckernbrücke, Gedächtnis Saule (Victory Column), and Tempelhof Airport’s scarred runways. With a detailed timeline, this restored archive—though imperfect in quality—grips history buffs, aviation enthusiasts, and WWII scholars, offering a vivid, haunting glimpse of Berlin’s post-war desolation in vibrant color.