Specialist LKA police units recovered approximately 1.5 tonnes [1] of Soviet World War II ammunition from a forest in Berlin’s Pankow district on Saturday.
The discovery highlights the persistent danger of unexploded ordnance from the Second World War, which continues to surface in urban and rural areas across Germany.
Authorities said the cache consisted of 59 unexploded shells [1]. The munitions had remained buried for decades before being uncovered during a walk in the forest area. Because of the volatility of the materials, specialist units from the Landeskriminalamt (LKA) were deployed to secure the site and remove the explosives.
The recovery operation focused on ensuring public safety in the Pankow district. Police units worked to neutralize the 59 shells [1] to prevent accidental detonation. The total weight of the recovered Soviet material reached 1.5 tonnes [1].
Berlin and its surrounding regions saw heavy combat during the final stages of the war in 1945. This discovery is part of a recurring pattern where remnants of the conflict are found during construction or recreational activities. The LKA units managed the extraction of the shells to ensure the forest area could be safely reopened to the public.
“1.5 tonnes of Soviet World War II ammunition”
The discovery of significant quantities of Soviet ammunition in a residential district like Pankow underscores the long-term environmental and safety challenges facing Germany. As soil shifts and urban development expands, the risk of encountering unstable, century-old explosives remains a critical public safety concern for German law enforcement and bomb disposal units.
