Heligoland: The True Story of German Bight and the Island that Britain Forgot

Heligoland: The True Story of German Bight and the Island that Britain Forgot by George Drower

Heligoland is a small island in the North Sea. It is constantly beaten by the sea, so much so that a few centuries ago it was split into two. It is far enough from the mainland to be missing from many charts, yet close enough to be strategically useful. The island has been inhabited for centuries, never growing huge, but remaining pretty stable. The island has swapped ownership a number of times. For a while, it was a Danish possession. Then it became an English colony before it was ceded to Germany (in a peacetime transaction involving African colonies.) It was reclaimed by England after World War II, and then given back to Germany after it had been heavily bombed.

The residents of the island have been occasionally kicked off - often during times of war or bombing. However, they have usually returned. They have historically been involved in sea-faring activities. They are talented in maneuvering boats in the adverse conditions and in finding fish for sustenance. The island has also become a tourist destination for Germans and seemed to help with creative impulses. The German national anthem was written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben while he was on vacation in Heligoland (ironically when it was still a British possession.) Heisenberg came up with his uncertainty principle while on the island. 

The book has a fairly haphazard structure. It is written from a very British perspective. A recurring theme is that the Heligolanders loved when they were under British control and did not like the German overlordship. At times the book will dwell on certain related events for seemingly endless pages, then jump forward a few decades. It feels that there was just not enough available in the sources, so the author grabbed what they could when there were tangentially related details.