The leaves of the door escaped damage in the air raid of Hildesheim on 22 March 1945 only because they had been removed (at the initiative of the cathedral chapter) almost three years earlier, along with many other artworks of the cathedral. The leaves of the doors were taken to the so-called Kehrwieder wall in the southeast of the old city, where they spent the war underground. Since the doors weigh several tonnes, they had to be transported lying longwise in a stable scaffold by two teams of horses. Liturgical significance According to the Hildesheim cathedral ordinarium of 1473 "On Ash Wednesday in the medium monasterii, the bishop performed the ash sprinkling and the expulsion of public penitents through the southwestern church doors. After that they departed from the cathedral barefoot with the clergy through the large bronze doors and after walking about they went back in through the same doors." The rite of the expulsion of the penitents in Lent derives its meaning from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Paradise shown on the doors. "The images of the left leaf with the creation of humanity, the fall of man and the story of Cain and Abel corresponds to the breviary reading (Genesis 1-5.5) on Septuagesima Sunday and the following week, which begins the pre-Lenten period." Thus in its original location, the door probably also served for the education of the penitents, who were restricted to the vestibule (Narthex or "Paradise") of the churchbuilding during Lent. Bibliography Silke von Berswordt-Wallrabe: Verflüchtigung und Konkretion. Die Malerei von Qiu Shihua - im Hinblick auf die Bernwardtür, in: übergänge | transitions. Gotthard Graubner - Bernwardtür - Qiu Shihua, hg. v. Michael Brandt u. Gerd Winner, Hildesheim 2014, S. 48–57. Michael Brandt: Bernwards Tür – Schätze aus dem Dom zu Hildesheim, Verlag Schnell & Steiner GmbH, Regensburg 2010, Bernhard Bruns: Die Bernwardstür – Tür zur Kirche. Bernward, Hildesheim 1992, 162 pages, many black and white illustrations, one colour foldout. Abstract: The work is dedicated mostly to the iconographic and theological meaning of the scenes, but in an introductory chapter it also offers an overview of previous scholarship and a historical background from which the Hildesheim doors emerged. 152 pages, 3 black and white images, 16 tables. Abstract: Despite its age, the work remains relevant for the most part. 14 pages, 14 black and white images and illustrations. Abstract: This publication deals primarily