I knew of several photos of the partially destroyed Saint Reynold’s Church in Dortmund Germany after the Allies had captured the city in April of 1945. I found the exact location where one of the 1945 photos was taken but I would have been run over if I sketched from that spot. I decided to sketch from the next street over which was more pedestrian.
As I finished my basic pen and ink line work, it started to rain. I only had a short time in Dortmund, so I had to finish the painting despite the rain. Rain drop splashes can be seen all over the sketch. I started scribbling with colored pencils to try and darken spots which were flooded with water making darker watercolor washes ineffective.
Saint Raymond’s is the oldest church in Dortmund. St. Reinold’s was built from 1250 to 1270, and is located in the center of the city, The church was heavily damaged in World War II.
In December 2016, nine neo-Nazis from various German cities who were associated with the Die Rechte right wing group occupied the church steeple and appeared to set off fireworks from it. The members were subsequently taken into custody by police. Neo-Nazi slogans shouted from the steeple through a megaphone were drowned out by the church bells, ordered to be rung by the vicar of St. Reinold’s. The illegal occupation of the church’s tower was met with disbelief and anger from the church’s spokespersons and the vast majority of the public.
Dortmund was the most heavily bombed city in Germany by the end of WWII, resulting in over 6000 deaths. Dortmund was the largest industrial city captured at the end of the war by the Allies. With the City surrounded, the Ruhr ceased to exist as an industrial powerhouse. Hitler’ bread basket was empty. American troops captured flak trains, guns, ammunition and supplies.
In 2020 . about 14,000 German residents were ordered to leave their homes when several WWII undetonated bombs were discovered in western Dortmund. German disposal experts were brought in to detonate the bombs. The two devices — an American bomb and a British bomb — were successfully detonated on Sunday afternoon. Shipping containers stacked as walls blocked streets to absorb potential blast waves, and barriers warned that “entry is forbidden,” (verboten) as the operation got underway. Police helicopters scanned the streets from overhead to ensure residents had left as instructed.
The 290th Infantry Division which my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was in, kept to the west of Dortmund proceeding south. By April 10, 1945 they were getting close to Witten Germany. The 2nd Battalion advanced south and southeast through light enemy opposition to capture Ospel and Dorney Germany and then continued to the regimental objective. The 3rd Battalion followed the 2nd Battalion then passed through them to attack and capture Duren. With Duren captured the Battalion moved ahead and took Stockum Germany, reaching the regimental objective an hour before midnight.
Prisoners poured into the 75th Infantry Division cage. The battle raged on from one town to town.

A dawn attack on April 8, 1945 resulted in the 75th Infantry Division capturing Kirchlinde and Marten Germany, cutting the rail lines leading into Dortmund, thus effectively isolating the city from the west. Marten is a district in western Dortmund, Germany, It is directly south of Kirchlinde.
The 75th Infantry Division freed thousands of Forced Laborers from Nazi Camps. Once freed, the laborers became known as displaced persons and it fell on the 75th Infantry Division to feed and care for them. If they fed the starving inmates too fast they would die. They then needed to send the displaced persons back east where they had been abducted and sent to German forced labor camps. The problem is that the displaced persons would be seen as traitors once they were sent back to Russia or Poland. Many would face certain death back east, or they would be treated as pariahs for the rest of their lives.

Frohlinde means Joyful in German. The plague cross, known locally as the Bookenkreuz, dates back to the time of the Thirty Years’ War, when the plague raged (1618 and 1648). The farming communities of Frohlind95h e, Obercastrop, and Rauxel, as well as other surrounding villages, erected plague crosses and obligated themselves to hold annual processions to these crosses and distribute alms, bread, money, and other donations to the local poor.
The overall objective of General Ray Porter’s 9th Army Group was to drive east after crossing the Rhine River, and then attack south to defeat the estimated 370,000 German defenders trapped in the Ruhr Pocket. Dortmund Germany was the largest industrial City in the area of attack and Frolinde was on the north West outskirts of Dortmund.
Near each coal mining town in Germany there is a halde which means dump in German. These man made mountains are built up from all the stone that comes to the surface that is not coal. It was extremely windy up there. I had a great overview of Castrop-Rauxel and the Erin Shaft 7. On the distant hill, Erin Shaft 3 can be seen along with several wind turbines. Clean energy is slowly replacing dirty carbon energy.
Lieutenant Allen and several other soldiers were separated from the Company and found themselves behind enemy lines. They made their way back towards the road block. Along the way they found two wounded men. It was difficult to get to the men since enemy automatic weapons fire would blast in all directions any time they got close. On the second attempt the wounded men were recovered. They managed to get the wounded men through a basement window of a German duplex.
On April 7, 1945, the 291st Infantry of the 75th Infantry Division faced increasing fire from snipers and 120mm mortars. I have come to the conclusion that my father’s 290th Infantry Division didn’t enter Castrop-Rauxel because they were busy liberating the towns of Frohlinde and Kirchlinde Germany. The battle faced by the 291st Infantry is however right in line with what my father, 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken might have faced in the Ruhr.
Erin Shaft 7 is located right outside of downtown Castrop-Rauxel Germany. Next to this are several new office buildings that have a very modern steel beam grid on the facades that blend well with the industrial look of the mine. The Erin Schacht shaft was sink in 1951, so it is a post World War II coal mine shaft. 68-meter-high Dörnen-type head frame became a landmark of Castrop-Rauxel and was preserved as an industrial monument after the mine’s closure in 1983.
The 291st Infantry Division attack on Castrop-Rauxel Germany resumed on April 7, 1945. Two squads of the 1st Platoon of G-Company rode into Castrop on two lead tanks, followed by a tank destroyer. The two other tanks found positions on the outskirts of town and supported the attack with fire. Machine guns were set up in the upper stories of two houses to support the attack.
C-Company continued to move into town from the left killing Germans who were trying to escape. About 15 Germans ran towards the woods on the opposite side of town and they were in the sights of one of the machine gunners. He didn’t fire because he wasn’t sure if they were Americans or Germans.
Castrop-Rauxel was an important Coal mining town North West of Dortmnd Germany. Castrop-Rauxel is near the Rhine-Herne Canal, in the eastern part of the Ruhr industrial district. The 75th Infantry Division, which included my father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken’s C-Company would have entered the city on April 6, 1945.
Dingen Germany is a tiny one road town in the North West suburbs of Dortmund. Since this is such a small suburb, I decided to just park the car and walk the streets until I found a view to sketch. I decided this small wood framework house was a good enough subject.
On April 6, 1945, German troops desperately defensed against overwhelming Allied advances, the 75th Infantry’s 1st Battalion which included my fathers C-Company, moved into a new area to establish defensive positions despite heavy enemy small arms fire. The 3rd battalion passed through elements of the 289th but made very slight progress before encountering stiff enemy resistance. Supporting tanks were called upon to break the back of this German defensive position and succeeded in doing so. The attacking fores were then free to move against Dingen and Bodelschwingh Germany.
My father 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken was approaching Dortmund with his C-Company in the 75th Infantry Division. They were clearing the approaches to Dortmund which was being heavily defended. Casualties were high.
Despite the Allied bombing campaign which leveled 66% of Dortmund’s homes and 98% of the inner city. Workers kept rebuilding the factories. It therefore made perfect sense that Dortmund would not surrender easily. Even after a heavy bombing raid on March 6, 1945, it become clear that the soldiers in Dortmund was determined to fight to the bitter end. Dortmund and the surrounding towns suffered immense destruction from Allied bombing. Unexploded bomb ordnance, especially near sites like the stadium, remain to this day.