Operation Gomorrah was a campaign of air raids that began on 24 July 1943 and lasted for 8 days and 7 nights. It was at the time the heaviest assault in the history of aerial warfare and was later called the Hiroshima of Germany by British officials. Operation Gomorrah was carried out by RAF Bomber Command (night raids) St Nikolai Memorial, Hamburg, Germany

The origins of St Nikolai Church go back to the 12th century when a chapel was built in honor of St Nikolai, the patron saint of sailors and travelers. In the course of the centuries the church was rebuilt and extended several times.

The church burned down completely during the Great Fire of 1842. From 1846 to 1882 the new St. Nikolai Church was built in the neo-Gothic style according to the plans of the English architect George Gilbert Scott.

During the Second World War, the steeple’s height of 147.3 meters served as an orientation point for allied bombing pilots approaching Hamburg. Heavily destroyed in the summer of 1943 the church was not rebuilt after the war. The steeple survived without major damage and was declared a memorial.