Extremely low water levels in the Danube River in Budapest have exposed several World War II-era artifacts and human remains. The river has reached record-low levels following a prolonged drought in the region.
Staff from the Institute and Museum of Military History of Hungary recovered a DKW NZ 350-1 military motorcycle from the riverbed near Batthyány Square. The motorcycle, which was produced for the Wehrmacht and known for being robust and reliable, weighed over 200 kilograms due to being saturated with mud and water.
During the recovery, two sets of human remains belonging to German Wehrmacht soldiers were exhumed from beneath the motorcycle.
The soldiers' identity discs were found to be intact, with both halves still together. The presence of gas oil in the mud near Batthyány Square created conditions that preserved both the remains and the discs.
The German War Graves Commission was involved in the exhumation of the remains with the assistance of Hungarian colleagues. The soldiers' remains are scheduled to be reburied at the Budaörs war cemetery on the outskirts of Budapest, a site that contains more than 16,000 German war dead.
Military artifacts and debris
The recovery included ten German Tellermine 35 (TMi-35) anti-tank mines. Other items found included remnants of hand grenades, artillery shells, and both German and Soviet infantry ammunition.
A petrol can and a military decoration were also among the recovered items.
The Hungarian Military History Institute suspects the location may have been used as a 'Kriegsschuttgrube,' or war debris dump, for military and civilian waste following the Battle of Budapest.
The motorcycle was transported via a rescue boat to the Pest side of the Danube before being moved to a storage hall at the Military History Museum.
Environmental and regional impact
The drought has impacted regional infrastructure. In Hungary, the Paks nuclear power plant, which relies on the Danube for cooling, has had three of its four turbines shut down. According to reports, at the time of reporting, the plant was operating at slightly more than ten percent of its normal capacity.
According to reports, temperatures in Hungary reached between 40 and 42 degrees Celsius on the day of reporting. As part of energy conservation efforts, decorative lighting on major landmarks, including the Parliament, parts of Buda Castle, and the Chain Bridge, has been turned off at night.
According to reports, in Serbia, German warships from the Black Sea fleet that were sunk by German troops in 1944 are emerging from the Danube near Prahovo. These wrecks contain munitions and explosives that may pose hazards to navigation when water levels are low.
Updates
The German War Graves Commission dispatched a reburial specialist to Budapest to exhume the remains, confirming that duplicate identity discs meant the soldiers' deaths were never officially reported to Berlin, and that families waited in vain for news; the motorcycle, saturated and weighing over 200 kg, was retrieved by boat due to the stony riverbank, while additional munitions—including hand grenades, artillery shells, and infantry ammunition—were recovered, with Hungarian authorities suspecting the site served as a wartime debris dump. The Volksbund also noted emerging shipwrecks near Prahovo, Serbia, may contain further war dead, though the claim of 35 recovered anti-tank mines remains,
The German War Graves Commission has dispatched a reburial specialist to Budapest to exhume the remains, confirming that the identity discs found were intact duplicate halves—meaning the soldiers' deaths were never officially reported to the Wehrmacht; the motorcycle, saturated and weighing over 200 kg, was transported by boat due to the rocky riverbank, while additional ordnance including hand grenades, artillery shells, and infantry ammunition was recovered, and the site is suspected to have been a wartime debris dump; though disputed, 35 Tellermine 35 mines were also claimed to have been found, and the Volksbund noted families waited in vain for notification, while similar shipwrecks from
The German War Graves Commission has dispatched a reburial specialist to Budapest to exhume the remains, confirming that the identity discs found were intact duplicate halves—meaning the soldiers' deaths were never officially reported to the Wehrmacht; additionally, the motorcycle, weighing over 200 kg when saturated, was transported by boat due to the stony riverbank, while remnants of hand grenades, artillery shells, and both German and Soviet ammunition were also recovered, and the site is suspected to have been a 'Kriegsschuttgrube' for post-battle waste, though the claim of 35 anti-tank mines remains disputed.
A reburial specialist from the German War Graves Commission arrived in Budapest to exhume the remains alongside Hungarian colleagues, with identity discs indicating the soldiers' deaths were never officially reported to Berlin; the motorcycle, weighing over 200 kg when saturated, was transported by boat due to the riverbank’s terrain, while additional munitions—including hand grenades, artillery shells, and infantry ammunition—were recovered, and the site is suspected to have been a wartime debris dump; though disputed, claims of 35 anti-tank mines being found were made, and the Volksbund noted families waited in vain for notification, with similar shipwrecks emerging near Prahovo, Serbia,提示
The German War Graves Commission sent a reburial specialist to Budapest to exhume the remains, confirming that the duplicate identity discs found were intact—meaning the soldiers’ deaths were never officially reported to Berlin, as families waited in vain for notification; additionally, bomb disposal teams were repeatedly deployed during recovery, temporarily halting traffic on Bem Embankment, while the motorcycle, saturated and weighing over 200 kg, was transported by boat due to the rocky riverbank.
The German War Graves Commission has dispatched a reburial specialist to Budapest to exhume the remains, confirming that the duplicate identity discs found were intact—meaning the soldiers’ deaths were never officially reported to Berlin, and their families waited in vain for news; additionally, bomb disposal teams were repeatedly deployed during recovery, temporarily halting traffic on Bem Embankment, while the motorcycle, weighing over 200 kg when saturated, was transported by boat due to the stony riverbank.
The German War Graves Commission sent a reburial specialist to Budapest to exhume the remains, confirming that the duplicate identity discs found were intact—meaning the soldiers' deaths were never officially reported to Berlin, and their families waited in vain for news; additionally, bomb disposal teams were repeatedly deployed during recovery, temporarily halting traffic on Bem Embankment, while the motorcycle, weighing over 200 kg when saturated, was transported by boat due to the stony riverbank.
The German War Graves Commission confirmed that identity discs found on the soldiers were duplicate halves, both still intact, explaining why their deaths were never officially reported to the Wehrmacht; additionally, bomb disposal teams were repeatedly deployed during recovery, temporarily halting traffic on Bem Embankment, while the motorcycle—weighing over 200 kg when recovered—was transported by boat due to the unstable riverbank, and a disputed claim of 35 anti-tank mines was corrected by the German Press Agency to confirm only one Tellermine 35 was found.
