Digging up the past

Giant swastika unearthed on construction site in Germany

Base of now-gone monument to be destroyed by jackhammers, as too heavy to move

By AP 21 November 2017, 2:32 pm

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The giant swastika-shaped base of a Nazi-era statue discovered on a construction site for a sports field in Hamburg, northern Germany, November 21, 2017. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP)

BERLIN — Construction workers in Germany have unearthed a giant concrete swastika on a sports field in the northern city of Hamburg.

The German news agency dpa reported Tuesday workers were digging in the ground with an excavator to build changing rooms when they suddenly hit the four-by-four meter (13-by-13 foot) Nazi symbol.

Members of the sports club at the Hein-Kling stadium in the city’s Billstedt district told dpa the swastika served as a foundation for a monument that was torn down decades ago.

City officials say they want the swastika, which was buried 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) below the ground, gone as quickly as possible. Because it is too heavy to be transported away, they are planning to destroy it with jackhammers.