League of Nations administration. In 1935, the Saar territory rejoined Germany and formed a district under the name Saarland.
Saarbr�cken was heavily bombed in World War II and in 1945 temporarily became part of the French Zone of Occupation. In 1947, France created the nominally politically independent Saar Protectorate and merged it economically with France in order to exploit the area's vast coal reserves. Saarbr�cken became capital of the new Saar state. A referendum in 1955 came out with over two thirds of the voters rejecting an independent Saar state. The area rejoined the Federal Republic of Germany on 1 January 1957, sometimes called Kleine Wiedervereinigung (little reunification). Economic reintegration would however take many more years. Saarbr�cken became capital of the Bundesland (federal state) Saarland. After the administrative reform of 1974 the city had a population of more than 200.000.
On March 9, 1999 at 4:40am, there was a bomb attack on the controversial Wehrmach tsausstellung exhibition next to Saarbr�cken Castle, resulting in minor damage to the adult high school building housing the exhibition and the adjoining Schlosskirche church - but not causing any injuries
