9th AF B-26 Bombers 
St. George’s Church Bombed March 30, 1945 
Nördlingen Marketplace Bombed March 30, 1945 
Nördlingen Bombing Report April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Bombing Targets – April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Bombing April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Bombing April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Bombing April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Bombing -April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Bombing -April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Destruction April 20, 1945 
Nördlingen Rail Yard Destruction April 20, 1945 
LocaL Man in Bombed Rail Yard – April 20, 1945 
Local Man in Bombed Rail Yard – April 20, 1945 
Bombed Rail Yard
April 20, 1945
February 1945 – Being a significant transportation hub during wartime, the Nördlingen rail station and marshalling yards (M/Y) were a key military target. By one account, beginning in February 1945, there were at least 13 air-raids on the city.
On February 23, 1945, a single United States B-17 aircraft bombed the Nördlingen rail yard as a secondary target. On March 30, 1945, the U.S. 9th Air Force conducted a major air-raid on the city, hitting St. George’s Church and other targets. On April 18, 1945, the Air Force bombed the Nördlingen rail yard. Two days later, on April 20, the Air Force returned to bomb the Nördlingen rail yard again. Over the course of the air-raids, the rail yard and nearby parts of the city sustained significant damage. Thirty-three German residents were killed.
The Parfomuk family, working at the rail yard, was in the target zone for all of these air-raids. During the bombings, the Parfomuks took cover in their own makeshift bomb shelter in a nearby farmer’s field and were not injured. The photos above, show some of these bombings (as they were happening) and their results. They are from U.S. Air Force strike reports and from the city archives. Władysław witnessed all of these events.
On April 23, 1945, American troops occupied Nördlingen, liberating the forced laborers there. The last German troops had evacuated earlier that morning so there was no opposition. The Parfomuks were officially registered as having worked in Nördlingen until May 8, 1945, when the war in Europe ended. As Nördlingen was part of the American zone of Allied-occupied Germany, the U.S. Army established a refugee camp in the city immediately after the war ended. The Parfomuks remained in Nördlingen until some time in the Fall, probably in the refugee camp.
Walter Parfomak: An Immigrant Story 
Do you know the names of the 33 people killed?
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Sorry, no.
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Do you have contact info for the Nordlingen archives.
My son-in-law’s aunt, Leokadia Alexandrow, who was an infant at the time, I think was killed in the bombings. We were told that an American plane had caused her death and just recently I found out that they were living in Nordlingen at the time. If possible I want to verify this.
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