army units (including an Algerian and Moroccan unit) suffered heavy losses; among the dead was the commander of the army unit, Capitaine Dorance. The advance of the French army came to a halt temporarily, but with the support of fighterbomber aircraft and due to the bad condition of the defenders (which included many old men and young boys who had been drafted in a last desperate war effort) the French troops finally succeeded and on April 18 took possession of the vast rubble field which once was the proud residential town of the Baden Margraves.
The three months of French occupation were reportedly marked by hostile attitudes on both the French army side and the Pforzheim population side; incidences of rape and looting, mainly by Moroccan soldiers, were also reported. Au Bridge (Auerbruecke) and Wuerm Bridge received makeshift repairs by the French military. The US Army, which replaced the French troops on July 8, 1945, helped repair Goethe Bridge, Benckiser Bridge, Old Town Bridge (Altst�dterbr�cke) and Horse Bridge (Ro�br�cke) in 1945 and the following year. The relationship between the population and the US military was reportedly more relaxed than had been the case with the French army.
1945�1965: Pforzheim was gradually rebuilt, giving Pforzheim a quite modern look. In September 1951 the Northern Town Bridge (Nordstadtbr�cke) was inaugurated (the ceremony was attended by then Federal President Prof. Dr. Theodor Heuss). Jahn Bridge followed in December 1951, Werder Bridge in May 1952, the rebuilt Goethe Bridge in October 1952, and the rebuilt Old Town Bridge was inaugurated in 1954.
1955: On the occasion of the 500th birthday anniversary of Johannes Reuchlin, the city of Pforzheim established the Reuchlin Prize and awarded it for the first time in the presence of then President of the Federal Republic of Germany (West-Germany), Prof. Dr. Theodor Heuss.
1961: Inauguration of the culture center "Reuchlinhaus", which from then on
