diff --git a/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py b/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py
index 7ee1694..3f39caa 100644
--- a/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py
+++ b/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py
@@ -1176,10 +1176,10 @@ async def _build_grid_core(
             })
             page_ref_cell_ids.add(cell.get("cell_id"))
 
-        # Remove page_ref cells from the table (but keep their rows)
-        if page_ref_cell_ids:
-            z["cells"] = [c for c in z["cells"]
-                          if c.get("cell_id") not in page_ref_cell_ids]
+        # Keep page_ref cells in the table as a visible column.
+        # Previously these were removed, but users want to see them.
+        # The metadata extraction above still populates zone["page_refs"]
+        # for the frontend header display.
 
         # Detect footer: last non-header row if it has only 1 cell
         # with short, non-content text (page numbers like "233" or