3216 - Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany

A Christmas card from Saarbrücken which is translated to "Happy Holiday."

An ancient city found in south-west Germany, very close to the French border, Saarbrücken has an interesting bit of 20th century history I didn't know about.

From 1920 - 1935, under the Treaty of Versailles (which ended the First World War), Saarbrücken became the capital city of the Saar Territory. The Saar coal mines were made the exclusive property of France for a period of 15 years as compensation for the destruction of French coal mines during the war. In 1935, as part of the treaty, a plebiscite was held to determine the future of Saar. Ninety percent of voters choose to re-join Germany, while only 0.8% voted to remain a part of France. The remaining 9% wanted to rejoin Germany, but not while the Nazis were in power.

During the Second World War, Saarbrücken was heavily bombed by the Allied forces due to the coal mining. The Royal Air Force raided Saarbrücken at least 10 times. Much of the city - 75% - was left in ruins. About 1234 people were also killed in these bombing raids.

After the Second World War, Saarbrücken was a part of the French area of occupation. It became a French protectorate and a disputed territory separated from Germany. In 1957 is rejoined West Germany and became the smallest German state, Saarland.

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3584 - Blaine, Minnesota, United States of America

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