On April 18, 1947, the British blow up 6,700 tons of ammunition and the military installations on Helgoland. The island is thus demilitarized. But the islanders can't go back for the time being.
A dull rumble, a cloud of smoke and ash up to four kilometers high over Helgoland, which can be seen as far as Cuxhaven - this is how eyewitnesses experience April 18, 1947. On this day, the British blow up 6,700 tons of grenades, rockets and explosives . It was ammunition stored in the island's underground bunkers and tunnels, and explosives that the British had previously brought in from the mainland. The goal of the gigantic explosion, the "Big Bang" of Helgoland:After the Second World War, the occupiers wanted to destroy important ammunition and military installations on Helgoland.
A warm gust and a light wind
British Navy Lieutenant Brian Butler witnessed the blast from a ship ten miles away:"I could see the surface of the water rippling. The sea was very calm that day. And then we felt a very warm gust and then a light wind that continued to ripple the sea".
Written to the Pope
The 2,500 inhabitants of Heligoland had to leave the island in 1945. Also Olaf Ohlsen and his parents. He remembers how bitterly his parents and other Heligolanders fought against the destruction plans. "They wrote to the Pope, they wrote to Churchill so that Heligoland wouldn't be blown up," he recalls. "My father was a prisoner of war here. He had to drag in all the ammunition. That's why he was firmly convinced that there was nothing left of Helgoland after this blast." But this fear is unfounded. "My father came back from the port and cheered:Heligoland is standing! Helgoland is standing," says Ohlsen. He was eleven years old then.
Tall Anna is still standing
Although the island is a field of rubble, its shape has been preserved to some extent. Only at the southern tip are about 70,000 square meters sunk into the sea. Hitler's gigantic submarine bunker had been located there. The famous Lange Anna rock needle, on the other hand, is still standing, and the port facilities and coastal protection walls are still intact.
Destroy fortifications
For many years the rumor has persisted that the British wanted to completely destroy the island. However, no such order ever existed. A letter from the British to German government officials in December 1946 states:"There are no plans to blow up the island of Helgoland, but it is absolutely necessary to demilitarize the island, and as a result some 22 kilometers of tunnels and galleries will be destroyed or blocked by explosive material likely, a large part of the island's surface will inevitably be destroyed." Brian Butler also emphasizes that Helgoland should not be completely destroyed:"We wanted to destroy the fortifications and the war munitions that were still in Germany and on the island."
Helgoland:An island as a bomb site
The British collected tons of ammunition on the island to destroy along with the military installations.After the blast, the Heligolanders are relieved that their island is still standing. They hope to return home. But they reckoned without the British. For the occupying power, the island is an ideal bombing ground for training purposes. And so the bombardments there continue unabated. German politicians protest against it again and again. In December 1949, the German Bundestag unanimously called on the federal government to persuade the Allies to return the Heligolanders to their island. But the efforts remain unsuccessful.
Handed over to German administration in 1952
Only when the students René Leudesdorff and Georg von Hatzfeld occupied Heligoland in December 1950 to demonstrate for the return to Germany did things start to move. The public is becoming aware of the problem and the international press is reporting on it. The British then begin negotiations with the Adenauer government. Just a few weeks later, on February 21, 1951, the British government decided to return the island. The handover takes place on March 1, 1952.