Westwall coming down

The German government has begun tearing down six more bunkers from Hitler's infamous West Wall, also known as the Siegfried Line, against the wishes of some German historians.

War veterans also want the remaining concrete and steel fortifications saved as historic memorials. The leader of the Third Reich built 20,000 bunkers, trenches and tank dugouts along a 940-mile line, stretching along the German border from near Basel, Switzerland to Kleve in northern Germany. . .

Only half of the original 20,000 bunkers fortifying the West Wall remain. Most of the others were destroyed shortly after the Allies broke through the line in the winter of 1944-45 in battles that killed huge numbers of German soldiers.

Federal authorities have been tearing down the bunkers at a rate of 100 to 200 a year, usually at the request of municipalities or landowners.

The government eventually intends to remove all the remaining bunkers, except several hundred individual structures already designated historic monuments and preserved at a cost of $36.7 million. Opponents of demolition want all that remain to be left in place. . .

Of the remaining bunkers and other structures that made up the wall, 6,500 have already been torn down or surrounded by fences to protect the public. Six hundred have been transformed into storage facilities or even museums, such as in Trier and Pirmasens.

Federal authorities estimate 2,500 have yet to be secured in any way.

From CNN. Another article is here, and the Times today throws yet another spin on the story:

Germany has started to destroy the giant concrete Siegfried Line, Hitler’s defensive wall against an Allied attack, in a gesture of friendship to the French.

Bulldozers and power hammers were at work yesterday smashing a military bunker overlooking the French city of Strasbourg in the first move to destroy the 400-mile frontier fortifications. . .

There could be no more powerful symbol of French and German partnership than the demolition of the wall. The countries celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Franco-German Elysée Treaty on Wednesday and the occasion has spurred closer co-operation between the capitals. It will be marked by sending more than 600 German deputies on a day trip to Versailles. A new European initiative is to be announced from Berlin and Paris next week.

Posted by David on January 18, 2003 6:07 PM