Budapest / Serbia / Bulgaria – The exceptionally low water level of the Danube is currently causing spectacular discoveries in several countries. While the mortal remains of German soldiers and a Wehrmacht motorcycle from the Second World War have been recovered in Hungary, sunken German warships have resurfaced in Serbia. In Bulgaria, archaeologists even made a prehistoric find: bones of a mammoth were suddenly exposed in the riverbed.

On the Buda side of the Danube, not far from the Hungarian Parliament on Batthyány Square, employees of the Hungarian Institute and Museum of Military History discovered a badly damaged Wehrmacht motorcycle at the beginning of August. According to initial estimates, it is a DKW NZ 350-1, a motorcycle specially developed for military operations, which was used by the Wehrmacht from 1944 onwards.

During the subsequent salvage work, further relics from the last days of the war came to light. In addition to German plate mines and a well-preserved gasoline canister, the experts found the mortal remains of two German soldiers.

Together with specialists from the German War Graves Commission, the fallen were carefully recovered.

The condition of the dog tags was particularly extraordinary. The harbor bottom, mixed with diesel and oily sludge, preserved metal and bone almost perfectly for decades. As a result, names, numbers and military units could still be clearly identified in some cases.

Normally, half of the identification tag was left with the body of fallen soldiers, while the other half was sent to the Wehrmacht information office at the time to officially inform relatives of the death.

In the current case, however, both halves of the dog tags were still with the soldiers. This suggests that her death was probably never officially registered and that her families had no certainty about her fate for decades.

again It is not only in Hungary that the low water brings historical relics to light.

In the Serbian section of the Danube, several German warships from the Second World War are currently visible again. The ships were sunk by the German Wehrmacht themselves in 1944 during their retreat in order to stop the advancing Soviet Danube flotilla and block the waterway.

Already in the exceptionally hot summers of recent years, parts of the wrecks protruded from the water. Due to the extremely low water level again, many of the ships are clearly visible again today and attract numerous visitors, historians and photographers.

The wrecks are also considered memorials of the war and in some cases still represent an obstacle for shipping today.

But it is not only the history of the Second World War that is currently becoming visible.

In the Bulgarian section of the Danube, employees of a historical museum discovered remains of a mammoth, which were exposed by the low water level.

According to the museum, it involves a lower jaw, two tusks and a rib. The bones date back to a time when mammoths still populated large parts of Europe – several tens of thousands of years ago.

The find impressively shows that the Danube not only hides evidence of recent history, but also traces of the Ice Age.

Experts expect that if water levels remain low, further historical finds could come to light in the coming weeks. Sunken ships and former sections of the front along the Danube in particular are considered potential sites of further war dead and military equipment.

The recovery of German soldiers is generally carried out in cooperation with the respective national authorities and the German War Graves Commission. After a possible identification, the fallen are buried with dignity in official war cemeteries.

again The unusually low water level of the Danube is currently impressively showing the secrets that Europe's second longest river has hidden for centuries.

From the remains of German soldiers and sunken warships to the bones of a mammoth, an arc spans tens of thousands of years of history. The current discoveries are a reminder that natural events sometimes bring long-forgotten chapters of the past to light – providing valuable insights into Europe's history for both historians and archaeologists.

A memorial to history

The current finds impressively show that the consequences of the Second World War can still be seen more than eight decades later. Falling water levels make historical traces accessible again and remind us that many fates have remained unexplained to this day.

For historians and war grave services, such discoveries offer the opportunity to identify missing persons and give them a dignified final resting place after decades. At the same time, they illustrate the human tragedies that took place along the Danube during the last months of the war.

Author: Tom Weyermann / MFRadio.de
Source: REUTERS / German War Graves / German War Graves Commission