During the bomb attack on Dresden in February 1945, the area around the Neumarkt was almost entirely destroyed in the resulting firestorm. The main structure of the Frauenkirche survived the initial bombing and firestorm, before collapsing a few days later. During the 1950s and 60s under rule of the German Democratic Republic, the Neumarkt and Altmarkt formed a mostly vacant area through the middle of the old city, save for the ruins of the Frauenkirche standing as a memorial to the horrors of war. The two squares were separated by the widened Wilsdruffer Strasse, then from 1969 by the Palace of Culture, and then later by new apartment blocks.