Cartographies of catastrophe: mapping World War II destruction in Germany and Poland

Abstract

Abstract Post-catastrophic damage cartography constitutes a serious research gap in the field of urban history. While fire and war damage maps have been made for centuries, qualitative analyses of these documents, especially from a comparative and transnational perspective, have appeared only recently. In response, this article tracks the coeval emergence of urban archaeology, heritage zoning and war damage mapping across Europe. Based on detailed studies of early post-war Munich and Warsaw, it demonstrates that damage mapping was as much about recording loss as it was about reshaping and reimagining Europe's historic city centres.