Kyllburger Kollektiv

In 1944 -1945 when the Allied Air Forces gained Air Superiority over Europe, the small Eifel town of Kyllburg found itself at the forefront of the Allied strategic bombing campaign of WWII. One particular date of the multiple bombing raids stands out: 8 January 1945. Mission #253 was assigned to the American 384th Bombardment Group. The target: The railroad line in Kyllburg. The railroad line passes through two tunnels and crosses the Kyll River, making it a significant target to interdict and disrupt the flow of supplies and reinforcements to the German Western front lines. On that day, 38 American B-17 bombers dropped their ordnances over the railroad and village, with damaging effects.
The sculpture represents the combined work, collaboration, support, and friendship between the two nations of the United States of America and Germany in the years following the war. It also represents an emerging Kyllburg. American bomb shrapnel that makes up the sculpture’s base was located and collected in the village and the surrounding hopfen gardens, hills and river valley. The shrapnel represents destruction, but also perseverance over tyranny. The background of the bomb crater shows the scarring of war and a reminder of – Never Again. The metal flower represents HOPE. It indicates even through destruction – HOPE emerges and shapes the future. Where there is HOPE, there is life.