Trümmerfrau Trümmerfrau ( literally translated as " ruins woman " or " rubble woman " ) is the German - language name for women who , in the aftermath of World War II , helped clear and reconstruct the bombed cities of Germany and Austria . With hundreds of cities having suffered significant bombing and firestorm damage through aerial attacks ( and in some cases , ground fighting ) , and with many men dead or prisoners of war , this monumental task fell to a large degree on women . Degree of damage . Four million out of the sixteen million homes in Germany were destroyed during Allied bombings in World War II , with another four million damaged . Half of all school buildings , forty percent of the infrastructure , and many factories were either damaged or destroyed . According to estimates , there were about 400 million cubic metres of ruins . Removal of ruins . Between 1945 and 1946 , the Allied powers , in both West Germany and East Germany , ordered all women between 15 and 50 years of age to participate in the postwar cleanup . For this purpose , previous restrictive measures protecting women in the labor force were removed in July 1946 . Recruitment of women was especially useful since at that time , because of the loss of men in the war , there were seven million more women than men in Germany . Usually , private enterprises were given assignments to remove the ruins , together with a permit to employ the women for that purpose . The main work was to tear down those parts of buildings that had survived the bombings , but were unsafe and unsuitable for reconstruction . Usually , no heavy machinery was used . The main tools were picks and hand - winches . After tearing down the ruins , the remnants had to be further demolished , down to single bricks that could later be used in rebuilding . A chain of women would transfer the bricks to the street , where they were cleaned and stacked . Wood and steel beams , fireplaces , wash basin s , toilets , pipes and other household items were collected to be reused . The remaining debris was then removed by barrows , wagons and lorries . It was later reused to fill up holes in the streets or to make new bricks . " Trümmerfrauen " , both volunteers and regular workers , worked in all weather . They were organized in " Kolonnen " ( columns ) of ten to twenty people . Later works and recognition . In the Soviet Occupation Zone , the " Nationales Aufbauwerk " ( National Reconstruction Works ) was founded , in order to coordinate the efforts of the " Trümmerfrauen " . In West Germany , the removal works continued as " Notstandsarbeiten " ( State - of - emergency Works ) , until the cities were cleaned and the reconstruction could begin . In both parts of Germany , as well as in Austria , the efforts of the " Trümmerfrauen " were recognized with numerous ceremonies , memorials , awards and exhibitions . Their role was also considered important in changing post - war gender roles , though the concept of women as independent workers was taken up more eagerly in the official views of East Germany than in West Germany , where , once peace and economic prosperity was restored , a tendency reemerged in some parts of society to return women to their traditional family role only . Across Germany . Aachen . On 4 October 2006 , a weekly newspaper published the memories of the Trümmerfrau Elisabeth Stock ( 83 ) of which the following passage is cited : " . . . it were mostly women who shoveled their way through the rubble of Aachen ' s inner city that was totally destroyed ; just for one bowl of soup from the Americans , we hammered and dragged debris all day long , even the pickaxe was part of our equipment , . . . that ' s probably one reason why they put a memorial plaque for Aachen ' s Trümmerfrauen at the back of the townhall . " Berlin . Within the four occupied sectors of Berlin approximately 10 per cent of the buildings were irreparably destroyed . In the central districts of Berlin Mitte , Kreuzberg , Friedrichshain , Prenzlauer Berg , Tiergarten , and Wedding up to 30 per cent were destroyed . For this reason , the Trümmerfrauen had to work hard and their commitment gained widespread recognition : In 1946 , the Allied headquarters published a series of stamps , the so - called „ Bärenmarken “ , for the whole of Berlin . The graphic designers Alfred Goldhammer and Heinz Schwalbe created four images with symbols of the reconstruction , e . g . a bear with a brick , a bear with a shovel , a bear with a beam and a young oak tree in front of the ruins at Belle - Alliance square . On 13 October 1950 the mayor of East - Berlin Friedrich Ebert offered a newly built flat to a former Trümmerfrau in honour of her commitment . The flat was located in one of the terraces in the street which was formerly called Stalinallee and had been designed by Hans Scharoun . Erika Heß , mayor of the district of Wedding , initiated the founding of a club for the Trümmerfrauen . Its members were invited for coffee and cake once a year and also received assistance when they needed to complete official business . In addition , excursions were organised . Bremen . In May 2005 , the Bremen organisation " Friedensforum " initiated a two - hour meeting under the motto " Mother ' s Day - in a different way " . Additionally to various activities like music performances or discussion groups etc . , a Trümmerfrau and a pupil met for public discussion . Chemnitz . In 2001 , due to an initiative of the 1998 founded club " Verein figürliches Glockenspiel im Alten Rathaus - Turm zu Chemnitz e . V " together with the support of numerous donators a carillon with a total number of 25 bells was being installed . Three times a day , the six figures , with the height of 1 metre , are coming out of the tower . One of them is shaped like a Trümmerfrau . The rubble woman has a brick on her knee which she holds with her left hand . In the right hand she has got a hammer . The figures were designed by the sculptor Johannes ( Hannes ) Schulze from Plauen and forged by the bell foundry " Rudolf Perner Karlsruhe und Passau " .