31,000 Evacuated in Germany After World War II Bomb Found

From the May 20, 2015, Chicago Tribune.

About 31,000 residents in the northern Germany city of Hanover are being temporarily forced to evacuate their homes after construction crews found an unexploded 550-pound World War II bomb under a former high school.

The bomb was discovered May 19th afternoon during work to tear down the former school building.  Experts decided, based upon its condition, the bomb needed to be immediately defused and removed.  It is believed to be an American bomb.

Hanover is about 125 miles west of Berlin.  It was a regular target during the war and, on one 1943 raid, some 261,000 bombs were dropped on the city.  (That seems like a real lot of bombs to be dropped in one raid.  Perhaps they are referring to the number of pounds of bombs dropped.)

Now, even 70 years after the war, bombs are still regularly found in German cities, especially during construction projects.  It is believed that anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 unexploded bombs still remain undiscovered.

--GreGen