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1945

War in a war

German fortification

In the Second World War, the lighthouse and the surrounding bunker complex formed a fortification in the German Atlantic wall.

Prisoners of war

The fortification was manned at the end of the war by a battalion of Georgian prisoners of war serving under the Germans.

Rise to liberate

In April 1945, the Georgians decided to help the allied liberation force. They eliminated the Germans that were present and declared Texel to be freed.

Guerilla

However, the Germans struck back. Troops and heavy artillery were brought over from Den Helder. A guerrilla war broke out on the island. The lighthouse was heavily damaged.

Special war cemetery

Those Georgians that weren’t killed were executed. With support from the Russian liberators, they were buried after the war ended in the war cemetery ‘Loladse’ in the Hoge Berg region on Texel.

New wall around the old

After the war ended, it was decided not to break down the old battered lighthouse, but to construct a new wall around the old one. And that is why the Texel’s lighthouse still has its historical inner tower.