Editing Borkum (section)

==History==
Mentioned as ''Burchana fabaria'' (island of beans) by both [[Strabo]] and [[Pliny the Elder]], Borkum by the time of [[Charlemagne]] was part of a larger island called ''Bant'', which consisted of the present day islands of Borkum, [[Juist]], and the western part of [[Norderney]].

In 1484, Bant passed to the Earls of [[East Frisia]], who developed trade, and the island became known as a centre of piracy and whaling. By 1781, violent storms in the 18th century divided Bant into three islands. As whaling decreased, the inhabitants became impoverished, and many left, with the island's population falling from 852 in 1776 to 406 by 1811. The first tourists arrived on the island in 1834, and the local economy improved as a tourist resort.

In ''Mexico as I saw it'', published by [[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]], [[Mrs Alec Tweedie]], writing in 1911 about a trip of 1900 to [[Mexico]], compares the brick roads of [[Monterrey, Mexico|Monterrey]] with those of Borkum, "the one spot on earth from which [[Jew]]s are banished". This had to do with the aggressive and successful campaign of German tourists to keep Borkum free from Jewish visitors, as celebrated in the [[antisemitic]] "Borkum-[[Lied]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volksliederarchiv.de/wir-gruessen-heut-im-frohen-lied-antisemitisches-borkum-lied/ |title=Wir grüßen heut' im frohen Lied (antisemitisches Borkum-Lied) |language=de |work=Volksliederarchiv |date=27 April 1903 |access-date=20 December 2011}}</ref>

In 1910, British officers Captain [[Bernard Frederick Trench]] and Lieutenant Vivian H. Brandon were imprisoned for espionage for photographing the military installations on the island.

On 19 and 20 December 1934, [[Wernher von Braun]] launched [[Aggregate series#A2|"Max" and "Moritz"]], the two prototypes of the [[A2 (rocket)|A2]]-[[rocket]].

In 1944, the island was the site of the massacre of 7 American POWs. After the war, these murders were prosecuted in the [[Borkum Island war crimes trial]].

In November 2024, the German press revealed the existence of Klaasohm festival, held every 5 December for decades and still ongoing. This hidden festival allows packs of young men to chase women and spank them with cows' horns, sometimes causing bruises and hematomas. The festival is endorsed by the island authorities. Victims reported in the press that even minors and pregnant women are not spared.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Krupp |first1=Gunnar |title=Mit Kuhhorn auf Frauenjagd: Klaasohm auf Borkum |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYmUBjgEPXU |access-date=30 November 2024 |agency=STRG_F |publisher=ARD |date=28 November 2024}}</ref>