Germany is currently experiencing a weather situation that was similar 40 years ago - and that went down in history.
Bundeswehr soldiers had to move out at that time.
Anyone who currently has to be in Germany despite Corona could run into problems.
Deutsche Bahn has already made a clear announcement to its passengers.
A similarly extreme winter in the country has become legend.
Offenbach - Germany is currently in the weekend of extreme weather - and that brings back memories of the winter of 1978/79.
The not so young semesters should remember: Chaos when the transport, supply and communication network collapsed in parts of the country.
The drop in temperature on December 29, 1978 caused confusion in the north of the Federal Republic of Germany and the former GDR, in Denmark and in the south of Sweden.
The photos from the archive speak volumes:
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In the winter of 1979, two men digging in Schleswig-Holstein dig a car out of the snow with a shovel.
© Georg Spring / dpa
Snow disaster of 1978/79: "Whole villages had no contact with the outside world"
“Cars were shoveled free, tanks cleared the snow masses from motorways, and a girl was born in the tank,” two
dpa
correspondents currently
summarize
the situation at the time.
“Rail traffic collapsed, roads became impassable.
Freezing motorists had to wait for hours on the blocked A7, ”write Thomas Strünkelberg and Friedemann Kohler.
“Entire villages had no contact with the outside world, and in some places food was becoming scarce.
From February 13th to 18th, there was a disaster alert in the northwest of Lower Saxony.
Only the children were happy because they had days off from school, ”the report continues.
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In the winter of 1979, a man in Hamburg freed his car from the snow with a shovel.
© Lothar Heidtmann / dpa
Birth in a tank during the snow disaster of 1979/78: "It was lousy cold"
Because the clearing vehicles could hardly cope with the snow masses on the motorways at that time, help came from the Bundeswehr - lucky for two parents-to-be who were stuck.
A tank took them
, according to
the
dpa
report, and the child was born in the vehicle.
“That was an adventurous journey.
The heating had failed, it was lousy cold, ”said the mother.
Finally the family doctor came along, and we continued on the main road in the ambulance - the baby was healthy.
Century Winter 2021?
Up to 40 centimeters of fresh snow threatens
And in 2021?
Meteorologists have already spoken of a "memorable event with a rarity" - and expect a temperature gradient of around - 20 degrees.
The remarkable thing is that a ditch is currently running through Germany in terms of weather.
The
German Weather Service (DWD)
expects snowstorms and freezing cold in the north - and spring-like foehn in the south.
There is a threat of up to 40 centimeters of fresh snow, as well as “enormous snow drifts”, especially in the region from Emsland and Münsterland to the Harz Mountains.
In the Ruhr area, the Siegerland, in Central Hesse and Upper Franconia, however, there is freezing rain from Sunday afternoon to Monday, which could result in a layer of ice several centimeters thick.
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In the German winter of 1979, two men look for a car under the snow - and shovel it free.
© Werner Schilling / dpa
Weather in Germany: Snow chaos paralyzes Deutsche Bahn trains
Deutsche Bahn warns of train cancellations and delays.
Because of the forecast, there will be no long-distance traffic between Kiel and Hamburg, Hamburg and Lübeck and between Hamburg and Westerland on Saturday and Sunday.
Customers could either use long-distance tickets already booked for the weekend "flexibly or cancel them free of charge" up to and including seven days after the end of the incident.
In the spring of 1979 the snow lay there for a long time.
When it thawed there was a lot of flooding.
(dpa / frs)
* Merkur.de belongs to the Ippen digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Georg Spring / dpa