In the Second World War, aerial warfare was seen as the single greatest threat to a nation's cultural property. Precautions were thus made both before the outbreak of the war and during its development to protect immovable and movable cultural property from aerial bombardment. In Scandinavia and the Baltic region, however, aerial warfare was not as devastating as it was in Germany or Italy. This contribution deals partly with the destruction of heritage and attempts to protect it in this part of northern Europe and partly with the impacts of the destruction. Karelia in Finland, for example, was understood as the cradle of Finnish culture but became the scene of fierce fighting and destruction, and the loss of this territory was described as a trauma to Finnish identity. Heritage in northern Norway was ravaged towards the end of the war when German forces refused to surrender. Cities in eastern Estonia were almost levelled by a combination of aerial and ground warfare. Denmark, finally, was occupied in a surprise attack, followed by a period of occupation in which the historic landscape was reconfigured to meet German military needs. Examples of how the war changed tangible and intangible heritage are briefly discussed.