Air raids on Flensburg

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The Halifax bomber W7710, which later crashed in the night of October 1st to 2nd, 1942 after an air raid on Flensburg near Niehuus .

The air raids on Flensburg by the Allies aimed to largely destroy the city of Flensburg during the Second World War . Only because of various problems during the 41 air raids that were flown, the plans were ultimately not implemented. Nevertheless, 176 residents of the city died and 251 residents were injured. 119 Allied soldiers died in the air raids. The luck and chance, which led to the fact that the Fördestadt was largely spared, led to various legends.

Hazardous situation

Even before the war, the German government secretly divided the largest cities into three categories according to their exposure to possible air raids. Flensburg with its barracks located in Neustadt and Nordstadt ( Duburg barracks , Junkerhohlweg barracks , tank barracks , Grenzland barracks ), the naval base in Mürwik , the Flensburg shipyard and the possibility of approaching via the North Sea were assigned to hazard level I , as was Kiel and Lübeck , with which Flensburg received a higher amount of money for the air protection measures initiated. Air defense was expanded at various levels. In the period that followed, bunkers and shelters were built. On December 11, 1933, an air raid protection school was opened in Flensburg in the former Catholic school in Nordergraben , next to the Catholic Church , to train air raid guards.

The individual air strikes

With the beginning of the Second World War in September 1939, the civil air raid shelter was put on standby and the darkening of the houses was ordered at night. Air raid trenches have been dug in various parts of the city. Flensburg was spared air raids for the first eleven months of the war. In 1940 there were three air raids, only one of which was successful for the attacking British. In the following year another 14 air raids were carried out. By the end of 1941, however, only 61 high-explosive bombs and 373 incendiary bombs fell on the city, 40 of which ended up as duds, leaving five dead and 21 injured. It was not until 1942, when the Allies increasingly gained air sovereignty over Germany after the USA entered the war, that the actual phase of the air war over Flensburg began. During the further course of the war, the militarily important Flensburg gradually came more and more into the planning focus for a possible major attack. The main target was the Flensburg shipyard , where submarines were produced. In the summer of 1942, 17 Flensburg residents were killed and 53 injured as a result of failed British attacks with considerable British losses . If at that time the British planes could have bombed Flensburg with correct navigation and without their own losses, the city would have been largely destroyed by the end of 1942. But luck did not leave the city in the period that followed. The view, which is still widespread today, that after the heavy daytime attack by US bombers on May 19, 1943, the city was no longer a target is also wrong . The largest air raid on the city was to take place on April 23, 1945. But only the air raids of 2/3. May 1945 and May 4, 1945 claimed the last victims.

Air raids in 1940

First air raid on August 20, 1940 in Weiche

On August 20, 1940 at 2 a.m., in the middle of the night, the first British air raid on Flensburg took place. There was only minor damage to property. Only a garden area in Flensburg-Weiche behind the houses at Alter Husumer Weg 146/148 was hit. There were no dead or injured. The real goal was apparently missed.

Air raid near Flensburg harbor on October 11, 1940 at midnight

During the air raid on October 11, 1940, two explosive bombs fell into the water of the Flensburg harbor at midnight . Once again, a goal was apparently missed in the city of Flensburg.

Furthermore, in October 1940, in Ellund, eight kilometers west of Flensburg, Johannes Möller's farm was hit by an incendiary bomb . The farm buildings burned down completely. During the Second World War, northwest of Ellund was the " Scheinflugplatz Ellundfeld " and northeast of Ellund the " Scheinflugplatz Frösleefeld ". The two bogus airfields should hinder the air raids on Flensburg. 368 bombs fell on the Ellunder area during the World War.

Destroyed Scharnhorst camp barracks after the air raid in November 1940

First successful British air raid on November 20, 1940

On November 20, 1940, an air raid took place on the ship bridge and the Scharnhorstlager of the Navy , located in the Westliche Höhe district on Westerallee . - The Scharnhorst camp, built in January 1939, comprised 27 barracks . Apparently the replacement battalion Infantry Regiment 26 was temporarily stationed in the camp . At that time the camp was also used for signal training for the navy. Today the sports field of the Police Sports Club Flensburg (PSV Flensburg) is located there. Incidentally, one of the camp barracks has been converted into a youth and sports home for the PSV to this day. - Six high-explosive bombs and 28 incendiary bombs were dropped during the November attack. The camp staff building of the Scharnhorst camp was almost completely destroyed. Two marines died. Six marines and two cleaning women were wounded. At the ship bridge, a citizen was hit by fragments from an anti-aircraft gun . There was a dud at houses Westerallee 108/110.

