# Bunkers Found



## comiso90 (Aug 4, 2008)

Sea unearths secret Nazi bunkers that lay hidden for more than 50 years | Mail Online

Three Nazi bunkers on a beach have been uncovered by violent storms off the Danish coast, providing a store of material for history buffs and military archaeologists.

The bunkers were found in practically the same condition as they were on the day the last Nazi soldiers left them, down to the tobacco in one trooper‘s pipe and a half-finished bottle of schnapps.

Enlarge This bunker was entombed under the sand dunes until a violent storm swept away the sands three months ago

This bunker was entombed under the sand dunes until a violent storm swept away the sands three months ago
Enlarge The bunkers had not been touched since the war

The bunkers had not been touched since the war

The bunkers were three of 7,000 built by the Germans as part of Hitler's ‘Atlantic Wall‘ from Norway to the south of France. 

But while the vast majority were almost immediately looted or destroyed, these three were entombed under the sand dunes of a remote beach near the town of Houvig since 1945. 

They were uncovered only because recent storms sent giant waves cascading over them, sweeping away the sand and exposing glimpses of the cement and iron structures.

They were located by two nine-year-old boys on holiday with their parents, who then informed the authorities.

Archaeologists were able to carefully force a way, and were astounded at what they found.

'What's so fantastic is that we found them completely furnished with beds, 'chairs, tables, communication systems and the personal effects of the soldiers who lived inside,' says Jens Andersen, the curator of the Hanstholm museum.

Enlarge Expert Tommy Cassoe: 'It was as if the Nazis had just left yesterday'

Expert Tommy Cassoe: 'It was as if the Nazis had just left yesterday'

The discovery of the fully-furnished bunkers was "unique in Europe," said Bent Anthonisen, a Danish expert on European bunkers.

And a third expert, Tommy Cassoe, enthused: "It was like entering the heart of a pyramid with mummies all around. Wat I saw blew me away: it was as if the German soldiers had left only yesterday."

The team working with Cassoe emptied the structures within a few days of boots, undergarments, socks, military stripes, mustard and aquavit bottles, books, inkpots, stamps featuring Hitler, medicines, soda bottles, keys, hammers and other objects.

All of the objects from the shelters have been taken to the conservation centre at Oelgod museum, some 20 miles from the beach to be examined.

The centre's German curator, Gert Nebrich, judged the find 'very interesting because it is so rare.'

'"We don't expect contemporary objects like these to be so well preserved. Maybe it's because they were kept for 60 years in the cold and dark like in a big vacuum," he says, carefully showing four stamps featuring Hitler's image and the German eagle, found in one bunker.

The Germans left the bunkers in May 1945 after the Nazi surrender.

Historical records show that Gerhard Saalfed was a 17-year-old soldier with the German army when he arrived at the bunker in January 1945. 

Germany surrendered on May 8 1945, but it wasn‘t until two days later that he and his fellow soldiers left their remote station.

They shut the steel doors of the bunker behind them on their remote beach and went to the nearest town ten miles away to surrender. 

'The remote location of the bunkers and the drifting sands that covered them saved them from being ransacked,“ said Cassoe.


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## Matt308 (Aug 4, 2008)

Incredible. I would love to know the defensive positions and the lines of fire. Bunkers have always amazed me.


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## comiso90 (Aug 4, 2008)

and the armament.. it looks big enough for artillery but perhaps it was never installed. Too bad there wasn't an 88 siting n there.

Imagine those guys walking the 10 miles back to town... amazing they didnt get jumped.


.


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## ToughOmbre (Aug 4, 2008)

Very cool! Love stuff like that!

TO


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## Thorlifter (Aug 4, 2008)

Nice find Comiso


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## Matt308 (Aug 4, 2008)

Wonder if the auqavit was still good?


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## Marcel (Aug 4, 2008)

Matt308 said:


> Incredible. I would love to know the defensive positions and the lines of fire. Bunkers have always amazed me.



You should come here to Hoek van Holland, we have tons of the stuf. Mostly free to walk into, but take your torch.


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## Lucky13 (Aug 4, 2008)

Cool stuff...! 8)


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## comiso90 (Aug 4, 2008)

Anything with "Secret Nazi" in front of it sounds cool...

Secret Nazi Peanut Butter

Secret Nazi door knob

Secret Nazi wood screw

Secret Nazi coat hanger

.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 4, 2008)

Very cool! I wish I could find some of these things. I am still waiting for the waters to reside from the bunkers near my house so I can go and explore in them.


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## Marcel (Aug 4, 2008)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> Very cool! I wish I could find some of these things. I am still waiting for the waters to reside from the bunkers near my house so I can go and explore in them.



As I said, you're welcome to come here, see the Atlantic wall leftovers in Hoek van Holland. Dumb movie, but gives you a clue:

_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkobrZ-HmnU_

3 weeks ago, I visited a band who practised in one of the ammunition bunkers. Very convenient, no sound to hear outside.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 4, 2008)

I might have to do that.


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## Gnomey (Aug 4, 2008)

Cool find. It is amazing to think that no-one has found it over the past 63 years.


