All-clear in Mitte: World War II bomb safely transported away!

All-clear in Mitte: World War II bomb safely transported away!

Today, September 19, 2025, there were two operations in Berlin related to the defusing of World War II bombs, which showed how important comprehensive preparations and coordination between different authorities are. In Mitte, a bomb was discovered in the Spree, while plans to defuse a 100-kilogram aerial bomb were planned in the Spandau district.

The district mayor of Mitte, Stefanie Remlinger, informed that the bomb was found on Thursday afternoon near the Fischerinsel and the Mühlendamm lock. A exclusion circle with a radius of 500 meters was then set up. Both residents and tourists were affected and were forced to leave their homes and rooms. Subway lines 2 and 5 were also interrupted due to the measures, which led to significant traffic restrictions.

All-clear in Mitte and evacuations in Spandau

Fortunately, the residents on Fischerinsel were given the all-clear on Friday morning as the bomb did not need to be defused and could be safely transported away. Comprehensive support was organized by the district office and the German Red Cross (DRK) for the more than 900 people from the area who were temporarily accommodated in emergency accommodation, including in the town hall on Karl-Marx-Allee and the Charlotte-Pfeffer-Schule. They provided camp beds, blankets, drinks and snacks.

In Berlin-Spandau, however, the situation was more serious as over 12,000 residents had to leave their homes to enable the bomb to be defused. Facilities such as the Vivantes Clinic and several schools and daycare centers remained closed. The police urgently asked residents to clear the restricted area on Neuendorfer Strasse by 8 a.m. Despite this request, there were still a few people in the restricted area. daily news reported that the bomb was successfully defused and the police gave the all-clear in the early afternoon.

Restrictions and traffic information

The extensive evacuation measures led to significant restrictions on local public transport and on the streets. The use of a high-pressure water cutting system to defuse the bomb in Spandau was crucial for safety. Affected streets and subway lines were rerouted, and the A100 motorway was closed between Schmargendorf and Detmolder Straße during defusal.

Overall, these events make it clear how critical it is to come to terms with Berlin's war past and how important cooperation between the city administration, police and fire brigade is. A special thank you was expressed to the emergency services for their dedicated efforts.

For current and future information requests, anyone interested can contact the press office of the Mitte district office at presse@ba-mitte.berlin.de turn around.