Air raids in 1941

Air raid on January 9, 1941 near Friedenshügel

Two British bombs each left a crater at the Peace Hill Cemetery . Twelve windows on nearby Boreasmühle Street were damaged.

Air raid by a single pilot with incendiary bombs on March 19, 1941

A single plane dropped two explosive bombs and 110 incendiary bombs over the southern part of the city . The Flensburg-Schleswig railway line was interrupted. There was only one room fire in the house at No. 60 Husumer Strasse .

Overflight in the night of 7./8. April 1941

There was an overflight that night without a bomb being dropped. A shot down anti-aircraft shell injured a citizen near Kanzleistraße .

Air raid on April 16, 1941 at Mühlenstrasse 1

During the air strike, 12 high explosive bombs and 15 incendiary bombs were dropped, five of which went down as duds. The Mühlerhaus at Mühlenstrasse 1 was severely damaged by the attack. The housemaid there was killed and three people injured. Bomb fragments damaged other buildings.

The house at Mühlenstraße 1 is now one of the cultural monuments of the Westliche Höhe district .

Unsuccessful fire bombing attack on April 25, 1941

Ten incendiary bombs fell on open land west of the city.

Air raid with incendiary bombs on the Flensburg-Weiche train station on April 26, 1941

Three high explosive bombs and five incendiary bombs hit the train station in the Weiche district . Wagons and track systems were damaged and destroyed. A soldier and a railroad worker were wounded.

Corridor damage caused by drops on May 9, 1941 in Schäferhaus

Four high explosive bombs and 70 incendiary bombs were dropped in the Schäferhaus area . They caused only minor damage to the corridor .

Unconsequential drops on May 26, 1941 at the Fuchskuhle

The dropping of five explosive bombs on the Fuchskuhle area had no effect.

Unconsequential drops on July 25, 1941 in the harbor and the Klues forest

Four high explosive bombs and five incendiary bombs fell in the harbor in the Klueser Wald . They only caused hallway and glass damage.

Largely unconsequential drops on August 9, 1941 over Kauslund and the harbor

Explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped over Kauslund and the harbor. A civilian was injured by flak fragments.

Unconsequential drops on September 16, 1941 near the Peace Hill

High explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped in the area of ​​Peace Hill.

Air raid on September 22, 1941 on the free port area

Three explosive bombs and 30 incendiary bombs hit the Flensburg free port area near Kielseng . A silo, a packing house, ten houses and a freight wagon of the Flensburg port railway were hit and damaged there. One day later, the Light Reserve Flak Department 755 from Westerland arrived to reinforce Flensburg's air defense.

Single plane drops at the residential ship Patria from 26./27. October 1941

A scattered single flier dropped two explosive bombs near the residential ship Patria at the naval port in Mürwik , which did not cause any damage.

Drops from October 31/1. November in the southern area of ​​the city

During the night, Hamburg was once again the British primary destination. Due to the bad weather, one of the British planes got lost in Flensburg and dropped four explosive bombs and 50 incendiary bombs in the Husumer Strasse , Feldmühle and Exe area. A married couple died in the process. Three people were injured.

Air raids in 1942

Since 1942, Flensburg was threatened with destruction like Rostock. In the picture the Marienkirche in Rostock amid the destruction of the air raids .

Air raid on February 26, 1942 with three dead during area bombing

On February 26th, five high-explosive bombs were dropped over Flensburg, at Südergraben and at the Reitbahn . A married couple and a child died.

Mid February 1942 decided the British, German cities with carpet bombing to coat. The German will to go to war should be broken (see Area bombing directive ). This was followed by the terrible air raid on Lübeck on March 29, 1942, and the devastating air raids on Rostock from April 23 to 27, 1942 . In the period that followed, the RAF Bomber Command would increasingly focus on Flensburg . There were two reasons for this. The first reason was that sometime in 1941 the Flensburger shipyard in the production of submarines of class VII Type VII C had begun. The second reason resulted from the bombing of Lübeck and Rostock. Flensburg had a similar old structure that was ideal for fire attacks.

Air raid on Engelsby on April 24, 1942 by a bomber returning from Rostock

A bomber probably flying back from Rostock bombed the Engelsby district , on the east side of the fjord, with a 2,000 pound bomb, presumably unplanned . Three houses on Neuer Weg were destroyed. In addition, 66 buildings were damaged, some heavily damaged. The windows shattered within a radius of four kilometers. A student died in the bombing. Seven people were injured.

