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An often-overlooked chapter in lighthouse history is the period during which the Germans occupied a number of lighthouses in Europe. There was, in fact, a German Wartime Lighthouse Service, and it is an unpleasant but significant history that should be preserved. The photos shown here from the Munich Illustrated News of July 15, 1943 represent a small part of that history.
The photos show a German Armed Forces crew at an occupied lighthouse, which unfortunately is not named in the captions that appeared with the photos. The title for the page was “Leuchtturm 13 wird abgelöst,” or roughly, “Relief for lighthouse No. 13.”
The English captions with the photos as they appear here have been translated from the original German by Egbert Koch of the World Lighthouse Society. He comments, “It is interesting to note that a civilian is seen on the fishing boat. He holds a rope in his hands. I can't identify the uniform of the man who is standing far right. All other people seem to wear Navy uniforms. The people of the relief crew definitely wear Navy uniforms.”
Egbert points out that in 1943, Germany did not have wave-swept lighthouses except for Roter Sand, which is a cast iron tower instead of one made of stone like the one in the photos. His guess is that the lighthouse depicted in the photos is La Hague (Cap de la Hague) off the French coast in the English Channel. The 167-foot granite lighthouse was established in 1837.
This story appeared in the March 2005 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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