Eagle monument - Hildesheim?

[SpikeCov]

Hi all

I am looking for information with regards to a picture of my granddad sitting on a plinth below an eagle topped column.

Attachment 10500

On the column there is an inscription in a Germanic/Gothic style, its slightly blurred as well. I can read the last word is Fatherland in German and I am sure it states Hildesheim. I am confident his last unit was there (2814 Squadron RAF Regiment) before they were disbanded.

I also know that the photo was taken between February 1946 and July 1946.

I wonder if someone confirm:

1. Where it is exactly, is it in Hildesheim?
2. What the monument is for and what it represents?
3. Does the monument exists today?
4. When was the monument erected?
5. What the inscription is word for word in German and its English translation.
6. Any other facts about it, ie was the eagle bronze?

I have been searching for a picture of it on the internet to no avail and cannot find anything else.

Thank you.

Spike