Air raid on the harbor and Marienhölzung by a bomber returning from Kiel on April 29, 1942

After a night air raid on Kiel , two bombers apparently got rid of their bomb load over Flensburg. The first bomber hit the Blasberg area , the harbor, the old shipyard and the Neustadt with around 200 incendiary bombs . Six smaller fires then broke out on the ballast bridge . The second bomber bombed Marienholzung with six high-explosive bombs and 200 incendiary bombs . Fires broke out in seventy places in the forest. Rapid extinguishing commands could extinguish the source of the fire. Forty duds had to be defused.

British poster from the time of the Second World War with a de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito flying over the sea near the coast, with an attached report on the rammed brick chimney of the Flensburg air raid on July 11, 1942: “Mosquito Bulletin No. 1. In a daring attack at a very low level on the submarine yards at Flensburg, a mosquito, skimming the roof tops, struck a chimney pot. It tore a huge hole nearly three feet wide in the fuselage near the wing root. That was right on the roof of Germany, by the Baltic coast, a very long journey home. The mosquito made it without the slightest trouble, except that the crew felt a draft. But it was nothing like the draft the Flensburg Nazis felt ... Airframe DK 296. Port engine 59761 / a313086. Star engine 59997 / a313204. Ministry of Aircraft Production. Our target is their success. Printed for HM Stationery Office by Fosh and Cross. Ltd. "

Air raid by six Mosquito bombers on July 2, 1942, first test run

The daytime attack served as a test run for the major air strike planned for August. Six mosquito bombers were dispatched. A machine was intercepted and shot down by fighter pilots over the North Sea. The remaining machines attacked the submarine shipyard from the direction of the Kollunder forest in low flight . The local flak shot down one of the machines. The remaining aircraft dropped 21 high explosive bombs and 67 incendiary bombs. Parts of the shipyard were destroyed and one of the submarines was damaged. The gas works was hit. It was out for four days. 25 houses in the area between Hochstrasse and Gertrudenstrasse were damaged. Four people died and 33 were injured.

Air raid by six mosquito bombers on July 11, 1942, second test run

The mission served again as a test run for the major air raid planned for August. At 7 p.m., three planes appeared in an extremely low flight over the east bank. The flak fire could not do anything against them, but killed one of their own telecommunications operators and two other Flensburg citizens. After returning to England, a brick that had been brought from a rammed Flensburg chimney was discovered in one of the extremely low-flying machines. The aircraft dropped six high explosive bombs and 22 incendiary bombs on Flensburg. A few minor damage occurred at the shipyard. The submarine production was not affected by the attack.

The London Times reported on the incident with the rammed brick chimney, some of which was brought to England .

Pathfinder Force air raid on August 18, 1942

On that day, a new strategy of air warfare was to be used in Flensburg. The previous small attacks on submarine production had little effect. The Pathfinder Force , made up of experienced bomber crews, set up on August 15 , was to mark the targets in a first wave with explosive bombs , light bombs and incendiary bombs . Then the main unit, with less experienced crews, should bomb the easily recognizable target areas. 31 Pathfinder bombers and a main unit of 87 bombers started with the destination Flensburg. They carried a bomb load of 337 high explosive bombs and 22,372 incendiary bombs. As previously Lubeck (on 28-29. March) and Rostock (from 23 to 27 April), Flensburg should now sparked by a wildfire destroyed. But the city was spared. The Pathfinder bombers were driven north by strong winds, marking the wrong target area at night, a bay about 40 kilometers away on the Sundewitt peninsula , between Aabenraa , Nordburg and Sønderborg . Most of the machines that followed threw their loads on open fields. Still, 700 buildings were damaged and one person died. The British lost four machines. At first the British believed the mission would be a success. It wasn't until a few weeks later that they realized the failure. In September and October, minor attacks should therefore hit the missed targets.

The air raid of September 23, 1942, greatly weakened by incorrect navigation

The RAF Bomber Command sent 28 Halifax bombers on their way to Flensburg. The machines carried a bomb load of 168 1000-pound high explosive bombs and 5040 4-pound incendiary bombs. The attack group had the order to carry out the attack together at the same time, so that maximum damage would occur. But 20 of the planes were navigated incorrectly. Instead, they bombed the villages Achtrup , Ellund , Fröslee , Havetoftloit , Hürup and Kiskelund , the Danish today suburbs Krusau , Padborg , the railway Flensburg-Soft-Lindholm , the railway Flensburg-Schleswig , once again, the city of Kiel and open terrain and the North Sea . The rest of the machines dropped only 35 high explosive bombs and 500 incendiary bombs. A few parts of the shipyard were damaged. Submarines were not damaged. In the southern part of the city , the water supply to the paper mill was spilled. In addition, pipes of the waterworks were destroyed, which is why the city's water supply failed in the following days. The water supply had to be ensured by wells and tank trucks during this time. Six Flensburg citizens were seriously injured. Five of the attacking machines were shot down. Two of the machines crashed at the power station at the train station.

