The Glass Palace after the bombing raid on January 1, 1945

This image shows the result of the bombing raid on 1 January 1945. My mother (of Marie-José Houben) told that the glass was three feet high in front of the door. Due to its central location, on the Glass Palace the siren was installed that warned the population of Heerlen during the war in case of danger. Grandma and Grandpa sheltered then with their children and children-in-law in the 2nd basement until the alarm was over. Grandson Peter Schunck told us that they have been watching on the roof with the whole family when Aachen burned at the end of the war. As sign of her gratitude that the Glass Palace has survived the war relatively unscathed, Christine Dohmen-Schunck donated a statuette of the holy Virgin by the sculptor Charles Vos, which adorns the St.Pancratius church, above the entrance from Pancratius square.