In the first days after the Liberation in May 1945, two Danish towns, Rønne and Nexø, were bombed by Russian planes, when the German commander of the island of Bornholm in the Baltic refused to surrender. Large sections of the two towns were destroyed and a big reconstruction effort was immediately mounted with the aid of the Danish state. Sweden lent a hand, donating a large number of prefab wooden houses. The moment was seized to lay out more practical town plans, while the reconstruction strove to preserve the style of the original houses, so as not to change the distinctive character of the two towns.