Air raid on October 1, 1942 and destruction of the Backensmühle

After the previous failures, the RAF Bomber Command sent again 27 Halifax bombers to Flensburg, of which only 12 to 15 machines reached the city where they came under heavy flak fire. Eight of the bombers were shot down over the city. One of them fell on fire at the St. Pauly mill in the southern part of the city . The oil mill from the 1830s, which was often called the Backensmühle and belonged to the Dutch windmill type , burned down completely and was not rebuilt. It represents one of the few culturally significant structural losses of the air war in Flensburg. Another bomber (the Halifax bomber W7710 of the 405 Squadron RCAF ; see picture above) crashed at Niehuus . Machines also crashed at Flensburg train station and at the train station in Weiche.

The British bombers dropped 46 high explosive bombs and 120 incendiary bombs. They hit quite a number of apartment buildings in the southern part of the city. Two Flensburg citizens were killed and two injured. The 45 British soldiers who died that day were buried in the Friedenshügel cemetery. They were later reburied in the Kiel War Cemetery .

Air raid on October 27, 1942 with three Mosquito bombers on the shipyard and Mürwik

Three mosquito bombers rushed at 500 km / h in low flight from two to five meters above the water surface of the fjord. Two of the machines went to an attack height of 20 to 30 meters at the shipyard and dropped their explosive bombs. The third pilot dodged an anti -aircraft gunfire (see Marine Flak Regiment - Kiel ) and dropped his bombs near the park yard in the Flensburg-Mürwik base district . The damage was not inconsiderable. Two halls were destroyed at the shipyard. The coppersmith was in one. Cranes were also damaged. One of the new submarines was slightly damaged and the other heavily damaged. 38 buildings in Mürwik in the street area Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse / Parkstrasse ( Klosterholz ) were damaged. The Engel family's house at Parkstrasse 9 was completely destroyed.

Air raids in 1943

B-17 bomber with its distinctive contrails

On March 1, 1943, fifteen-year-old students were drafted into Flensburg as air force helpers.

Heavy daytime attack by American bombers on May 19, 1943

64 American B17 bombers of the 8th US Air Fleet flew towards Flensburg at noon on May 19, 1943. Of these, 9 machines were apparently already damaged during the approach to Flensburg due to fire from German interceptors. Two US soldiers were killed and four injured by the fire. Therefore, nine of the machines apparently turned off prematurely. The air strike of the remaining 55 machines was concentrated in the north of the city ( Neustadt and Nordstadt ), where various industrial plants with the Flensburg municipal utility were located. On that day only 78 bombs fell into the water of the port. A total of 458 bombs fell on the northern part of the city.

Flensburg's landmark , the Nordertor , was also damaged on that day with an almost symbolic effect . The armaments factories in the north of the city had been badly hit. Three submarines were damaged at the shipyard. Whole parts of the shipyard were destroyed. One of the power plant's high-voltage lines broke. The power supply was therefore out for days. The gas works had been hit so badly that it was no longer possible to supply the population with gas. The Ostseebad waterworks had also been damaged. There were water outages until at least May 20th. Some food companies were also hit. The border slaughterhouse had been completely destroyed. A stockyard was badly damaged. The Nordic cocoa and chocolate factory was fifty percent destroyed. Production there was also down for several weeks. Wehrmacht buildings were hardly affected. The headquarters building of the Duburg barracks received a direct hit . Furthermore, a marine accommodation barracks at the Baltic Sea resort was hit. The surrounding residential buildings in the industrial area were relatively unaffected, but 14 residential buildings were completely destroyed, 63 seriously and 325 slightly damaged. In addition, several trams that were in the tram depot were damaged. In the basement of the fish canning factory on Batteriestrasse , which served as a bunker , of 270 people seeking protection, 21 adults and 15 children from the Danish kindergarten Mariehjem, died. Water from a ruptured pipe had flowed into the buried bunker. The trapped drowned. A total of 83 people died that day. 111 people were injured.

On May 24, 1943, the dead were buried in the Friedenshügel cemetery. At the request of the Danish minority , the children were given their own grave. With the successful air raid, at least part of the aim pursued by the British was achieved, and the Flensburg submarine production came to a standstill. After advances in the location of submarines, in the area of radar and the deciphering of the Enigma code, the submarine war also decided in favor of the Allies. The air raids on the shipyard became less important.

With the heavy air raids on Hamburg from July to August 1943, the first evacuations from Hamburg to Flensburg began. Many wounded were also brought to Flensburg. Little by little, schools such as the old grammar school were converted into military hospitals . Said hospital uses as well as the lack of teaching staff and the increasing number of air raids led to more and more disruptions in school lessons.

