Navigate to News section

A World War II Bomb Delays Berlin Trains

The unexploded bomb was found earlier today

by
Adam Chandler
April 03, 2013
(Wikimedia)
(Wikimedia)

“Travellers should be prepared for delays and route changes in long-distance services,” said the spokesman for one German rail operator in Berlin.

What was it this time? A workers’ strike? Bad weather? Mechanical issues? A Hezbollah rally?

Nope, it was an unexploded WWII-era bomb found near Berlin’s main Hauptbahnhof station causing the delay this afternoon. A 100-kilogram unexploded bomb no less, one of roughly 3,000 bombs still underground.

The bomb was found by munitions experts conducting a routine search of a site in preparation of construction work. Unexploded bombs from the Allied bombardment of Germany during World War II are still frequently found. The munitions are getting more difficult and dangerous to defuse because their fuse mechanisms have corroded and become less stable over time.

It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands unexploded bombs still beneath German cities today. Roughly 5,000 of them are defused each year.

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.