During the Second World War, in addition to the civil traffic, extensive military traffic had to be handled. An average of 28 military trains, carrying about 19,600 members of the Wehrmacht passed the station each day in October 1944. A care centre was set up by the National Socialist People's Welfare. At the end of the war, the baggage tunnel was used as shelter for 1,425 civilians and 735 decorated Wehrmacht troops. It was divided by temporary splinter bulkheads and equipped with sanitary areas in wooden crates. The last heavy bombing of Dresden on 17 April 1945, which was mainly aimed at transport facilities that were still intact after the 13 February raid, caused severe damage to the station, particularly in the area around the north-eastern exit.