The discovery of three unexploded WWII bombs in Cologne, Germany, forced the evacuation of over 20,000 residents on June 4, 2025, marking the city’s largest such operation since the end of the war. The ordnance, identified as two 20-hundredweight and one 10-hundredweight American aerial bombs with impact fuses, was unearthed during construction in the Deutz district.
Authorities established a 3,280-foot evacuation zone encompassing critical infrastructure, including Eduardus Hospital, schools, retirement homes, and the Cologne Messe/Deutz train station. Traffic routes and Rhine River shipping lanes were temporarily suspended to ensure public safety.
The evacuation affected approximately 20,500 people, including residents, workers, and hotel guests. Public transportation and cultural venues were shut down, and weddings at city hall were relocated.
Bomb disposal experts from Düsseldorf’s explosive ordnance disposal team successfully defused the bombs by 7:19 p.m. local time. No injuries were reported during the operation.
Cologne, heavily bombed during WWII, continues to manage remnants of the conflict. Between 1,500 and 2,000 unexploded bombs are found annually in North Rhine-Westphalia, highlighting the ongoing challenges posed by wartime munitions.
