Danube Low Water Exposes 2 WWII Soldiers and Motorbike in Budapest
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Aug 7
Danube Low Water Exposes 2 WWII Soldiers and Motorbike in Budapest
3 articles · Updated · Euronews · Aug 7
Summary
Two Wehrmacht soldiers and a WWII motorbike were recovered from the Danube riverbed in Budapest after exceptionally low water exposed long-buried wartime remains.
Volksbund and Hungarian specialists exhumed the bodies at Batthyány Square, where oil-mixed harbour mud preserved the remains and identity discs well enough for letters and numbers to stay legible.
Both halves of each soldier's ID disc were still together, indicating their deaths were never reported to the Wehrmacht information office in Berlin; the remains will be examined and buried at Budaörs war cemetery.
Numerous Tellermine 35 anti-tank mines, a military decoration and a petrol can were also found, while the motorbike is believed to be a DKW NZ 350-1.
The German War Graves Commission said more shipwrecks and possible war dead could surface if the Danube's low water persists, with Hungary leading any initial recovery work.