Fred’s Journey
Cologne Germany
On May 30–31, 1942, a force of one thousand British bombers hit this third largest city in Germany. Incendiaries were mixed with the explosives. The city center was burned to the ground. Only the Cathedral survived, burned and baked, but standing tall. When the 104th Infantry division entered, artillery fire was needlessly directed against the west entrance Rose Window. The superb medieval stained glass windows had been removed to safety in 1941 and the remaining pieces were of more modern craftsmanship. When I entered the Cathedral, only one-eighth of the residents remained on the western bank of the Rhine and white sheets hung from nearly every window.
Artist’s Statement
- Irmigard Steding
From
I was a little girl during the war in Germany. It was only later that I saw the ruins of the Kölner Dom and the town itself. My intention with this piece is to recreate what I saw then.
Drawing inspiration from photographs of the devastation in Germany after World War II, I decided to create a symbolic window for the Kölner Dom. This piece combines silk-screening, photography, glass-painting, and the shards to create an image of the bombed-out cathedral. The pink sky is to suggest a new day of hope.
Artist Information
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Irmigard Steding
Steding/Shank Glass Design
Specifications
Number of shards: 43
Dimensions: 36″ × 44 3⁄4″
Medium: painted and stained blown glass