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## evangilder (Aug 4, 2008)

Amazing find.


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## Matt308 (Aug 4, 2008)

comiso90 said:


> Anything with "Secret Nazi" in front of it sounds cool...
> 
> Secret Nazi Peanut Butter
> 
> ...



I thought that was effing funny. Keep 'em coming Comiso. At least I'm listening.


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## Matt308 (Aug 4, 2008)

Oh and by the way, the "secret Nazi wood screw" sounds intriguing. Bastogne perhaps?


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## comiso90 (Aug 4, 2008)

'Nuts"!

Even "Secret Nazi Herpes" or Secret Nazi Colonoscopy" sounds cool!


Thanks Matt!


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## RabidAlien (Aug 4, 2008)

Don't forget the Holy Grail of Nazi finds: the Secret Nazi Hair Gel and Styling Shampoo. Hitler's favorite! Buy yours today!


...and for the record, that's one frikkin cool story, Comiso! I'd LOVE to wander down the beach and run across something like that some day. Got a chance to explore some US bunkers once on Oahu. They were looted and grafitti'd pretty badly, but still had the .50cal mounts (big hollow steel tube concreted into the floor), and the compass-strip (for lack of better terms) mounted in the wall. It was calibrated to true north, and had every visible angle marked, not just the main angles. They could radio in on some poor schmuck trotting up the beach at 193.5 degrees and get him an express-mail arty shell, delivered right to his lap, courtesy of the good ole US of A.  Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't have an interest in history.


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## Freebird (Aug 4, 2008)

comiso90 said:


> Anything with "Secret Nazi" in front of it sounds cool...
> 
> .



When I was 7 I found a "Secret Nazi" Anti-invasion spike on a German beach...

By impaling my foot with it.... OW!

Too bad my parents didn't keep it as a souvenir....


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## Thorlifter (Aug 4, 2008)

But you kept the souvenir.........the nice scar on your foot.


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## Matt308 (Aug 4, 2008)

freebird said:


> When I was 7 I found a "Secret Nazi" Anti-invasion spike on a German beach...
> 
> By impaling my foot with it.... OW!
> 
> Too bad my parents didn't keep it as a souvenir....



Really freebird, what did that look like... not your foot who gives a rip... but rather the spike.


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## Freebird (Aug 4, 2008)

Matt308 said:


> Really freebird, what did that look like... not your foot who gives a rip... but rather the spike.



Well I don't remember much, mostly a bawling kid getting his foot stiched up getting a tetanus shot!  

Apparently it was buried in the sand/pebbles, I only steped down far enough to stick it in my foot perhaps 3/4 inch. Supposedly they put smaller spike belts on the best invasion beaches, to injure the soldiers wading up.


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## Bigxiko (Aug 14, 2008)

good post comiso, really nice found
interesting story freebird XD


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## Matt308 (Aug 14, 2008)

freebird said:


> Well I don't remember much, mostly a bawling kid getting his foot stiched up getting a tetanus shot!
> 
> Apparently it was buried in the sand/pebbles, I only steped down far enough to stick it in my foot perhaps 3/4 inch. Supposedly they put smaller spike belts on the best invasion beaches, to injure the soldiers wading up.



3/4in is far enough. OUCH! Do you have any pics of what these spikes would look like before being set? Sounds like friggin' caltrops!


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## seesul (Aug 14, 2008)

Marcel said:


> You should come here to Hoek van Holland, we have tons of the stuf. Mostly free to walk into, but take your torch.



Also we have a lot of bunkers here along Austrian,German and Polish boarder. Build in 30´s on order of Czechoslovakian goverment. Our soldiers had to leave them without fighting after Munich´s dictat in Sept. 1938.
A lot of them are accessible today and some of them are even for sale...
WWII bunkers for sale - 26-07-2005 13:15 UTC - Radio Prague


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## evangilder (Aug 15, 2008)

Hmmm, depending on the price, we could create a ww2aircraft hangout in the Czech Republic. What would be more appropriate than one of the bunkers?


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## seesul (Aug 15, 2008)

evangilder said:


> Hmmm, depending on the price, we could create a ww2aircraft hangout in the Czech Republic. What would be more appropriate than one of the bunkers?



Can ask for the price. Don´t think it will be too much, sure according the condition of the bunker...
But can tell ya the price of the beer on tap here- 1.25 dollar a beer. Was 0,75 dollar 2 years ago but with that dollar going down...anyway, the price for me in Czech crowns is still the same


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## Marcel (Aug 15, 2008)

These are virtually in my back yard. There are about 30 of these very near to my house:


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 15, 2008)

seesul said:


> Also we have a lot of bunkers here along Austrian,German and Polish boarder. Build in 30´s on order of Czechoslovakian goverment. Our soldiers had to leave them without fighting after Munich´s dictat in Sept. 1938.
> A lot of them are accessible today and some of them are even for sale...
> WWII bunkers for sale - 26-07-2005 13:15 UTC - Radio Prague



I have been trying to get over to the bunkers in the Czech for the last few months. I never make it!


