End of the British occupation of Heligoland

Heligoland is returned to German administration

Following heavy bombing of the naval base on Heligoland – a North Sea island located 50 km off the German coast – in 1945, the Third Reich decided to evacuate its civilian population to the German mainland. Occupied by the British after the end of the war, Heligoland was declared a restricted military area. On 18 April 1947, Operation Big Bang set off one of the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time. The attempt to destroy the bunker facilities and remaining munitions caused a blast that removed the southern tip of the island.

The new West German government exerted considerable pressure on the Allies to permit the return of the civilian population to Heligoland; the first of the islanders went home on 1 March 1952. Today, some 1,200 people live on the island.