Bombs dropped over the Südstadt on November 13, 1943

In the early morning of the day, the 8th US Air Force sent 272 bombers and 390 escort fighters in the direction of Bremen . Probably due to the weather situation, some of the planes were looking for replacement destinations in the Flensburg - Kiel region. About a dozen planes reached the southern part of Flensburg at 11.20 a.m. and dropped 1200 incendiary bombs, each weighing 100 pounds. The bombs set fire to a freight car and three simple storage buildings near the freight yard. Four houses were damaged. A foreign worker from Belgium was seriously injured. 50 bombs remained in the ground as duds.

The city of Flensburg was mentioned in the book Bomber's Baedeker . Guide to the Economic Importance of German Towns and Cities. 2nd (1944) edition. called. The book described the economic importance of German cities and named possible bomb targets. The publication was apparently aimed not only at RAF pilots, but also at journalists who informed their readers with it. About Flensburg it said among other things on page 223: “[…] It has a considerable industry including several samll engineering works and foundries. It's principal importance is, however, due to the shipbuilding yards, now largely engaged on submarine construction. [...] "

Air raids in 1944

Successful first attack on the Flensburg-Schäferhaus airfield on April 15, 1944

The 8th US Air Force had the Flensburg-Schäferhaus airfield attacked for the first time by aircraft flying low using on-board weapons and incendiary devices. The attacking aircraft, presumably of the Republic P-47 type , inflamed six torpedo bombers on the ground , presumably of the Heinkel He 111 type . Some nearby buildings were hit by the on-board ammunition. Two women died with one baby . Two other women and another child were injured.

Unsuccessful drop on the Flensburg-Schäferhaus airfield on September 16, 1944

The 50 incendiary bombs, presumably dropped by a single British aircraft at the airfield, all fell on open terrain and did not cause any damage.

Air raids in 1945

After the heavy attack on the shipyard in the previous year, the shipyard could not achieve the delivery target for nine submarines for 1943. In 1944, the Flensburg submarine production was stopped.

Single drop on January 16, 1945 at Eckernförde Landstrasse

On January 16, an aircraft dropped an explosive bomb on Eckernförde Landstrasse near the railway overpass, which left a crater about 3.50 meters in the ground.

In the following two months, February to March, no air raids were probably carried out.

Attack by two B-17 bombers on Flensburg-Schäferhaus airfield on April 3, 1945

Two B-17 bombers bomb Schäferhaus airfield with twenty 500-pound explosive bombs. The runway and a workshop hall were hit. In addition, some neighboring houses in the Schäferhaus area were slightly damaged.

Attack by four mosquitos on the Flensburg-Schäferhaus airfield on April 13, 1945

Four attacking mosquitos shot at parked planes with on-board weapons. 20 machines were destroyed, 26 damaged. Three Russians doing auxiliary work were killed in the process.

Air raid at Hebbelschule on April 17, 1945

An artillery private was injured in an air attack at the Hebbelschule (see: Auguste-Viktoria-Schule (Flensburg) ) with 100 rounds of on-board ammunition.

Air raid on Flensburg-Weiche and the city center on April 19, 1945

Several mosquitos dropped 10 high explosive and 600 incendiary bombs on April 19. The eastern workers camp and parts of the freight yard were hit. One house was destroyed. Twenty were damaged. An air raid shelter was hit directly on Lange Reihe . Two women, a five-year-old child and a baby died. Only three women were injured. In addition, downtown Flensburg was shelled with on-board weapons.

Another attack on the Flensburg-Schäferhaus airfield on April 20, 1945

An attacking aircraft shot two German aircraft on the ground with on-board weapons. One machine was destroyed, the other damaged.

Attack on the Eggebek air base south of Flensburg on 21/22. April 1945

On the night of April 21st to April 22nd, 16 mosquitos flew an attack against Eggebek Air Base, 18 kilometers south of Flensburg .

At the end of the war, numerous planes left for Flensburg and landed in Schäferhaus . After the end of the war, the British had the remaining airworthy machines scrapped there.

April 23, 1945, the largest air raid on the city

In April 1945 the city was already overcrowded with refugees (see population development in Flensburg ). On April 23, the British wanted to finally fly a successful major attack on the Fördestadt. 148 four-engine Lancaster bombers, with a bomb load that was greater than anything that had previously been dropped on Flensburg, started on that day in the direction of Flensburg to bomb the station and port facilities , taking great civilian losses with them. Flensburg survived this "fateful day" again by luck. A closed cloud cover hid the city. The bombers turned at the last moment and they turned back. Again the wrongly assessed weather situation had saved the city.

