Meaning beyond Accuracy: War Damage Map of Cottbus

Abstract

(War) destruction of a city is not easily representable. Not only is the entirety of urban space hardly ever equally affected but also, within the damaged areas, there are different degrees of ruination. Along with photos and aerial photography, maps are one of the most common means of representing cities’ war destruction. Despite their appearance, however, they are not an objective and impartial representation, but rather a narrative that can be deconstructed and interpreted in various ways. This paper inquires to what extent the Cottbus war damage map is a reliable testimony of the urban disaster, what its limitations are, and what story it tells. For all its precision, it was not made to serve utilitarian purposes, but rather as a mean of commemoration. This draws our attention to the fact that maps should not be only measured by their accuracy, but rather recognized and assessed on their own terms.