Editing Essen (section)

=== Nazism, World War II ===
On the night of [[Kristallnacht]] on 10 November 1938, the [[Old Synagogue, Essen|synagogue]] was sacked, but remained through the whole war in the exterior almost intact.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geschichte des Hauses |language=de |url=http://www.essen.de/rathaus/aemter/ordner_45_9/alte_synagoge/geschichte_des_hauses/Geschichte_des_Hauses.de.html |access-date=21 October 2014 |archive-date=21 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021151243/http://www.essen.de/rathaus/aemter/ordner_45_9/alte_synagoge/geschichte_des_hauses/Geschichte_des_Hauses.de.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Steele, Germany|Steele]] synagogue was completely destroyed.

During the Nazi era, tens of thousands of slave labourers were forced to work in 350 Essen forced labour camps. Here, they did mining work and worked for companies like Krupp and Siemens.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ausstellung erinnert an Zwangsarbeiter |date=12 September 2010 |language=de |url=https://www.derwesten.de/nrz/staedte/essen/ausstellung-erinnert-an-zwangsarbeiter-id3694582.html |access-date=21 October 2014 |archive-date=26 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226172809/http://www.derwesten.de/nrz/staedte/essen/ausstellung-erinnert-an-zwangsarbeiter-id3694582.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Der LVR in Europa |language=de |url=http://www.lvr.de/de/nav_main/kultur/berdasdezernat_1/lvrineuropa/lvrineuropa_3.html |access-date=21 October 2014 |archive-date=28 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628204402/http://www.lvr.de/de/nav_main/kultur/berdasdezernat_1/lvrineuropa/lvrineuropa_3.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Alfried Krupp]] was convicted in the [[Krupp trial]] at [[Nuremberg trials|Nuremberg]] for his role in this but was pardoned by the US in 1951.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Krupp's Trial at Nuremberg|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_war-criminals_Vol-IX.pdf|access-date=|website=[[Library of Congress]]|archive-date=11 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711172808/http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/NT_war-criminals_Vol-IX.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> There were several [[subcamp]]s in Essen in the [[World War II|Second World War]], such as the subcamps {{ill|Subcamp Humboldtstraße|de|KZ-Außenlager Humboldtstraße|lt=Humboldtstraße}}, [[Gelsenberg Lager|Gelsenberg]], {{ill|Subcamp Schwarze Poth|de|KZ-Außenlager Schwarze Poth|lt=Schwarze Poth}}.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-941, Essen, zerstörte Krupp-Werke, Luftaufnahme.jpg|thumb|Devastation of Krupp factory]]
As a major industrial centre, Essen was a target for [[Allies of World War II|allied]] bombing, the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) dropping a total of {{convert|36,429|LT|t e6lb|abbr=off|lk=on|order=out}} of bombs on the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%201571.html |title=bomber command {{!}} mines laid {{!}} flight august {{!}} 1945 {{!}} 1571 {{!}} Flight Archive |website=www.flightglobal.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110193407/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%201571.html |archive-date=2015-01-10}}</ref> Over 270 air raids were launched against the city, destroying 90% of the centre and 60% of the suburbs.<ref>[http://www.gmfus.org/template/page.cfm?page_id=493 Essen, Germany – Transatlantic Cities Network] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619180455/http://gmfus.org/template/page.cfm?page_id=493 |date=19 June 2010 }}, German Marshall Fund of the United States accessed 3 April 2010</ref> On 5 March 1943 Essen was subjected to one of the heaviest air-raids of the war. 461 people were killed, 1,593 injured and a further 50,000 residents of Essen were made homeless.<ref>[http://www.eurotravelling.net/germany/essen/essen_history.htm Essen – History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304074420/http://www.eurotravelling.net/germany/essen/essen_history.htm |date=4 March 2010 }}, eurotravelling.net, accessed 3 April 2010</ref> On 13 December 1944 three British [[Airman|airmen]] were lynched.<ref>[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/wcc/essen.htm The Essen Lynching Case] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611080448/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/essen.htm |date=11 June 2009 }}, [[University of the West of England]], accessed 3 April 2010</ref>

The [[Krupp decoy site]] ({{lang|de|Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage}}) was built in [[Velbert]] to divert Allied airstrikes from the actual production site of the arms factory in Essen.
{{Further|Bombing of Essen in World War II}}

The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Essen in April 1945. The US [[507th Infantry Regiment (United States)|507th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] of the [[17th Airborne Division (United States)|17th Airborne Division]], acting as regular infantry and not in a parachute role, entered the city unopposed and captured it on 10 April 1945.<ref>Stanton, Shelby, ''World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946'' (Revised Edition, 2006), Stackpole Books, p. 97.</ref>

After the occupation of Germany by the allies, Essen was assigned to the [[British Zone of Occupation]]. On 8 March 1946, a German army officer and a civilian were hanged for the lynching of three British airmen in December 1944.