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| By the outbreak
of World War Two, over 300 trains crossed the viaducts each day
following the strategically important Ruhr-Hannover-Berlin route. The Hamm-Wunsdorf section of the line (with Bielefeld in the centre) carried the heaviest tonnage of freight anywhere in Germany. |
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| Bielefeld itself
was a medium sized industrial town producing an impressive range
of important war material. The business of Dürkopp was the
fifth most important company in the German Reich. This company
and other smaller businesses produced handguns, machine guns,
grenades, detonators, anti aircraft and anti tank weapons, aircraft
gun turrets, parts for radio trucks and most importantly the
tracks for tanks and other armoured vehicles. This impressive inventory made the town an important target for American and British bombers. |
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| Bielefeld also had important railway yards and was a control point for large numbers of Wermacht troops moving between the various front lines. |
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| The general target
area is marked with a turquoise circle and the viaduct itself
is in the centre of the rose coloured circle. Today Bielefeld is easily accessible from the A2 motorway. Visitors should then follow Bundesstrasse 61 towards Herford. |
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