#Story
Schiermonnikoog during the Second World War
On 15 May 1940, the first German soldiers set foot on Schiermonnikoog — thirty men from the navy and army who had crossed over from the nearby island of Borkum. With the raising of the German flag at the lighthouse, the occupation became a fact. A radar post was soon constructed, along with a narrow-gauge railway for transporting building materials.
As part of the Atlantic Wall defensive line, the German occupiers built an entire bunker village on Schiermonnikoog, known as the “Schleistellung” or “Schleidorp.” In the dunes along the beach, bunkers, radar systems, accommodation and barracks complexes, and anti-aircraft positions appeared. The core of this bunker village was a large Wassermann radar bunker on a dune, although it was never fully equipped with its planned antenna mast.
Occupation and Daily Life
During the war years, more than seven hundred German soldiers were stationed on this small island — almost as many as the roughly eight hundred inhabitants. Large parts of the island were designated Sperrgebiet; residents were allowed to move only in and around the village, tourism came to a complete halt, and outside visitors were effectively barred. Construction of the military positions did, however, provide employment for island men, often allowing them to avoid forced labour in Germany.
Liberation
The liberation of Schiermonnikoog came later than on the mainland. On 25 May 1945, the first Canadian troops arrived, and on 11 June the last German soldiers were removed from the island, making Schiermonnikoog the very last part of the Netherlands to be liberated. Many bunkers disappeared or became buried under sand, but traces remain visible in the landscape. The bunker village, the narrow-gauge railway, the trenches and the surviving bunkers continue to form part of the military heritage of the Wadden region.