title: Introduction
abstract: On 14 april 1945, a british bomber dropped several five-ton bombs over the Bauhausberg in Potsdam. They pierced the roof of the German National Archive's warehouse and fell through seven floors of documents, exploding in the basement. The combination of incendiary devices and high explosives melted the steel girders holding up the warehouse's immense collection of books and papers. As the posts fell in, the building collapsed. Germany's Great War records burned in the inferno. 1 The quiet, tree-