WWII BORNHOLM DENMARK - OCCUPIED - BOMBED - LIBERATED

WWII BORNHOLM DENMARK - OCCUPIED - BOMBED - LIBERATED
Danish publication 'Bornholm Occupied - Bombed - Liberated' (Bornholm - Besat Bombet Befriet) Ernst G. Olsens Forlag, Ronne, 1945, approx. 86 pages, illustrated throughout, showing the destruction of the small Danish island in the Baltic Sea. Bornholm, as a part of Denmark, was captured by Germany on 10 April 1940. Bornholm was heavily bombarded by the Soviet Air Force in May 1945. The German garrison commander, German Navy Captain Gerhard von Kamptz, refused to surrender to the Soviets, as his orders were to surrender to the Western Allies. The Germans requested that at least one British soldier should be transferred to Bornholm, for the Germans to surrender to Allied forces instead of the Soviets. When von Kamptz failed to provide a written capitulation as demanded by the Soviet commanders, Soviet aircraft relentlessly bombed and destroyed more than 800 civilian houses and seriously damaged roughly 3,000 more on 7 - 8 May. On 9 May Soviet troops landed on the island, and after a short fight, the German garrison surrendered. Spine unglued, some loss to spine and cover, staining to first page, else fine.