Geretsried: Air bomb defused – Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen

After half a day of planning, waiting and worrying, an aircraft bomb was defused in Geretsried on Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. Around 1,800 people had to leave their homes beforehand. The area around Rotkehlchenweg was cleared because a dud from the Second World War had been found on a private construction site there in the morning: a 75-kilogram aircraft bomb with an explosive force of around 37 kilos. Demolitionist Sebastian Braun from the Tauber explosive ordnance clearance service explained after the first inspection that the explosive device was easily accessible.

It is mostly open and the detonator is not bent. The bomb could therefore – in contrast to the last find of this kind ten months ago on Dompfaffenweg – be defused on the spot. Later, he and his two colleagues found out that the defusing was actually mostly easy to master, but the detonator had torn off inside, which is why a little more sensitivity was needed.

They defused the bomb (from left): Josef Semegi, Usam Bach and Sebastian Braun

(Photo: Hartmut Pöstges)

By early afternoon, a security perimeter had been set at 300 meters around the bomb and 1,000 meters above it. Numerous police officers – from the city itself, from Wolfratshausen, Munich and from the central supplementary service in Weilheim – gathered at the fire station on Elbestrasse, from where Geretsried police chief Franz Schöttl led the operation. Forty emergency services went from house to house, the population was informed at the same time via announcements, radio and online.

Unexploded ordnance from the Second World War: Just looking at the parking lot showed that numerous police officers from the area were also on duty at the large site.

Just looking at the parking lot showed that numerous police officers from the area were also on duty at the large location.

(Photo: Hartmut Pöstges)

The site is a purely residential area. After the operations management had initially assumed that 5,000 people would be affected, the evacuation area was specified after a closer look at the types of building, so that only 1,800 residents had to leave their homes. Johannisplatz is just outside the radius. People who were not staying with relatives or friends could use the council chamber at the town hall as a place to stay. This was opened towards the city museum so that people could also stay in the museum garden. For people who are infected with Corona, the Isardammschule was chosen as a temporary place to stay.

Defusing the bomb began at 4:15 p.m. However, there was a short-term interruption because a person was said to have returned to the affected area. However, a search by helicopter did not confirm this.

Duds from the Second World War: Press spokesman Thomas Loibl shows the radius in which the evacuation had to take place.

Press spokesman Thomas Loibl shows the radius in which the evacuation had to take place.

(Photo: Hartmut Pöstges)

Demolitionist Sebastian Braun has been on duty in the past when bombs were found in the city. Such events are no longer surprising for many Geretsrieders either. Mayor Michael Müller (CSU), who lives on Johannisplatz, where he grew up, said: “It’s been with me since my childhood.” During this time he himself witnessed a bomb find seven or eight times; this is now the third defusing during his term of office. He assumes, says Müller, that due to the increasing construction activity in the city, which usually also includes underground car parks, duds are now being found more often. “You have to reckon with it,” said Müller, “these are the terrible remains of the war.” But you can “learn to deal with it”. This was shown by the operations in which the public order office and the building authority of the town hall are involved, as well as the police, fire brigade and rescue services. In the evening, the mayor thanked everyone involved for their commitment.

Duds from the Second World War: streets in Geretsried had to be closed to prevent anyone from accidentally getting too close to the bomb.

Streets in Geretsried had to be closed to prevent anyone from accidentally getting too close to the bomb.

(Photo: Hartmut Pöstges)

Geretsried, which was the site of two large armaments factories during the Nazi era, was bombed on April 9, 1945. According to research by the Historical Geretsried Working Group, 76 American aircraft took off from several bases in England and dropped more than 2,000 bombs over the dynamite company in the Wolfratshauser forest. The armaments factory was the last station of the squadron that day, which approached via Fürstenfeldbruck, Landsberg, Memmingen and finally reached Wolfratshausen. The explosive devices were therefore dropped over the armament site within three minutes, from 5:19 p.m. to 5:22 p.m.

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