THE TERRIBLE DEATH IN THE WINTERBERG TUNNEL

The entrance to the Winterberg Tunnel was found a short time ago, a 300-meter tunnel system that was buried during the fighting of the First World War and trapped 275 young German soldiers alive inside. Here is an eyewitness account from one of only three survivors:

“It was 4 May 1917… probably between 11:00 a.m. and noon. We paid little attention to the artillery fire, because we were used to being shelled. Since the 11th Company was in reserve, I went to see a few friends, and then we moved further in (into the tunnel) to a spot near the radio room. While we were talking and warming a cup of coffee over a small candle, something unbelievable happened. A massive explosion hit us like a shock. What had happened? More explosions followed. We tried to move forward but were met by black clouds and gas. Exit 3 had collapsed and Exit 4 was full of gas and smoke. We fell back and tried to build a barricade out of packs and coats, but we could not stop the poisonous fumes from spreading.

A heavy shell had scored a direct hit on the reserve ammunition stacked at the entrance. The explosions that followed drove the gas in our direction, and the fans made it worse by blowing the air back into the tunnel. We built a barricade of sandbags and hoped it would hold the gas back and that we could still be saved. But we heard more explosions, and as it turned out, the shaft was blocked. We were cut off from the outside world, and the air in the tunnel was of very poor quality at best. Time passed and breathing became hard. We tried to dig a ventilation shaft and failed. We realized the air was almost used up, lights went out and matches only flickered. The heat was unbearable. We grew thirsty and lost all hope of rescue.

Many were close to breaking down, mentally and physically. Lying on the ground, they were tormented by thirst and the enormous heat. Everyone was completely beaten. It was terrible. I could hear someone saying his prayer. I will never forget the death of my comrades. One called for his wife, another for his parents and his brothers and sisters. I was emotionally shattered myself and said goodbye in my mind to everything I held dear. Everyone called for water, but it was in vain. Death laughed at its harvest and stood guard at the barricade so that no one could escape. How long we were trapped in there I could not say. Three or four days? Muffled shots echoed through the dark cave. Some raved about rescue, others about water. It became a place of final farewells and of death. A comrade lay on the ground next to me and croaked with a breaking voice for someone to chamber a round in his pistol for him. I called back and felt my way over to him. He handed me his Luger. With the last of my strength I chambered the round and gave it back to him. There was a short pause, as if he were saying goodbye to everything he held dear. A loud bang rang out in that living grave, then came his death rattle. He had found his release.

I thought I might soon find peace as well. I looked for the pistol and found it. I said my last words, pressed the barrel against my heart (it felt cold) and moved my right hand further up. When I woke up again, I was lying flat on the ground. Passing out had kept me from taking the last step. Close to madness I searched for water, but empty water bottles mocked me. I managed to get onto my knees, cupped my hands and drank my own urine. Crawling on, I came across a mound of sand and lay down in it to cool my body a little. I also found a small hand burner and tried to light it. It took all my strength and the light burned in my eyes, but what I saw was horrifying: my dead, naked comrades lay in cramped positions with their arms stretched out (on the ground). I did not want to see any more and put the burner out again… and lost consciousness, for how long I do not know.

I was still lying on my little mound when I could not believe my ears. Death was probably playing a trick on me, because I heard words. Help! I did not know where it came from. I was still wrapped in darkness, but the sounds came closer. I turned my head a little and lifted it, something shone into my eyes and I closed them. Could that be light? Was that rescue? I tried to call out with the last of my strength, and then I heard them. ‘Stay calm, comrade, we are on our way!’ They leaned over me, my rescuers, and gave me water. Water! I could not believe it. Was I going to be saved? They had to leave me once more, then they came back and carried me out of the cave in a tarpaulin. Cold air blew over me and there was more water. The rescue party said, ‘This is the 6th day since the collapse!’ Two other comrades were rescued with me.

The doctor told me that less than half a day more and it would have been too late. I was told the inside of the tunnel was a tragic sight. All the other comrades had ended their suffering by shooting themselves or cutting their arteries open.”

- Musketier Karl Fißer, 11th Company, Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 111

The entrance to the tunnel was officially discovered in January 2020 by several amateur historians. Alain Malinowski, mayor of Orainville (France), spent 25 years working through old military maps from archives to find it, while his son Pierre Malinowski planned the night operation to open the entrance without permits.
German and French archaeologists are due to excavate the tunnel this year (2021) so that the soldiers trapped inside can be given a burial. It would be the “Pompeii” of the First World War.

Update 30 April 2021: after German and French teams began the official excavation together, so much ammunition came to the surface that the digging has to be stopped. Because of the danger to the crews, the plan now is to turn the site into a memorial and leave the dead untouched.

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