Cologne: Delivered Much of the City – World War II bombs were found

About 20,000 people were forced to temporarily leave their homes in Cologne, in the old town. The reason is the identification of three bombs that had been thrown into the German city during World War II.

The bombs are to be eliminated on Wednesday morning and until then, locals were forced to relocate to other places. Homes, businesses, a nursing home and a hospital were evacuated. The German city authorities also closed three bridges on the Rhine River, while rail routes were suspended or exterminated. Many schools, kindergartens, museums and the tram network were also closed. The seat of the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra is also closed.

The discovery of the bombs forced the large German RTL broadcasting to transfer its news programs to a studio in Berlin. Its building in Cologne is located in the exchanging area, within a radius of about 1,000 meters from where the bombs were found. Many of the programs that were to be broadcast live, were filmed.

Three bombs

The bombs, as announced, are American production. The two are weighing 20 tonnes and one 10 tonnes. They were all discovered on Monday on the right bank of the Rhine during building work near the Deutz yard. All three are equipped with impact pipes designed to cause explosion in the event of a hard surface contact.

Before the process of being eliminated, on Wednesday morning, volunteers, police and authorities of the city will carry out a round of checks. They will ring bells and doorbells, but also gather information from residents about their neighbors. Police have said it has the power to use violence to remove anyone who refuses to leave voluntarily. Residents can call a phone line or refer to a website for advice.

Residents who were removed from their homes were relocated to tents and other facilities, such as sports centers and churches. These infrastructures, outside the area under control, will be open to provide people food, soft drinks and support, the city authorities said.

RAF’s 262 raids

Eighty years after the end of World War II, such findings are not yet uncommon in Cologne. This city was one of those who received the most bombings in Germany during the conflict. Only the British Air Force, RAF, made 262 air raids. Some of them used American production bombs, especially towards the end of the conflict. About 20,000 people were killed in the bombings.

On the night of May 30, 1942, Cologne became the target of the first « Thousand Bombers » of the Royal Air Force in a German city. More than 1,000 aircraft, in wave formation, flew over the city. Its density was so great that the German radars were overloaded.

That night, 868 bombers threw 1,455 tonnes of bombs into the city, in a company known as « millennium ».

At present, it is not known when the three bombs fell to neutralization.