The largest evacuation in Cologne since World War II is underway following the discovery of three unexploded bombs dropped by Allied forces 80 years ago.
Approximately 20,000 residents are being evacuated from their homes and businesses. The evacuation also includes hotels, a care facility for the elderly, and a hospital. Three bridges spanning the Rhine River have been closed, and rail traffic has been either suspended or rerouted.
Numerous schools, kindergartens, museums, the tram network, and the city’s philharmonic orchestra have been shut down after the entire old town was brought to a standstill.
The broadcaster RTL has relocated its news programming to studios in Berlin, as its Cologne headquarters falls within the 1,000-meter radius evacuation zone. Several programs scheduled for live transmission are instead being recorded, the broadcaster announced.
The unexploded ordinances are scheduled for defusal on Wednesday morning. They are US-made bombs, including two weighing 20 tons each and one weighing 10 tons. The bombs were discovered on Monday on the Rhine’s right bank during construction work near the Deutz shipyards. All three are fitted with impact fuses designed to detonate upon contact with a hard surface.
On Wednesday morning, volunteers, police, and other city officials will conduct door-to-door checks, leave notices in letterboxes, and gather information from residents about their neighbors before defusal operations can commence. Police have stated they are authorized to use force to remove individuals who refuse to evacuate voluntarily. Residents can contact a hotline or consult a website for information and assistance.
Outside the evacuated area, tents and other facilities, such as sports halls and churches, will be available to provide evacuees with food, refreshments, and other support, according to city authorities.
Even 80 years after the end of World War II, such discoveries remain commonplace in Cologne, which endured some of the most intense bombing raids in Germany during the war. The city was targeted in 262 air raids by the RAF, which often used US-manufactured bombs, particularly toward the war’s end. Approximately 20,000 people lost their lives in these bombing raids.
On the night of May 30, 1942, Cologne was the target of the RAF’s first “thousand-bomber raid” on a German city. Over 1,000 aircraft were deployed, flying in a dense “bomber stream” formation designed to overwhelm German radar and defenses. During this single night, 868 bombers attacked the city, dropping 1,455 tons of bombs in what was known as Operation Millennium.
The exact date the bombs currently awaiting defusal were dropped remains unknown.
