Shocking forest finds were made in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and in Lower Saxony. Authorities are now sounding the alarm.
- On Wednesday (May 6th) a large amount of ammunition from the Second World War was seized in a forest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania .
- In Lower Saxony , the dangerous finds from magnetic anglers piled up .
- The authorities in Lower Saxony now made an urgent appeal.
Update from May 22, 2020: The discovery of large amounts of ammunition (see original article from May 8) in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was not the only one in Germany that occurred in these weeks. There was even a whole series in Lower Saxony .
This has now brought the Ordnance Disposal Service Lower Saxony (KBD), the Lower Saxony State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments (NLD) and the State Criminal Police Office Lower Saxony (LKA) to a joint notification, which was published on lgln.niedersachsen.de. The authorities "warn against improper handling of ammunition finds and criminal searches without permission," it says.
"75 years after the end of the war, the likelihood of finding ammunition from the world wars in the ground in Lower Saxony and throughout the Federal Republic of Germany is very high," reads the message. "Around 90 percent of all reports received by the police or the ordnance disposal service concern exactly such ammunition or ammunition remains."
An artillery shell from a pond near Meppen, found by a magnetic angler.
© State Office for Geographic Information and Surveying Lower Saxony (LGLN)
It often turns out that the finder was actively searching with a metal detector or a magnetic rod. This is forbidden without permission.
The urgent appeal: Findings of ammunition are subject to notification . And even after more than 70 years there is a risk to life . Such objects should not be touched, their position changed or even taken away. Instead, a report should be made to the police, regulatory agency or ordnance disposal service. "Even in old war ammunition there are often dangerous fire or explosives that pose a danger to life and limb," it says.
Authorities also ask for clues when citizens discover how someone is actively searching for old items. There are fines of up to 250,000 euros.
The message cites various reports from the Weapons Disposal Service: On April 27, father and son found a phosphorus fire bomb while magnetic fishing and took it home. When white phosphorus in the bomb later ignited itself, three people were injured . On May 4, another magnetic angler found a hand grenade and hung it on the magnet on the railing. A photo also documents the discovery of an artillery organ in a pond near Meppen by a magnetic angler.
The phosphorus fire bomb from use on April 27th, 2020.
© State Office for Geographic Information and Surveying Lower Saxony (LGLN)
It is not uncommon for finds to be found in Germany that did not have any “treasure hunters” on the road - as the message from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania shows below.
A completely different find was made by a walker in NRW in the forest. And the news of a supposedly mutilated bitch in the forest near Ulm took a surprising turn.
Shock find in the forest - It was probably exposed by wild boar
Our article from May 8th 2020:
Pasewalk - Almost 75 years after the end of the Second World War *, a spectacular ammunition discovery was made on Wednesday (May 6) in a forest in Pasewalk in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . This is the result of a press release from the police in Neubrandenburg.
World War II: huge ammunition find in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
On Wednesday morning, the Pasewalk police were "called for an operation in a forest between Ladenthin and Pomellen", according to a press report.
When the officers arrived in the forest on the spot, they saw the discovery of a hunter and alarmed the ammunition rescue service . The hunter had found no fewer than a hundred Russian grenades, twenty rifle grenades, a hand grenade and 25 pieces of infantry ammunition. The ammunition was finally recovered by the ammunition recovery service.
A huge ammunition find from the Second World War was made in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Investigation produces more war ammunition
On Thursday (May 7th), as can be seen from the press report by the police in Neubrandenburg , a search was carried out in the area where the ammunition was found the day before . "And it was worth it," as police spokeswoman Katrin Kleedehn told the "Bild" newspaper about the find.
Accordingly, a further 220 throwing grenades, a German bazooka, two hand grenades and ten pieces of infantry ammunition were recovered.
A huge ammunition find from the Second World War was made in a forest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
© Police Inspection Anklam
The ammunition was partly in the ground at a depth of one meter and probably comes from the Second World War, which ended 75 years ago on May 8th *. Police spokeswoman Katrin Kleedehn said: "The site of the discovery could have been a so-called position or a shelter."
As the Bild newspaper writes, wild boars are said to have dug out the grenades and exposed them.
Meanwhile, a mother from Lübeck forced her four healthy children into wheelchairs for years, fooling doctors and teachers. Now she has been convicted.
A brutal murder is said to have occurred in Werder (Havel) on Monday evening (May 11). A man is said to have killed a woman and then fled.
After a curious case in Haan, the police have a completely different puzzle to solve - but the perpetrator may already have given himself away.
A hunter made a violent find in the forest in the Lüneburg Heath in early March - now the police have published photos and expressed suspicions.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
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