Air raids on Wesermünde

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Monument in Wulsdorf

The air raids on Wesermünde were allied aerial warfare operations in the Second World War on the city of Wesermünde .

background

Wesermünde was formed in 1924 as an independent city in the Prussian province of Hanover through the union of the cities of Lehe and Geestemünde . The city, to which Bremerhaven (now the Mitte district ) belonged since 1939 , was incorporated into the state of Bremen in 1947 and renamed Bremerhaven.

Like Wilhelmshaven and Kiel , Wesermünde was an important port city . The Bremerhaven naval base (1935–1945) was of strategic importance. The shipyards and industry were endangered by air raids , especially since the city could be reached quickly from the bases on Great Britain . On August 31, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the navy to start a "trade war with a focus on England". From 1939 to 1945 the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) carried out 52 air raids on Wesermünde and the Bremerhaven overseas port area belonging to Bremen . By January 1945, 1,142 people were killed.

Air raid

In November 1940, the construction of initially 10 fully-fledged air raid shelters for self-defense and the Deutsche Reichsbahn began . At the end of the war there were 15 high bunkers and 3 deep bunkers in the city area. There were also some other bunkers of the Kriegsmarine in their barracks and facilities, some of which also took in civilians. About 10% of the population found protection from the bombs .

Several batteries of anti-aircraft guns were stationed for security in and around the city. The naval flak divisions 244 and 264 had both 10.5 cm flak and those of the largest 12.8 cm caliber at their locations in Weddewarden , Langen , Spaden and Schiffdorf (244) and Langlütjen , Grebswarden , Ellwürden and Stotel (264) .

Bombings

The first air raid on 28 November 1939 aimed at the air base of naval aviation in Weddewarden. On October 16, 1940, bombs hit residential areas for the first time . On March 12, 1941, the RAF Bomber Command bombed the port. On February 3, 1944, US planes dropped 307 explosive bombs and 37 phosphor bombs. On June 15, 18 and 24, 1944, the USAAF carried out bombing raids on Wesermünde, during which more than 1,000 high-explosive devices and incendiary bombs fell. The area around the Pauluskirche , including the savings bank building , was particularly hard hit . The attack on June 24 was aimed at the fishing port and the Seebeck shipyard .

On September 18, 1944, the RAF Bomber Command sent 206 Avro Lancaster and 7 de Havilland DH.98 Mosquitos to the mouth of the Weser. In the evening 480 high-explosive bombs , 420,000 stick bombs and 31 air mines almost completely destroyed the center and Geestemünde within 20 minutes . The steeple of the Mayor Smidt Memorial Church resisted. The brick factory in Blexen , where rubber was stored for the construction of submarines, was also destroyed. The Wesermünde-Mitte district (formerly Bremerhaven) was 97 percent destroyed, Geestemünde 75 percent and Lehe 12 percent. 2,670 buildings were completely destroyed, 369 heavily and 1,491 slightly damaged. Six churches, fourteen schools, the town hall, the town theater , the Morgenstern Museum , the town library, the aquarium with part of the animal grottoes of the zoo by the sea , the south wing of the emigration center and the Columbus train station were destroyed . The port facilities remained undamaged because Wesermünde (Bremerhaven) was already designed as a supply port for the Americans. The freighters Monica (295 GRT) and Stillesee (1,408 GRT) were sunk . 618 people lost their lives, 1,903 were injured and 30,000 were left homeless. The RAF only lost two planes.

On the night of 18./19. In October another 867 tons of bombs fell on the city, which had already been destroyed.

A memorial for the bomb victims was erected at the Bremerhaven cemetery in Wulsdorf .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bremen Police (ordnance clearance service) (PDF; 878 kB)
  2. ↑ a b c d Relict.com
  3. ↑ According to information on the air raids in Bremerhaven (www.relektiven.de) , 1,142 people were killed in 52 air raids on Bremerhaven. During the heaviest attack on 18./19. September 1944 died 618 inhabitants.
  4. ↑ Flak protection in the greater Bremerhaven area on Relict.com
  5. ^ A b Family Tenhumberg
  6. ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education