Goch

Goch is a town and municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Cleves. The city has a population of 34,106 people.
World War II
During the Reichspogrom night of 9 to 10 November 1938, the Synagogue in Goch in Herzogenstraße was destroyed and burned down by the SA and SS. In the night of 7 to 8 February 1945 and a few days later, on 12 February 1945, the city was bombed from the air. During the Battle of the Reichswald, which was fought around Kleve from 7 to 22 February 1945, the city received its share of street fighting and artillery shelling. About 80% of the buildings were destroyed in that period. The Allied High Command believed that there was a belt of bunkers around the city. This may have influenced the decision to carry out the heavy bombing. The objective of the ensuing ground offensive was to cross the Rhine at Wesel in order to penetrate the Ruhr area.
Post-war period
During the night of May 24, 1993, the 67-metre-high tower of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene collapsed. It is believed that this was a late consequence of the bombings of 1945. It took ten years for it to be rebuilt. On 18 May 2005, the Bishop of Münster, Reinhard Lettmann, declared Goch a place of pilgrimage. Since the canonization of Father Arnold Janssen, more and more pilgrims have visited his baptist church of St. Mary Magdalene, his birthplace and the Arnold-Janssen-Pastorie, which was founded in the 1970s.

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