Towards the end of the war, more and more great Nazis came to Flensburg via the Rattenlinie Nord . At the beginning of May the last government of the Reich moved into the marine sports school in Mürwik .

Air raid from 2/3 May 1945 with the last victims and destruction of the Margarethenhof Speicher

On May 2nd between 11:18 p.m. and 1:40 a.m., British bombs fell on the city again. About 15 mosquito bombers took part in this attack. One of the British planes threw a container of 60 target markers on the order 23:18 News School from. Four high-explosive bombs fell in a row on the tram at the terminus near Mürwik in front of the barracks gate. An air force helper and six soldiers died. 32 people also died in the affected auxiliary hospital in the agricultural school on Schleswiger Strasse in the south of the city.

Furthermore, the Margarethenhof granary at Johannisstrasse 78 was destroyed by a bomb on that day . The destroyed warehouse represents one of the few culturally significant structural losses caused by the aerial warfare in Flensburg. In the post-war period, a similar but simpler building was rebuilt in the same place.

During the said hours of the airstrike, a total of 64 target marker bombs, 44 five hundred pound high explosive bombs and 120-150 incendiary bombs had been dropped. A total of 56 people died; 36 adults and 20 children, most of whom had fled before. Some of the children had already lost their parents during their flight from the East. When they arrived in Flensburg, they could not say their names, and because they were too busy to register their names, they were buried as nameless in the Friedenshügel cemetery. 32 people were injured.

The Flensburger Nachrichten could not appear that day due to the power supply being interrupted by the air attack. When Sandberg some families suspended after the raid white sheets from the windows.

Last attacks on May 4, 1945

On May 4, 1945, five low-flying aircraft dropped eight incendiary bombs on Schäferhaus airfield. Aircraft on the ground and the repair hangar were destroyed. Two soldiers died. Furthermore, Karl Dönitz's special train, which was to be brought to Flensburg, was attacked by British planes at the small Sörup train station , about ten kilometers south-east of Flensburg. The commander of the special train was Asmus Jepsen , who soon after became a victim of the Nazi naval justice due to problems with the special train . On the same day, several planes also attacked several ships and two submarines in the area between Kiel and Flensburg.

With the signing of the partial surrender , the bombing of Flensburg also ended.

End of the air raids with the end of the war

On May 4th, Hans-Georg von Friedeburg signed the partial surrender for the troops in Northern Germany , Denmark , Holland and Norway on behalf of the last Reich President Karl Dönitz , who had left the last Reich government in Flensburg - Mürwik . The city of Flensburg was no longer to be defended and was therefore declared an “ open city ” by the OKW . On May 5, the fighting in the northern area ended as a result of the partial surrender being signed. In the following two days, Allied advance commands reached the city of Flensburg. On May 7, 1945, shortly after the partial capitulation, Karl Dönitz also had the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht declared. The threat from air strikes ended. From 8 to 13 May, the city, with the exception of the Mürwiker special area , was gradually occupied by British troops. The Reich government in the Mürwik special area was finally arrested on May 23, as part of Operation Blackout . The northern German cities that were bombed during the war included Flensburg, Lübeck and Kiel as well as Neumünster and the cities of Bad Oldesloe , Elmshorn and Wedel near Hamburg . The bomb load planned for Flensburg consisted of over 30,000 bombs by the end of the war, but most of them never reached their destination. During the war, 176 inhabitants of Flensburg died in the air raids. Almost 3,000 people from Flensburg died as soldiers.

Troop crew bunker in Mürwik on which there is now a penthouse . It is considered one of the most bizarre houses in Germany.

Legends, aftermath and commemoration

There were some legends without truth content regarding the rather minor damage caused by air raids on Flensburg, for example the Danish king did not want it, Danish-minded Schleswigers and Danes interceded in London for the entire region or Churchill had a niece living on the fjord. The historian Broder Schwensen judged: “[…] these stories […] are fairy tales without truth content. [...] All nonsense. The best evidence that it was not so is on May 19, 1943, when bombs fell over the north of Flensburg. ” - Especially in Neustadt and Nordstadt, the largest part of the Danish minority is traditionally still in the city . Not only the west side of the fjord was bombed, but also the then less populated east side with the base, which is part of the fishing peninsula , from which the name England is derived. So it could well have happened that the English bombed away part of their own cultural roots.

During the Cold War , Flensburg became a projected nuclear target for the Soviet submarine base in the Latvian city ​​of Libau (Lat. Liepāja). - What the bombing raids of the Second World War did not destroy was then partly visually destroyed by demolitions and building sins , according to the philosophy of high-contrast building. Nevertheless, the old town area on the pedestrian zone with its shops has been continuously renovated for years. Other areas with significant cultural monuments , for example the St.-Johannis-Mühle or the Naval Hospital Flensburg-Mürwik of the Naval School are at the mercy of destruction. Some bunkers have been preserved.

