Amidst an ongoing drought, the wrecks of Nazi ships laden with explosives have resurfaced in the River Danube near Serbia's Prahovo. Four additional vessels dating back to before 1950 have also been revealed in Hungary's Danube-Drava National Park.
The relentless drought that has plagued Europe throughout the summer has reached a critical point in the Danube River, exposing long-hidden relics of the past. In the Serbian town of Prahovo, the wrecks of Nazi ships, sunk in the river during World War II, have emerged from the receding waters.
These vessels were part of Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet, scuttled in 1944 to obstruct the advance of Soviet forces. As the water level dropped dramatically, their hulking forms have become visible once again, strewn across the riverbed. Many still retain their turrets, command bridges, and broken masts, while others lie submerged beneath shifting sandbanks.
Sunken Nazi Ships Emerge from Danube River at Record Low Water Levels
The drought's impact has extended to Hungary as well, where four vessels dating from before 1950 have come to light in the Danube-Drava National Park near Mohacs. Endre Sztellik, a guard at the park, expressed concern about the dwindling visibility of one of the wrecks due to scavenging.
The Danube River has reached record-low water levels, with measurements in Budapest dropping to 1.17 meters, surpassing the previous record of 0.4 meters set in 2018. In contrast, flood levels can see the river rise to over 6 meters.
Sunken Nazi Ships Emerge from Danube River at Record Low Water Levels
The European climate service Copernicus has issued a report highlighting the severity of drought conditions in Eastern Europe, with significant impacts on crops and vegetation. However, relief may be on the horizon as long-awaited rainfall began falling on Monday. By the weekend, the Danube is expected to reach levels of around three meters at Mohacs, submerging the shipwrecks once more.
The emergence of these sunken Nazi ships serves as a tangible reminder of the war's brutality and the lasting impact of conflicts on the environment. As the climate crisis intensifies, extreme weather events like droughts are expected to become more frequent and severe, potentially revealing other hidden relics and challenging our understanding of history.
