BERLIN, May 2 (Reuters) - The danger of unexploded World War Two aerial bombs lurking in the soil still haunts Germany 70 years after the war ended on May 8, 1945, exploding without warning or surfacing after frost.
More than 2,000 tonnes of live bombs and munitions are found each year in Germany, even under buildings. They are defused or detonated in controlled blasts but not before causing disruption, evacuations or sometimes even death.
"The older they are, the more dangerous they become," said Detlef Jaab, a Berlin police munitions expert who has defused thousands of the devices over 23 years.
"It's a dangerous job but there's a lot of variety and freedom to make decisions, whether a bomb can be defused or is too deteriorated and has to be detonated where it's found."
The sounds and smells of World War Two, which Germans will mark next week, come back to life at a police blasting ground in Berlin's Grunewald forest eight times each year when Jaab's squad blows up stockpiled munitions.
Air raid warning sirens wail before the earth in the high-security area erupts in successive explosions. The ground shakes, red-hot shrapnel sometimes flies through the forest and smoke wafts over the site.
"There are still an estimated 2,500 bombs buried in Berlin and many more artillery shells. Since 1948 we have found 1,395 bombs," said Jaab.
About 56 tonnes of unexploded ordnance were retrieved last year in Berlin, the prime target of British and American aerial bombs that was further devastated by Soviet artillery and grenades during the climactic Battle of Berlin 70 years ago.
The country was pummel by 1.5 million tonnes of bombs from British and American warplanes that killed 600,000 people. German officials estimate 15 percent of the bombs failed to explode, some burrowing six meters deep.
Many are found by city planners studying war-era aerial maps, construction workers or people digging in gardens. Farmers sometimes find bombs weighing up to 4,000 pounds pushed, like boulders, to the surface by the process of frost and thaw.
"The dangers lurking grow more acute as time passes," said Wilfried Mueller, who oversees the removal of munitions on federal and military properties from his Hanover headquarters.
Mueller said while some of the bombs can be found by studying aerial photographs and looking for signs: "Dredging canals, rivers, lakes, seashores or waterways is very difficult. Unexploded bombs are everywhere."
Germany's Luftwaffe began bombing civilian targets early in the war before the Allies responded with aerial attacks that destroyed many German towns and cities.
Three police explosives experts in Goettingen were killed in 2010 while preparing to defuse a 1,000-pound bomb and last year a construction worker in Euskirchen was killed when his power shovel struck a buried 4,000-pound bomb. In 1994 three Berlin construction workers were killed in a similar accident.
In 2012 a fireball lit up the sky in Munich, causing millions of euros of damage to 17 buildings, when authorities had to detonate a deteriorated 500-pound bomb. In April this year a 1,000-pound bomb ripped a three-meter-deep hole in a motorway near Offenbach.
Hardly a week goes by without a bomb being found, often forcing thousands to evacuate their homes or offices. Germans are often unperturbed by the disruption, taking it in their stride as a fact of everyday life.
"Germans have developed an obsession about security and safety yet when it comes to World War Two bombs that are found just about everywhere we just accept it," said Jessica Gienow-Hecht, an historian and war scholar at Berlin's Free University.
"It touches on Germany's responsibility and war guilt," she added, saying she grew up playing in bomb craters and was matter of factly told about bomb damage by realtors while looking to buy a house. "It's part of what we did and you can't undo it." (Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.