In front of the medical aid bunker Saarstraße the graves of german soldiers killed during the battle of Aachen, the two smaller crosses to the right however mark the graves of two boys who were shot for looting by SA forces from Berlin. The last encircled german defenders of Aachen surrendered on October 21, 1944, Aachen was the first german major city captured by the western allies.

Battle of Aachen aftermath

The city of Cologne/Germany photographed the day after it was taken by US forces, March 1945. Cologne endured 262 seperate allied air raids during WW2.

Cologne, March 1945

These four boys from Aachen (aged 8-14) were arrested by US forces as german &quot;Werewolves&quot; when they got caught playing with a rifle they found after the fightings had ended. Although they were released the next day, the second boy from the left, named Berni Etschenberg (10), was shot by an american soldier a couple of days later when he tried to steal a can of peas from a US Army truck.