Hamburg, a remarkable job of reconstruction

The file contains informations about the post-war situation of Hamburg. In his report Paul Anderson discribes his opportunity to study every aspect of the social and economic problems of the North German seaport. The seaport of Hamburg, a story of recovery and reconstruction, as the author says. Six years after the city had been destroyed by the Allied bombing the center of the city hardly shows a trace of the destruction. Much of the huge port with all its installations for storage, docking, ship-building and repair has been rebuilt. Nevertheless a lack of housing remains a major problem, as the population in Hamburg had grown from 1.2 Million (pre-war population) to 1.7 Million inhabitans. Hamburg was in 1951 not only the largest city of Western Germany, but also the busiest and most important centre of trade, industry and commerce.