IBCC to unveil After Me The Flood – a unique ‘Dambusters’ exhibition
More than 80 years ago the Möhne Dam in Germany was one of three dams breached in the famous ‘Dambusters’ raid. Eight Lancaster bombers were lost, 53 RAF airmen died and the resulting floods killed nearly 1,300 people.
A new exhibition, After Me The Flood, is to be opened at the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) in Lincoln on 6th October and will remain on view to the public until 28th February 2027. It presents a stark visual record of the devastation caused when the Möhne Dam was breached. Photographs taken by Nazi officials, local civilians and regional archivists reveal flooded landscapes, shattered communities and the immense scale of destruction downstream.
After Me The Flood is the result of a friendship which has developed between the people of Scampton village in Lincolnshire and the German town of Körbecke on the Möhnesee lake. In 2024 representatives of Körbecke, including the town’s Mayor Maria Moritz, visited Lincolnshire and unveiled a commemorative stone at the IBCC. Last year Scampton residents paid a return visit to Germany and were shown local archives.
Sourced from the town archives, private collections and local historians across the Möhne region, these images have never before been displayed collectively. Their arrival in Lincoln marks a rare opportunity to witness the human and environmental impact of one of the Second World War’s most iconic operations through the eyes of those who lived it.
“We’re thrilled to be able to stage this unique exhibition and show these never-before-seen images and papers to the public,” said Nicky van der Drift, CEO of the International Bomber Command Centre. “Our aim is to deepen understanding of the raid, show the effects and the aftermath from the German perspective, and dispel some of the myths perpetuated by the 1955 film The Dam Busters.”
Nicky added: “To have these archives on display in the UK is very exciting, and it’s a great honour for the IBCC to be given permission to stage this exhibition. We are telling an important untold story, and I’m sure it’s going to create a great deal of interest both here and overseas.”
Once the exhibition closes in February 2027 it will be translated into German and will tour museums, libraries and galleries in Germany, including the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Berlin.
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