A 53-year-old farm owner in Bramsche, Lower Saxony, is facing a costly predicament after discovering 22 bombs on her property. The first bomb was discovered two years ago when a “hobby metal detectorist” asked for permission to search for coins on the land. Instead of finding valuable artifacts, the detector found a World War II bomb weighing 10 kilograms. The subsequent professional removal and disposal of the bomb cost the woman a significant sum of money.
Further inspections of the land revealed more bombs and the woman was informed that she would be responsible for the costs associated with searching and removing the explosives. The woman was required to pay 45,000 euros for the search and removal and an additional 4,819 euros for disposal. The city is currently reviewing the bill submitted by the company contracted for the task.
The legal situation regarding the costs of removing explosives is described as follows: between 1940 and the end of World War II in 1945, approximately 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Germany. According to the Niedersachsen Gesetz über die öffentliche Sicherheit und Ordnung (Nds. SOG), the responsibility for removing explosives lies with the community. The Nds. SOG states that the owner of the property is responsible for the costs associated with removing the explosives.
The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior confirmed that according to current law, a property owner is legally responsible for the ordnungsgemäßen Zustand of their property. The mayor of Bramsche informed the woman of the costs associated with the removal of the explosives.
The Bild-Zeitung commented on the situation, stating that the costs associated with removing explosives are often the responsibility of the property owner and only North Rhine-Westphalia is an exception. The woman has launched a petition to seek financial support to cover the significant costs associated with the removal of the explosives.