After twelve years of Nazi rule and brutal war years, parts of Munich’s civilian population responded to the arrival of US forces with open relief. On 29 April 1945, units of the US 7th Army — led by the legendary 42nd Infantry Division (“Rainbow”) and the 45th Infantry Division (“Thunderbird”) — reached Munich’s city center. The former Nazi “Capital of the Movement” was taken with almost no resistance. The image shows one of many scenes of civilians at the Karlstor meeting the advancing soldiers — a moment unthinkable in Nazi propaganda, documented by the US Army Signal Corps.