Germans and Americans commemorated the memory of September 11, 2001, during a news conference to announce the opening of a "Twin Towers Photo Twins" exhibit at the German-American Center in Stuttgart, Germany, September 9, 2010.

German photographer Tom Bloch's exhibit of photos reflects two parts of history - before and after the attacks on the Twin Towers.

Bloch said he was inspired to make the photo collection after hearing the news of the attacks. He had previously photographed the towers on various trips between 1988 and 2000. After his idea to create a before and after collection, he returned to New York in March 2002 to capture images of where the towers had been.

The images were striking to U.S. Army Colonel Franklin Childress, director of Public Affairs, U.S. Africa Command, who joined Bloch in the news conference to share his experience from 9-11 and the memories the exhibit photos evoked.

"I've never seen the United States more united than I saw on the aftermath of September 11," said Childress.

As a public affairs officer who arranged media interviews for several survivors of the attack, Childress heard the tragic stories of many from 9-11, but he also had his own story.

Childress was newly-assigned to the Pentagon and at home the day of the attacks to receive his household goods, which ironically were scheduled to arrive earlier, but delayed due to an oversight.

At 9:37 a.m., Childress said he heard from his balcony what he thought was a sonic boom from Reagan National Airport nearby. He later discovered the noise was a plane hitting the location of his office in the Pentagon, killing 26 coworkers from his office. He realized that the shipping error that kept him home that day saved his life.

"Had I been there, I would have been killed," Childress said. "Every day after 9-11 is a gift from God."

The exhibit will open to the public September 11 to October 7 on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends from 2 to 6 p.m.

More information about the exhibit and other German-American Center events is available at www.daz.org.

View Bloch's photos at www.twintowersphototwins.com