Editing Kirkenes (section)

===World War II===
{{see also|Operation EF (1941)}}
During the [[occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany]], Kirkenes was one of the many bases for the German [[Kriegsmarine]] and the [[Luftwaffe]]'s [[Jagdgeschwader 5]], and apart from that, the area served as a main base for supplies to the [[Murmansk]] front (see [[Lapland War]]).
[[File:Kirkenespeople.jpg|left|thumb|210px|People of Kirkenes returning home after the [[Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive]].]]
Reportedly, Kirkenes was second after [[Malta]] on a list of European towns experiencing air-raid alarms and attacks, with more than 1,000 alarms and 320 air attacks. The town was [[Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive|released]] by the [[Red Army]] on 25 October 1944 when the German [[Wehrmacht]] was pushed out and fled the area after having destroyed most of the remaining infrastructure. Only 13 houses survived the war.

Close to the town there is a memorial to 11 freedom fighters who helped the partisans collect information about the German occupation. In the summer of 1943, their activities were discovered and many of them were sent to a prisoner-of-war camp near Kirkenes. Following a [[court-martial]] the 11 were sentenced to death and were killed near the memorial spot on 18 August 1943. When the common grave was opened in 1946 it was found that the men had been beaten to death. Following the [[post mortem]] and memorial service, the bodies were returned to their homesteads.<ref>Details from memorial plaque</ref>