Editing Wismar (section)

===20th century===
By the end of the 19th century Wismar's most important manufacturing branches were the production of iron and steel, roofing-felt, asphalt, paper and machine industry. International sea trade took place at the local harbour, which was deep enough to admit vessels of up to {{convert|5|m|ft|0|spell=in}} draught at its quays. Exports included grains, oil-seeds and butter as coal, timber and iron were imported.<ref name="EB1911"/> Wismar was production site for several railroad rolling stock manufacturers and since 1933 home to ''Norddeutsche Dornier-Werke'' of aircraft manufacturer [[Dornier Flugzeugwerke|Dornier]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wismar.de/index.php?ModID=7&FID=2634.6700.1&object=tx%7C2634.6700.1 | title=  Flugzeugbau in Wismar - Die Norddeutschen Dornierwerke   |publisher= Wismar De | access-date= January 4, 2021}}</ref> On 14 May 1881 [[Rudolph Karstadt]] opened his first shop (''Tuch-, Manufaktur- und Konfektionsgeschäft'') of the now well established department store chain [[Karstadt]] in Wismar.<ref name="wdr">{{cite news|url=http://www1.wdr.de/themen/archiv/stichtag/stichtag1712.html|title=14. Mai 2006 - Vor 125 Jahren: Rudolph Karstadt eröffnet sein erstes Geschäft|work=[[Westdeutscher Rundfunk]]|language=de|access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], it was the location of a [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamp of the Nazi prison in [[Bützow|Bützow-Dreibergen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000166|title=Außenkommando der Strafanstalten Dreibergen-Bützow in Wismar bei den Norddeutschen Dornier-Werken|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=30 October 2021|language=de}}</ref> Wismar was heavily bombed and destroyed by [[Strategic bombing during World War II|Allied air raids]]. As the [[line of contact]] between Soviet and other Allied armies formed in Europe at the end of the war, Wismar was captured by the British [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]]'s [[1st Canadian Parachute Battalion]] on 2 May 1945,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-E-Last/USA-E-Last-19.html | title= HyperWar: The Last Offensive Chapter XIX Goetterdaemmerung   |publisher= Ibiblio | access-date= January 4, 2021}}</ref> [[James Hill (British Army officer)|James Hill]] commanding, in accordance with Operation Eclipse. On 7 May 1945 British Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Montgomery]] and Soviet Marshal [[Konstantin Rokossovsky]] met in Wismar. In accord with the ''Occupation Zone Agreements'' of the [[Yalta Conference]] Wismar became a part of the [[Soviet Occupation Zone]] of Germany on 1 July 1945, as British troops retreated and Soviet troops took control over the area.

During the 1949 to 1990 era of the [[German Democratic Republic]], Wismar became East Germany's second-largest port, after [[Rostock]] and developed a shipbuilding industry. Although the GDR government had pledged to restore the local churches and historic sites that had been heavily bombed during the war, this commitment was for the most part not fulfilled.

After German reunification in 1990, churches and all historic buildings in the city's town center were restored, and the old towns of Wismar and [[Stralsund]] ({{circa}} {{convert|110|km|mi|round=5|disp=or|abbr=on}} to the east), were listed as UNESCO [[World Heritage Sites]]. In 2011, Wismar became the capital of the [[Districts of Germany|district]] of [[Nordwestmecklenburg]].<ref name="Abrokat1997">{{cite book|author=Sven Abrokat|title=Politischer Umbruch und Neubeginn in Wismar von 1989 bis 1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyu3AAAAIAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Krämer|isbn=978-3-89622-016-5}}</ref>
[[File:Aerial image of Wismar (view from the south).jpg|thumb|center|700px|View over the city]]