It Took Decades For The 'Illegal' WWII German Forest To Finally Be Dealt With

In northeastern Germany, close to Zernikow in Brandenburg, lies a pine forest where visitors can quickly become disoriented without paying careful attention. The uniform appearance of the forest poses challenges for navigation, yet it hasn't always been this way. Previously, a 0.89-acre grove within the forest bore a symbol associated with a dark chapter in human history.

The origins of the 140 larch trees that formed the symbol remain a mystery. Most sources suggest the trees were planted roughly a year before World War II began. These trees stood out due to their distinctive seasonal change; unlike the surrounding evergreens, they changed color in the fall and spring, revealing their hidden message for only a few weeks each year.

Speculation remains regarding the motive behind the planting of these trees. Some suggest it was to commemorate the Führer 's birthday, although this theory lacks concrete evidence. Others propose that a villager planted them as a tribute to someone who was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen for secretly listening to the BBC . Another account comes from a farmer who, as a child, claims he was paid by a forester to plant the larches.

The forest-themed design, visible exclusively from aerial perspectives, remained largely overlooked after World War II. With the Soviet Union's dominance over East Germany, private aircraft were prohibited from flying, preventing any aerial views of the area. Additionally, the location's northern position meant commercial flights from Berlin rarely passed over it.

That being said, it's believed the Soviets knew of the symbol's existence. They just didn't do anything to remove it.

After the reunification of Germany , the government conducted aerial surveys of public lands, including a forest in the northeast. These revealed a disturbing symbol from above. Concerned the site might become a pilgrimage destination, officials decided in 1995 to send forestry workers with chainsaws to cut down 43 of the more than 100 larch trees.

Despite these efforts, the World War II-era symbol remained visible from the air and attracted unwanted attention once more in 2000 after a Reuters report. Consequently, an additional 25 trees were cut down, finally erasing the image.

While this is arguably the most famous hidden symbol, similar ones have been found in forests across Germany. There's also one in Kyrgyzstan , believed to have been planted around the same time as the one in Brandenburg.

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Theories abound as to its origins, with the most popular being that it was either planted by prisoners of war (POW) on forestry duty, it was erected as a tribute to the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany, or that it was planted by laborers.