Passive voice vs predicate adjective

Question

Is there a difference in meaning between

Das Haus wurde zerstört

and

Das Haus war zerstört

I can't make the distinction.

Answer 1

This is a good example of the power of the German language: A small grammatical change in the sentence yields a complex change in meaning.

1. Das Haus wurde zerstört.
2. Das Haus war zerstört.

Both translate succinctly to

The house was destroyed.

However, 1. describes a process (Vorgangspassiv) and 2. describes a condition (Zustandspassiv). The English translation needs more words to convey one or the other meaning:

1. The house was destroyed (by someone).
2. The house was (in a) destroyed (condition).

Now, I hope you see that, in fact, the two German sentences are fundamentally different.