Erfurt was an important hub for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, also with a large freight station and depot. It had a historic old town with Gothic churches and stately town houses. With 147,000 inhabitants (1935) it was a major city and the largest city in Thuringia, as well as its economic center. Until 1945, Erfurt was the capital of a Prussian government district.
1 Erfurt before the war and during the war.