Every now and then, commemorative events are held at the Friedenshügel cemetery for the people of Flensburg who were killed by bombs in the war . The graves of the children from the Danish kindergarten, who died on May 19, 1943, and the graves of the children who died on May 2/3, are also in the cemetery. May 1945 died. For example, put City President Svetlana Krätzschmar for Memorial Day 2015 three wreaths for the victims, and spoke words to commemorate the dead.

See also

literature

  • Dieter Nickel, Broder Schwensen: Flensburg in the air war 1939–1945 (=  series of publications of the Society for Flensburg City History . Volume 68 ). Society for Flensburg City History, Flensburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-925856-58-7 (208 pages with half-hour DVD film “Memories of May 19, 1943” by Dieter Nickel).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rafinfo. Volume 3 1942 Amendments and Additions , Retrieved April 26, 2016
  2. ^ Flensburg - history of a border town. Edited by the Society for Flensburg City History. Flensburg 1966, p. 452
  3. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 168 and 212
  4. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 28
  5. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 44 ff.
  6. ^ Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (ed.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 408
  7. ^ Flensburg Journal : Flensburg streets and districts. From the camp school Weiche to the town hall , on: August 29, 2013; Retrieved on: January 23, 2017
  8. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 22
  9. ↑ The school building was demolished after the war. It stood south, near the church; thus covered the main portal of the church. There is now a parking lot where the building was.
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (Hrsg.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 409
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Andreas Oeding, Broder Schwensen, Michael Sturm: Flexikon. 725 aha experiences from Flensburg! Flensburg 2009, article: Air War
  12. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 98
  13. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 101
  14. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 124
  15. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 151
  16. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 196
  17. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 96
  18. ↑ Kirchspiels Handewitt (ed.): Chronik des Kirchspiels Handewitt , 1990 Leck, p. 299
  19. ↑ The Andes are greening too slowly. Attrapflyveplads på Frøslev Mark or (Googel translation of the page)
  20. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 97
  21. ↑ Gerhard Paul u. Broder Schwensen (Ed.): May '45. End of the war in Flensburg , Flensburg 2015, p. 165
  22. ↑ Flak position Scharnhorstlager. With a plan from the warehouse , accessed on: June 28, 2018
  23. ↑ Traces of History. Panzerkaserne Flensburg , accessed on: June 28, 2018
  24. ↑ Tenhumberg family. Cabolet Servais , accessed: April 27, 2016
  25. ^ Police Sports Club Flensburg eV History. PSV Flensburg - a club of great versatility , accessed on: April 27, 2016
  26. ↑ Cf. Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (Hrsg.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 435
  27. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 99
  28. ^ Lutz Wilde: Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany, cultural monuments in Schleswig-Holstein. Volume 2, Flensburg, p. 420 f.
  29. ↑ a b c d e f g h Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 100
  30. ^ Lutz Wilde: Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany, cultural monuments in Schleswig-Holstein. Volume 2, Flensburg, p. 420
  31. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 101 f.
  32. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 109
  33. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 104
  34. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 106 and 107
  35. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 106 and 111
  36. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 106 and 109 f.
  37. ↑ See Andreas Oeding, Broder Schwensen, Michael Sturm: Flexikon. 725 aha experiences from Flensburg! Flensburg 2009, article: Air War
  38. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 110
  39. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 112 f.
  40. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 113
  41. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 114
  42. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 115; The number 337 results from the addition of the individual values.
  43. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 107 and 116
  44. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Flensburg-Online. Air raids on Flensburg , December 2002; Retrieved on: April 26, 2016
  45. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 117
  46. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 116
  47. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 118
  48. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 119
  49. ↑ See Feldmühle (company)
  50. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 119–121
  51. ↑ Flensburg street names . Society for Flensburg City History, article: Backensmühle
  52. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 121
  53. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 122
  54. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 123 f.