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## seesul (Aug 16, 2008)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> I have been trying to get over to the bunkers in the Czech for the last few months. I never make it!



The same for me. Wanted to visit Berchtesgaden this year but it looks bad. But next year I gotta make it. If you wanna see any bunker here, next spring would be good for me. If also for you, we will make it.


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## Ramirezzz (Aug 16, 2008)

Pictures from some abandonded Cold War bunkers along the Russ-Finnish border in Karelia (56K warning)
bunker 100 mm cannon ZIF-25

spb_stalker: ÐšÐ°Ð·ÐµÐ¼Ð°Ñ‚Ð½Ð°Ñ Ð¿ÑƒÑˆÐºÐ° Ð—Ð˜Ð¤-25 (100Ð¼Ð¼)

more pictures of this fortifications line:
spb_stalker: ÐšÐÐ£Ð


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## comiso90 (Aug 16, 2008)

Thanks for adding to the thread Ramirezzz. always great to see bunkers


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## Marcel (Aug 17, 2008)

A few months ago, I was in the old commandpost of the Civil rescue organisation, an organisation dedicated to emergency aid during bombing. It was dismatled after the cold war ended. Half of the bunker is an old German command bunker, the rest are newer ('70ies) atomic bunkers. Pics can be found Here: Index


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 17, 2008)

seesul said:


> The same for me. Wanted to visit Berchtesgaden this year but it looks bad. But next year I gotta make it. If you wanna see any bunker here, next spring would be good for me. If also for you, we will make it.



I will keep that in mind and see what we can do. I do not live very far from teh Czech border.


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## seesul (Aug 17, 2008)

DerAdlerIstGelandet said:


> I will keep that in mind and see what we can do. I do not live very far from teh Czech border.



OK!


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## Messy1 (Aug 22, 2008)

I heard about this on the radio from Paul Harvey. Stuff like this never happens in Iowa!


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## Freebird (Aug 22, 2008)

Matt308 said:


> 3/4in is far enough. OUCH! Do you have any pics of what these spikes would look like before being set? Sounds like friggin' caltrops!




Didn't make a detailed inspection at the time!   


I don't remember, but the local doctor told my dad that they had found stuff on the beaches over the years, bits of rusty barbed wire etc.

I think the largest spikes were meant to impale boats, LCV's etc, and they set smaller spikes to catch men or inflatables coming ashore. I believe that they did not anticipate front-door LCV's, they probably expected small boats rubber rafts.

There were alot of bunkers/pillboxes above the beaches, so if they could snag incoming troops they had longer to fire on them before they got ashore.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 23, 2008)

freebird said:


> Didn't make a detailed inspection at the time!
> 
> 
> I don't remember, but the local doctor told my dad that they had found stuff on the beaches over the years, bits of rusty barbed wire etc.
> ...



That is the same in Normandy. Last time I went up there, I found lots of shrapnel, barbed wire and even large shell casings still buried in the sand.


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## Messy1 (Aug 23, 2008)

I will make it over to Normandy sometime in my life.


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## RabidAlien (Aug 24, 2008)

Messy1 said:


> I will make it over to Normandy sometime in my life.



Ditto.


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## timshatz (Aug 25, 2008)

Went to Normandy back in 1994. The movies do not do justice to that beach. Omaha is a shooting gallery from the perspective of the Germans. 

It's a decent up angle to the top of what I would guess is a 60ft rise. No cover (came in at low tide) and a good 1/4 mile of ground to cover before you even get to the dry sand. It's amazing any of them made it.


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## Messy1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Scares me just trying to imagine covering that distance while under fire! Cannot imagine what was going through those brave men's minds.


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## timshatz (Aug 25, 2008)

Messy1 said:


> Scares me just trying to imagine covering that distance while under fire! Cannot imagine what was going through those brave men's minds.



Yeah, tell me about. Absolute terror. I guess that's why they train so hard. So when the terror comes, you do as you are trained and just don't sit there dumbstruck.


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## Messy1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Very true Tim!


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Aug 25, 2008)

timshatz said:


> Went to Normandy back in 1994. The movies do not do justice to that beach. Omaha is a shooting gallery from the perspective of the Germans.
> 
> It's a decent up angle to the top of what I would guess is a 60ft rise. No cover (came in at low tide) and a good 1/4 mile of ground to cover before you even get to the dry sand. It's amazing any of them made it.



I was there in 1994. My ROTC unit laid a wreath during the ceremony. I actually went to Normany on several occasions including 1994, 1997 and 1999. Me and my wife are going to try and get back there next summer.

You are correct though about how the movies do not do it justice. I remember walking down to the water and walking about a few meters and then running up the beach just to get a feel of what they saw. I can not even imagine what it must have been like under fire.


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## Messy1 (Aug 25, 2008)

I bet that stretch of beach felt more like 2-3 miles long!


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## Watanbe (Aug 27, 2008)

more like 200-300 miles


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## <simon> (Aug 28, 2008)

That is incredible!! 
Must've been one hell of a storm!!
Food probably a bit off


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