Bornholm marks 80 years since Soviet occupation with lingering memories of war

Eighty years after Soviet forces left Bornholm, survivors recall the fear and relief of an occupation that scarred the Danish island, reports DR. A commemorative service will be held today to mark the anniversary of the Red Army’s departure on April 5, 1946.

Ella Munck Jallov, now 90, and Bjarne Ilsted Bech, 94, remember the day crowds packed Rønne Harbour to watch the last Soviet troops board ships and sail away after 11 months of military control. “We stood like sardines in a can,” Jallov said. “The mood was high—everyone was glad to see them go, though no one dared say it out loud.”

Bech, then 14, recalled the Soviet salute as ships departed: “We just enjoyed the moment in silence.” Yet the joy of liberation contrasted sharply with the terror of the Soviets’ arrival a year earlier, when bombs rained on Rønne and Nexø while the rest of Denmark celebrated freedom from Nazi rule.

Jallov, then nine, was alone with her mother when Russian planes struck on May 7, 1945. “First we heard explosions, then German soldiers burst in shouting ‘unten, unten’—‘get down!’” she said. They hid in a cellar as bombs destroyed nearby homes, killing four in one family. Her father and brother later helped carry victims to hospital on doors loaded onto their car.

Bech’s family fled Rønne after their home was damaged. “We couldn’t walk the streets—just narrow paths cleared through rubble,” he said. “Our roof was gone. When it rained, water poured through the ceilings.” Of the island’s 3,200 Rønne properties, 2,900 were damaged; in Nexø, 856 of 959 buildings suffered hits, with 175 destroyed.

The Soviets, who arrived to “liberate” Bornholm from German forces, were met with distrust. “They weren’t seen as liberators,” Jallov said. Up to 9,000 Russian troops occupied the island until April 1946, leaving behind a legacy still felt today.