Centuries of work left for WWII bomb clearers

HOHENWUTZEN, Germany (Reuters) - Nearly 60 years after the end of World War Two, loud bangs and smoke fill the air as grenades and shells explode by the Polish border -- but this time Germany has informed its neighbour of its plans.

"We've told the Polish authorities, so they won't be worried we're planning to invade again," joked bomb disposal expert Ralf Kirschnick as he inspected shards of metal after a controlled explosion on the German bank of the River Oder.

Since the end of hostilities Germany has made steady inroads into the unexploded bombs and grenades buried beneath its soil, but the disposal task could continue for centuries.

"I'd estimate there's still another 200 to 250 years of work to do," Kirschnick said.

Kirschnick is one of about 50 disposal experts working their way through sites in Brandenburg.

The eastern state, which surrounds Berlin, was one of the most heavily bombed parts of Europe in the war. The U.S. and British air forces dropped about 1.5 million tonnes on Nazi Germany. Around 440,000 bombs fell in the Berlin area, of which an estimated five percent, or 22,000, failed to explode.

Indeed, a map on the wall of disposal group chief Horst Reinhardt showing suspect areas serves as an historical record of conflict.

Swathes of pink show where Soviet forces fought German divisions in their push towards the German capital. Smaller patches mark the cities bombarded by the Americans and British.

"Our state has the heaviest density of munitions. This was after all where the war ended," said Reinhardt.

The legacy is a headache for the cash-strapped state which has proposed that the federal government foot the entire clean-up bill.

At present, it covers only clearing German arms at an annual cost of 45 million euros. Brandenburg says with the inclusion of Allied bombs, the bill would double.

The state still has 400,000 hectares (one million acres) of land deemed suspect. Last year, its experts cleared 670 hectares, unearthing 655 tonnes of munitions.

Aerial photographs taken by the Americans and British have helped since they were made available to the formerly communist eastern states in the 1990s.

A large crater in the photos of pockmarked ground indicates a bomb went off, while a small hole suggests an unexploded bomb may still be lying beneath the surface.

Soviet munitions, of which there are few records, are harder to find and their sometimes makeshift construction means they can be more dangerous.

In Brandenburg, a disposal expert was killed in 1994, while in the town of Oranienburg, a man and a girl were injured in the same year when an undisturbed bomb suddenly blew up.

A bomb exploded at Siegen airport in western Germany in 2000 just minutes after a passenger plane had landed on the same spot and a few hours before Dutch Queen Beatrix was due to visit.

In Salzburg in July, a World War Two bomb killed two disposal experts who were trying to unearth it by the Austrian city's central train station.

Kirschnick, who has served 10 years as a bomb disposal expert, including a stint in Bosnia, says the old munitions are becoming more dangerous by the year as they gradually corrode.

Looking out across the Oder river into Poland, he also comments that eastern Europe has an unenviable clean-up task. When the water is low, he says, some munitions can be seen sticking in the banks.

"There's been little interest in the east, although clearly it's been an issue of money," he said.

Sorry, I know that my grandpa was in Russia from 1941-1944 and that the other one was shipping in the North Sea. My parents know the details, I wasn´t never interested in the war history.

I don´t care wether the world forgives me or not for the crimes of my ancestors. I know that I ve a white vest, so why should I feel ashamed? Well, I would feel ashamed if my sister killed someone, because I would search for personal guilt of not preventing her from doing so - but what kind of influence do I have on things that happened before my birth? Some people will never understand it.

We won´t be silent when others want to make us silent. We will never allow people to prevent others from expressing their opinion, even if they insult us and call us "immoral".

Here in Germany, the Nazis and for the Eastern part, the Communists were the last who believed in collective guilt. For the Nazis, a jew was a jew and he was evil even if he had fought in WW1 or converted to Christianity decades ago. For the Communists, the family of a "Republic traitor" (someone who moved to the west "illegally"), was responsible for that and was punished. These days are gone, hopefully forever!

I wish you and your family a nice Sunday.

Best wishes,

Michael

I understand that not everyone is interested in military history but just from the human experience angle it might be worth while to find out. Forget the 3rd Reich aspect, just learning what it was like in Russia during those years and what the men suffered and endured is truly amazing. If you never read about say the winter of 41/42 I suggest you check out a couple of books on the topic. You'ld look at your grandfather in a whole new light. He survived much.

The war, like all wars was a terrible waste. I lost family in the war, on both sides. Land was lost, people were lost, lives ruined. Let us not trivialize the war and it's long lasting effects.

Der Krieg, wie alle Kriege war eine schreckliche Vergeudung. Ich verlor Familie im Krieg, auf beiden Seiten. Land war, Leute waren verloren verloren, die ruinierten Leben. Lassen Sie uns nicht trivialize den Krieg und es ist langlebige Effekte.

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