Gerhard Gnadl was 12 when bombs fell on Weilheim on April 19, 1945. 24 people died, and most of the station was destroyed.
Less than a month later, the Second World War ended in Europe. The 91-year-old is a contemporary witness who is worth his weight in gold. Because he remembers and talks about it too. And because he is aware of the importance of his memories - and has come forward to share his story with the world. The story will be broadcast on German television on Sunday, April 22 at 8pm. For more information, visit www.channel4.com/cnn/news/world-war-2-weilheim-bombers-story-1945-1946-1947-1949-1948-1952-1953-1955-1956-1957-1958-1959-1961-1962-1960-1963-1964-1965-1965-1961-2062. On April 19, 1945, the Americans sent their heavy bombers to the Brenner. The planes flew to Weilheim with “only” 250 kilo bombs attached under the wings. Gnadl's parents are at home at the train station when the first of these bombs fall. Father and mother immediately flee into the coal cellar under the house. But they survive the second and third waves of bombs - like the son in the English Misses' food cellar. The Americans also bombed a hospital train from Hungary that was parked at the station. "And there were red crosses on it," says the son, who is now in his early 40s and lives in a different part of the city. He says, "How often do you think I sat in the basement as a ten or eleven year old?"