Bornholm resident recalls Soviet withdrawal 80 years after occupation

Eighty years ago, Soviet forces ended their 11-month occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm, a period that began with bombings at the close of World War II, reports Danish broadcaster DR.

Bjarne Ilsted Bech, then a young man, remembers standing at the harbour as the last Soviet ship departed, heading east. The withdrawal marked the end of a prolonged military presence that had followed the Red Army’s initial bombardment of the island in May 1945.

The occupation, which lasted until April 1946, remains a distinct chapter in Bornholm’s history, as Soviet troops maintained control long after the war’s conclusion elsewhere in Europe.