Weapons Cache discovered under German woman's home.

World War II General WWII Discussion
#1

This is a bit different from getting assessed for a new sidewalk…

German Woman to Foot the Bill for WWII UXO Removal
March 30, 2017
Munich, Germany
A German woman is facing a financial crisis after a 10-ton cache of live Nazi ammunition was found buried in her garden. Authorities in Munich informed Melitta Meinberger that she is legally responsible for paying the 200,000 euros (approximately $217,000 US dollars) to remove the stockpile found beneath her home in Kiefergarten. Workers building an addition onto her home unearthed mines, phosphorus bombs, hundreds of shells and grenades, hundreds of thousands of bullets, and anti-tank projectiles.
The state pays for the removal of all WWII ordnance on public land, but it does not pay for removal on private property. In the two weeks following the discovery of the ammunition, Meinberger and 200 of her neighbors have been forced from their homes between the hours of 8am and 4pm every day while experts work to remove the munitions. The process is expected to take 40 days, after which she will be billed for the efforts.
The UXO is believed to have been dumped by Wehrmacht Nazi soldiers in the final days of the war. Members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany in Munich have started a fundraising campaign to help her pay for removal of the ordnance.

#2

Wow. Guess one has to have the land inspected prior to purchase over there. Probably most of Europe!

#3

Sounds like virgin territory for insurance companies as well. Special UXO insurance to go along with title insurance. Although a different War, Tennessee could be much like that in places, lots of Cannon Balls laying in the ground yet, when digging foundation holes in areas of previous Battle they are always careful about finding anything explosive.

#4

This is ridiculous. The German army which is the same thing as the German State put those unexploded weapons in the ground and should/must be responsible for removing them with apologies to the unsuspecting homeowner. This is the sort of sleazy crawfishing by governments that really pisses people off.

#5

I agree, The State should cover the cost of removal, and disposal. It’s only fair.

#6

Absolutely, it’s just mind bending the logic being put forth by the cheap Bundes state, the Heer should be paying the bill…

#7

Alternative solutions favouring Frau Meinberger.

  1. List munitions on eBay or similar. " Massive collection of WWII German munitions. In original condition since 1944/45. Unknown quantity probably or possibly operational, although may be degraded and unstable. Soiled. Buyer to remove at own cost. Buyer to provide adequate insurance to cover numerous deaths and casualties and possible destruction of up to 2,500 dwellings and associated public assets. No mail delivery. Pick up requires 72 hours notice to evacuate suburbs surrounding pick up site.".
  2. Require rent from Germany since about 1944/45 at commercial rates for underground high explosive storage.
  3. Inform all residents within blast area that Frau Meinberger cannot afford cost of removal of munitions; is disposed to getting fairly drunk a few nights a week during which she might blunder into munitions and, given she is now suicidal at prospect of losing her home, could accidentally or intentionally set those munitions off. This relieves her of the cost of removing the munitions but creates a rather larger problem for (surviving) residents within blast area.
  4. Contest Germany imposing charge on her for removal of Nazi munitions on the basis that German criminal code prohibits distribution of Nazi symbols etc and, should these munitions explode during one of Frau Meinberger’s drunken blunders or suicidal actions, the Nazi symbols etc on the munitions will be widely distributed and, conversely, the German State in removing these items will commit an offence by distributing the munitions to who knows where so the State can’t remove them without breaking its own laws. (Yeah, who knows what symbols are on them, but if they’re German from WWII it’s a sure bet they don’t reflect post-war German law.)
  5. Dispute entitlement of anyone to remove property belonging to another until the original owner has been found and renounced ownership, which requires careful investigation of a very small possible number of surviving current owners in Brazil etc.
  6. Frau Meinberger sits atop the munitions with, say, a cocked double barrel shotgun with a solid shot cartridge in one barrel and a dragon’s breath cartridge in the other and the muzzle applied to a nice big bit of unstable munitions to discuss the best resolution of her unfortunate position with whichever German government representative is forced to join her atop the munitions.
  7. Frau Meinberger and all residents in the blast area commence a class action against the governments of the US and UK on the basis that the terror bombing war crimes of those nations forced the desperate and already effectively defeated Germans to bury their munitions to avoid them being exploded above ground by Allied bombing and thus causing even greater casualties than already caused by Allied terror bombing against innocent civilians, of whom Frau Meinberger is the current victim and representative. First step in this action is to seek an injunction restraining everyone from removing the munitions until the case is resolved, which after ploughing its way through various national and European courts etc should pretty much ensure that the munitions will be so unstable that the whole district will have to be blown up by the time legal proceedings are finished around 2050. Or maybe by then nobody will remember what it was all about and an apprentice plumber will shove his spade into the ground and surprise himself and a big lump of geography and the people in it by blowing up a couple of suburbs.
  8. Okay, now for total fantasy and something that really won’t work. The German government accepts responsibility for the damage caused even decades after WWII to an individual citizen by its predecessors in government and for circumstances which are beyond the control of and have nothing to with the adversely affected citizen. This is likely to happen long before any government in any country deals fairly and properly with its citizens who served it in war upon their return from war, never mind compensating civilians for the consequences of bad actions by former bad governments of the nation. But I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting either ever to occur.
#8

The History Channel gets Real Stories to do a series of episodes on this Cache, and revenues from the show will cover the costs of removal, and restoration of the site. Through a Seance, Lieutenant Brian Ash will direct the defusing all of the munitions, and rendering all safe. Then the history Channel will offer the now safe Ordnance for sale on it’s Web Site. (Angela Merkel will then take credit for the entire operation on State television.)

#9

Did they check her for her blood tattoo? :evil: :mrgreen:

#10

Which one, Melitta Meinberger, or Angela Merkel?

#11

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#12

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

#13

Ha! ::smiley:

#14

I don’t know about Germany but, in my jurisdiction in the Emerald Isle, the government would never get away with this policy. They would have been headed for the High Court quicker than you could say “fire down below”! Of course, it is ridiculous that a private citizen should be held liable for a circumstance entirely beyond her control or even knowledge. An alternative suggestion - could North Korea be persuaded to buy the stuff as a job lot ? Yours from the arsenal, JR.

#15

I wouldn’t be too confident that the home owner wouldn’t end up being the victim down here.

As a general rule, the owner of land bears the burdens that go with it.

Of course, there are various opportunities to challenge this when the owner’s interests have been adversely affected by someone else’s actions, but such a challenge requires an identifiable defendant and one with means to satisfy a judgment. When it’s our defence services, you can expect them to do the usual government bully boy resistance because they have deep pockets (being the money we taxpayers are forced to give them to waste on being an unreasonable bunch of arrogant bastards).
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-03/hundreds-launch-class-action-over-williamtown-raaf-contamination/7991142

In my city we have a major problem with cowboy / rogue / criminal waste removal operators leasing properties they fill with waste, including toxic waste, and then abandon the properties when they’re full. The landlord gets lumbered with the clean up cost.

Obviously it depends upon the legislation applicable to the specific problem, but at worst it would probably be possible for our Environmental Protection Agency to declare a munitions site to be contaminated land and to issue a clean up order to the owner in the same way it does with the landlords lumbered with the crooked waste removers.

#16

They are usually defused safely, though in 2010 three bomb-disposal officers were killed during an attempt to make a bomb safe, our correspondent adds.
In December 2011, the biggest bomb disposal operation in Germany since 1945 was mounted in Koblenz to defuse two bombs from World War II found in the riverbed of the Rhine.

#17

These are usually defused safely.
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#18

Any 8mm mauser ammo available for purchase? :wink:

#19

Grab a Shovel :slight_smile: