A major police operation and the evacuation of a residential area in western Potsdam concluded Friday afternoon after a suspicious object found in a basement was identified as a rusted training mine.
Discovery and Initial Response
The incident began on Friday morning when residents reported a suspicious object in the basement of a residential building located at Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 19. The report was made to police at 8:29 a.m.
Initial measures began with the closure of the section of Geschwister-Scholl-Straße between Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße and Hans-Sachs-Straße. Throughout the morning, authorities required cars to be moved from the area and prohibited pedestrians and cyclists from entering the zone.
By early afternoon, the operation escalated. For safety reasons, the gas supply to the building at Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 19 was interrupted. A variety of emergency services, including the fire department, the regulatory office (Ordnungsamt), and rescue forces, were deployed to the scene.
Evacuations and City Disruptions
As the investigation progressed, police established a 300-meter radius exclusion zone. Evacuation measures began around 2:55 p.m., requiring residents to leave their homes. To manage the crisis, the police converted a Lidl parking lot in western Potsdam into a provisional command center.
The evacuation caused significant disruptions to public and individual transport:
- Tram services: Operations between Platz der Einheit and Bahnhof Pirschheide were interrupted.
- Bus services: Bus line 605 was forced to follow a diverted route.
- Regional rail: The regional train line between Magdeburg and Berlin was affected.
Authorities utilized the Nina-Warnapp to send push notifications to residents, ordering an “immediate evacuation” and directing those in need of shelter to the sports hall of the Hannah-Arendt-Gymnasium on Haeckelstraße 72.
Investigation and Resolution
Specialized officers from the State Criminal Police Office (Landeskriminalamt) were tasked with examining the object. While initial reports from city hall sources suggested the item was war munitions—with some reports mentioning a landmine—experts conducted a detailed inspection to determine if the object was live.
The object was eventually identified as a rusted training mine, which had been discovered while cleaning out the basement compartment of a tenant who had recently passed away. To confirm the item was not dangerous, experts drilled into the mine. This process revealed that the object was inert, meaning no defusing or explosion occurred.
The Police Directorate West issued a press release stating the object was “after thorough examination found to be harmless.”
Return to Normalcy
The exclusion zone was lifted at 4:50 p.m., and by 5:23 p.m., all barriers had been removed. The Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst (ordnance disposal service) left the scene, allowing residents to return to their homes and public transport to resume normal operations. The police expressed their gratitude to citizens for their “understanding and cooperation.”
Potential Implications
The discovery of war munitions in a residential basement highlights the ongoing risks associated with historical remnants in urban areas. Because the object was found during the cleaning of a deceased person’s estate, similar discoveries could potentially occur during other property clearances in the region. Local authorities may continue to rely on emergency alert systems like the Nina-Warnapp to manage rapid evacuations should other suspicious objects be reported.
