Extensive construction work is currently taking place on the site of the former Athens-Ellinikon airport. During this time, 314 bombs that had been “stored” in the ground for at least 80 years were found and have now been defused by experts.

It is completely unclear when the extremely dangerous relics from the Second World War came to the area. All that is certain is that they are bombs from the Second World War. So far 314 pieces have been found. According to the authorities, these were rendered harmless in an underground storage room. The responsible office cannot rule out the possibility that there could be other World War II bombs on the site of the former Athens-Ellinikon airport.

The fact that the 314 explosive devices were apparently improperly “disposed of” during the construction of a terminal at the abandoned airport appears worrying. However, there is also an alternative assumption: The Wehrmacht could have stored them for “later” in 1941 during a hasty withdrawal. According to the mayor's statement, Giannis Konstantatos, these were found "collected" in an underground storage room located in the immediate vicinity of the former western terminal, which was once the only check-in hall and was recently only used for domestic flights. This is the terminal that was located near the sea and in the immediate vicinity, for example, former hangars were converted into sports facilities for the Olympic Games that took place in 2004.

Terminal, schools, kindergartens and residential buildings in the immediate vicinity

The western terminal of the former Elliniko Airport was - in contrast to the eastern terminal, which is in poor condition but is a listed building - completely razed to the ground several years ago. It was previously used temporarily as accommodation for refugees, but there was international criticism due to the catastrophic conditions. There are also several kindergartens and schools as well as a residential area near the former west terminal, which was once known for the Olympic logo.

According to the current state of affairs, it could have been the case that during the construction of the western terminal, hangars and other operating facilities at the former airport, the relics from the Second World War were simply moved to an underground storage facility that was most likely built exclusively for this purpose , were obtained in order to save costs for proper defusing and disposal. Out of sight and therefore out of mind, this very dangerous matter was forgotten over the decades.

And so it happened as it had to happen: During the course of demolition and construction work, the bomb site, which according to an official statement is not listed on any construction plans and, according to the Greek authorities, actually does not exist, was found purely by chance. The military was then requested by the executive branch to neutralize the potentially dangerous World War relics.

Mayor of Athens suspects Wehrmacht behind the “bomb camp”

However, the mayor of Athens also tries to present a completely different version of how the bombs could have gotten into the underground storage room. It could not be ruled out that it was not the builders after the Second World War who caused the remnants of the Second World War to “disappear”, but it could at least not be ruled out that it could have been the Germans during the occupation.

Between 1941 and 1944, this region of Greece was under occupation by the Nazi regime of what was then the Greater German Reich. The mayor of Athens emphasizes that the area on which the Athens-Elliniko airport was later built as a civil airport was used for military purposes by the Wehrmacht. The occupiers left the Greek capital extremely hastily in 1944 and also left behind a lot of war goods in other places in Greece. At least some of the entrances were covered or buried so that the Red Army could not find them or that the bombs and other war supplies would be available again if they returned at a later date.

Residents suspect even more “out of sight, out of mind”

Regardless of whether the 314 World War II bombs were hidden by the Germans or whether they simply acted according to the motto “out of sight, out of mind” during the construction of the Athens-Elliniko civilian airport in order to save costs, this is the case The shock was deep in the Greek capital. After all, this airport was the largest in Greece until it was closed in 2001 and the area where the bombs were found was very frequently used, as there were numerous maintenance hangars and even a fuel storage facility there. The residential area in question, including schools and kindergartens, is also just a proverbial stone's throw away.

The 620 hectare area was sold to an investor after many years of standstill and decay. He wants to make use of the proximity to the sea and the beach and build luxury apartments, hotels and other leisure businesses. Everything that is not listed is to be removed or has already been demolished. According to the Greek media, the bomb discovery will have an extremely detrimental effect on further work, as the authorities cannot expressly rule out the possibility that there are other depots or hiding places. In any case, these are not shown on the plans, so extreme caution must be exercised. Some citizens interviewed by local media said that, in their view, it was a miracle that nothing had happened in many decades of flight operations. Many respondents suspect that many more problematic substances could be “hidden” in the area, as this would have been the usual way of disposing of problematic items in the past.

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