In early April 1945, German and Georgian soldiers were still serving together, seemingly in harmony, on the North Sea island, which had so far been spared from the war. The Georgians had enlisted as Eastern Legionnaires for service in the Wehrmacht in order to escape captivity. Now they were to go to the front. On the night of 6 April 1945, they revolted against their brothers in arms and killed hundreds of German soldiers. The uprising, which was joined by the Dutch resistance, engulfed the entire island. The Wehrmacht retaliated brutally. The island sank into a bloodbath that outlasted the end of the war in Europe. The book recounts the events on Texel in 1945 from the perspective of Georgian, Dutch and German participants. - With numerous photos and maps.



Kai Althoetmar, born in Cologne in 1968, is a graduate of the Cologne School of Journalism and holds a degree in political sciences and economics. He has been working as a full-time freelance author since 1997 and lives in Bad Muenstereifel in the Eifel region of Germany.



The crucified island. How Texel sank in a sea of blood in April 1945. The tragic story of the Georgian legionnaires' uprising against the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II.