Kaiserslautern Community Schools

World War II had a major effect on Kaiserslautern with more than 60% of the city bombed and destroyed by allied aircraft. The railway and several main roads were primary targets. Heaviest attacks occurred January 7th, August 11th, and September 28th, 1944. Of the 20,000 homes, 11,000 were destroyed or damaged. The cemetery wall opposite Kleber Kaserne still bears shell marks of these raids. On March 20, 1945, as the last of Bradley's 1st Army crossed the Rhein River at Remagen, the US 80th Division, 319th Infantry (part of Patton's 3rd Army) seized Kaiserslautern without resistance. The war was over for this area, but there was little reconstruction until the currency reform of 1948.

There was little reconstruction and a slow economy until 1952 when construction for newly established garrisons of American troops brought money to the area. Since then the city has been almost totally rebuilt. After the Second World War, in the years from 1950 to 1955, Kaiserslautern developed into the largest US military community outside the United States. The name "K-town", as Kaiserslautern was christened by the Gis, underlines this. Over the years, depots, air bases, casernes and housing areas grew on a surface covering more than 7,000 acres. The towering modern city hall (Rathaus) was built from 1964-1968. Kaiserslautern annexed several surrounding villages in 1969 and now its population is approximately 100,000.