  55. ↑ Cf. Stadtarchiv Flensburg : Bomb damage to the Engel residential building, Parkstraße 9 (Flensburg-Mürwik) and: Photo documentation and partial city map of bomb damage after an air raid to: Villa Bauer Landstraße 15 a, waterworks, FSG shipyard, Luftwaffenbauamt Exe, paper mill, Parkstraße 9, Kaiser-Wilhelm -Straße 154 , from: October 28, 1942, retrieved on: April 29, 2016.
  56. ↑ In an older source, the number of American bombers is given as eighty. See Flensburg - history of a border town. Edited by the Society for Flensburg City History. Flensburg 1966, p. 453
  57. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Flensburger Tageblatt : 150 years of city history from a newspaper perspective. Kiel / Hamburg 2016, p. 114 f.
  58. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 127
  59. ↑ a b c d e Flensburg - History of a border town. Edited by the Society for Flensburg City History. Flensburg 1966, p. 453
  60. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 129
  61. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 139 as well as photo of the damaged north gate of the Flensburger Tageblatt article: Broder Schwensen lectures: Bombs on Flensburg , from: May 16, 2018; accessed on: October 13, 2018
  62. ↑ a b c d Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (Hrsg.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 370
  63. ^ A b c Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (Hrsg.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 369
  64. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 132 f.
  65. ↑ a b c d e f Flensburger Tageblatt : Mourning: The dignity of nameless children , from: November 14, 2014; Retrieved on: April 28, 2016
  66. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, pp. 148 and 150
  67. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 150
  68. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 151 f.
  69. ↑ SWR2 : "Bomber's Baedeker": Book of the English Air Force in Mainz digitized , from: March 16, 2020; accessed on: March 22, 2020
  70. ↑ Die Welt : With this Baedeker, the RAF planned the destruction of German cities , from: June 13, 2019; accessed on: March 22, 2020
  71. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 153
  72. ↑ The claim that a Canadian air raid on Flensburg-Gardening took place on March 7, 1945 is obviously wrong. An area called "gardening" does not exist. Apparently this claim is based on a fleeting, incorrect translation of an English source ( Memento of January 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). The same applies to an alleged attack on "gardening" on April 9, 1945.
  73. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 154
  74. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 155 f.
  75. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 155
  76. ↑ a b WiF. Flensburg - Perle am Fjord , from: April 27, 2016
  77. ↑ a b NDR. Live ticker about the end of World War II 70 years ago , from: 2015, accessed on: May 20, 2016
  78. ^ A b c Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 163
  79. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 165
  80. ^ Lutz Wilde: Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany, cultural monuments in Schleswig-Holstein. Volume 2, Flensburg, p. 288
  81. ^ Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 166
  82. ↑ State Center for Civic Education Schleswig-Holstein (ed.): Der Untergang 1945 in Flensburg (lecture on January 10, 2012 by Gerhard Paul ), p. 11.
  83. ↑ a b Broder Schwensen , Dieter Nickel : Flensburg in the air war 1939-1945. Flensburg 2009, p. 167
  84. ^ Flensburg-Online. Air raids on Flensburg , in December 2002, and 354th Fighter Group, May 4.1945 ( Memento of 21 April 2003 at the Internet Archive ) and Tactical Operations (Ninth Air Force) ; Accessed on: May 9, 2016
  85. ↑ See also: List of German U-Boats (1935–1945) / U 1501 – U 4870
  86. ^ Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (ed.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 409
  87. ↑ a b Gerhard Paul u. Broder Schwensen (Ed.): May '45. End of the war in Flensburg , Flensburg 2015, p. 210 f.
  88. ↑ Gerhard Paul u. Broder Schwensen (Ed.): May '45. End of the war in Flensburg , Flensburg 2015, p. 211.
  89. ^ A b Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (Hrsg.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 410
  90. ^ Eckardt Opitz : Schleswig-Holstein. The country and its history in pictures, texts and documents , Hamburg 2008. p. 228
  91. ↑ See the bomb numbers mentioned above.
  92. ↑ The number of fallen soldiers is given in the literature between 2710 and 2896, whereby the number 2710 is also given as the number of fallen residents, without it being clear whether the 176 deaths from the air raids were taken into account. See Flensburg - history of a border town. Edited by the Society for Flensburg City History. Flensburg 1966, p. 452 and: Writings of the Society for Flensburg City History (ed.): Flensburg in history and present . Flensburg 1972, p. 409 as well as: The time : breathing as pleasure. In Glücksburg and Flensburg: Contemplative autumn days on the fjord , from: November 1st, 1974; accessed on: April 27, 2016; 2710 plus 176 would result in 2886. 2710 minus 176 would result in 2634. Apparently only an approximate value of "almost 3000" fallen soldiers can be given, as was also done in a more recent book: Gerhard Paul u. Broder Schwensen (Ed.): May '45. End of the war in Flensburg , Flensburg 2015, p. 206
  93. ↑ See Slesvigland . 6th year 1985, issue 3, p. 91
  94. ^ Andreas Oeding, Broder Schwensen, Michael Sturm: Flexikon. 725 aha experiences from Flensburg! Flensburg 2009, article: Bunker
  95. ^ Andreas Oeding, Broder Schwensen, Michael Sturm: Flexikon. 725 aha experiences from Flensburg! Flensburg 2009, article: Building sins

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