Out of the Ruins, New Beginnings

The first years – and especially the first winters – following the devastating air raid are plagued with starvation and misery. There is barely any food to be had, and many are forced to turn to the black market to get anywhere near enough to eat. People drive out to the countryside to forage for food; quite a few leave the city behind entirely. The French occupation forces impose curfews and seize apartments and the few other commodities anyone has left. Many of Freiburg’s residents are still looking for missing relatives. Some lack a roof over their heads, and most have simply given up hope. It’s no wonder, as these people are living the most challenging chapter of Freiburg’s then 800-year-old history.

Today, it is hard to imagine that someone could have the courage and energy under these circumstances to recognize an opportunity for a new beginning amidst the reigning chaos. Kurt Neuberger, born in Mingolsheim, originally comes to Freiburg in 1940 after being hired to work for MAN, an engine manufacturer. The trained mechanical engineer has long dreamed of becoming self-employed, but his Jewish heritage had made this impossible for him. In the spring of 1946 – just one year after the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender – he takes advantage of the opportunity which had now presented itself and founds Kurt Neuberger KG. The makeshift workshop specializes in engine repair and engine cylinder grinding. But commissions are rare and there is barely enough money in it to survive. And yet, in a city covered in rubble, Kurt Neuberger manages to lay the cornerstone for the present-day KNF Neuberger GmbH.