Receding Danube River reveals World War II remains in Budapest

A severe drought across Europe has caused water levels in the Danube River to drop to record lows, exposing the remains of two World War II German soldiers and military equipment near central Budapest.

The discovery was initially reported by a passerby who spotted a motorcycle handlebar protruding from rocks along the riverbank near Batthyany Square. Recovery operations conducted by the German War Graves Commission alongside Hungarian military historians unearthed a largely intact Wehrmacht motorcycle, identified as a DKW NZ 350-1 model, along with anti-tank mines that prompted a brief deployment of bomb disposal personnel.

The site yielded well-preserved personal items, including intact identification tags, a wedding ring, and a Kuban shield combat decoration. Experts noted that a combination of riverbed mud and petroleum slowed the decay of the artifacts and human remains over the past eight decades. Analysis of the identification tags revealed that one soldier served in the Wehrmacht while the other belonged to the Waffen-SS.

Because both halves of the soldiers’ identification tags remained intact rather than split, as was customary when casualties were processed, investigators confirmed that neither death was officially recorded during the war. The commission has initiated bone analysis and archival checks to identify the deceased before their eventual burial at the German war cemetery in Budaors.