Germany: Explosives discovered at concentration camp site

Explosives have been found in the entrance area of a German concentration camp memorial site, authorities announced on Thursday.

The suspicious package was found on January 19 at the memorial to the Mittelbau-Dora labor camp, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, in the German state of Thuringia. The package was stumbled upon by a 15-year-old visitor.

Police and explosives experts spent a month investigating the potential explosive, before determining that the explosives would have had "serious consequences."

Investigations into the package are still underway, but authorities are certain it is not a World War II bomb. Domestic intelligence services are also involved in the probe.

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Left party state parliament lawmaker Katja Mitteldorf called the discovery "alarming."

The Buchenwald memorial foundation said they have upped surveillance in the area, especially regarding further "suspicious objects."

The camp was set up on August 28, 1943, and around 60,000 prisoners were forced to work in horrendous conditions before many were transported on to death camps. Around a third died in the camp as a result of forced labor.

ed/rt (epd, AFP)

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