1-year-long independence of L�beck came to an end and almost all its territory was incorporated into Schleswig-Holstein.
During World War II, L�beck was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force. The attack on 28 March 1942 created a firestorm, that caused severe damage to the historic centre and the Bombing of L�beck in World War II destroyed three of the main churches and greater parts of the built-up area. A POW camp for officers, Oflag X-C, was located near the city from 1940 until April 1945. L�beck was occupied without resistance by the British Second Army on 2 May 1945.
On 3 May 1945, one of the biggest disasters in naval history occurred in the Bay of L�beck when RAF bombers sank three ships - the SS Cap Arcona, the SS Deutschland, and the SS Thielbek - which, unknown to them, were packed with concentration-camp inmates. About 7,000 people were killed.
L�beck's population grew considerably from about 150,000 in 1939 to more than 220,000 after the war, owing to an influx of refugees expelled from the former Eastern provinces of Germany.
L�beck remained part of Schleswig-Holstein after the war (and consequently lay within West Germany) and was situated directly on the inner German border during the division of Germany into two states in the Cold War period. South of the city the border followed the path of the river Wakenitz that separated both countries by less than 10 m (32.81 ft) in many parts. The northernmost border crossing was in L�beck's district of Schlutup. L�beck's restored historic city centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
L�beck was the scene of a notable art scandal in the 1950s. Lothar Malskat was hired to restore the medieval frescoes of the cathedral of the Marienkirche in L�beck, which were discovered inside the walls after the cathedral had been badly damaged during World War II. Instead he painted new works which were passed off as restorations,
