House of Reconciliation
It is 25 February 1945 – one of the darkest days in the history of the Augustinian monastery. British bombers drop two aerial bombs over the monastery. The consequences of the bombing are devastating. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, courageous residents of Erfurt began the clean-up work. As early as 1946, the first reconstruction work could begin. With great effort and hardship, and under very difficult political conditions, the monastery was rebuilt brick by brick. The historic structures have been preserved. The destroyed historic library and the tanneries, which were also completely destroyed, remained standing as ruins. However, there was always a desire to rebuild both buildings. The first step towards this was taken in 2002: the foundation walls of the library were restored and partially reconstructed. A section of wall that was in danger of collapsing was re-erected in a spectacular operation. On 27 August 2010, the rebuilt house was officially opened by the Regional Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, Ms Ilse Junkermann.
‘Place of Silence’
In the “Place of Silence”, you will see a special cross: the Coventry Cross of Nails. On 25 February 2008, Adrian Daffern, Canon of Coventry Cathedral, and the then Chairman of the Cross of Nails Community in Germany e. V., the Reverend (retired) Hartmut Ebmeier, presented the Cross of Nails to the curator of the Augustinian monastery. The occasion was the laying of the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the monastery library, which had been destroyed by bombs on 25 February 1945.
