A Wehrmacht motorcycle from World War II has been recovered from the mud of the Danube riverbed in Budapest after water levels dropped significantly, according to the Hungarian Institute of Military History. The DKW NZ 350-1 motorcycle was discovered on August 2 near Batthyány Square on the Buda side of the Hungarian Parliament building.
Discovery of the Wehrmacht Motorcycle in Budapest
The vehicle is almost completely intact because it was preserved in the Danube’s mud, according to staff at the Institute and Museum of Military History. The discovery is considered a rare find for the museum. The motorcycle model was produced starting in 1944 specifically for wartime use and featured a single-cylinder two-stroke engine delivering 11.5 horsepower, alongside a metal side pannier.
Auto Union AG manufactured the machine. Around 12,000 units of the DKW NZ 350-1 were built before the end of the war in 1945. Within the military, these motorcycles served as dispatch, reconnaissance, and courier machines for transporting orders, maps, and reports.
Human Remains and Recovery Operations
Human remains belonging to two Wehrmacht soldiers were discovered directly beneath the motorcycle, according to the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, the German War Graves Commission. The commission managed the recovery operation and noted that the soldiers’ identity tags are well-preserved, which should allow authorities to identify them.
The recovered soldiers are scheduled for burial at the German war cemetery in Budaörs, located west of Budapest, where more than 16,000 German soldiers are interred. The Volksbund operates as a non-profit association tasked by the German federal government with locating, recovering, and burying war dead abroad.
Historical Context of the Danube Riverbed Site
Alongside the motorcycle, researchers and recovery teams have found German Tellermine 35 anti-tank mines, remnants of hand grenades, and artillery shells on the riverbed. The Hungarian Institute of Military History states that this specific stretch of the Danube likely served as a war debris dump.
German troops occupied Budapest in March 1944. The subsequent Battle of Budapest lasted from October 1944 to February 1945, pitting the Soviet Red Army against German and Hungarian forces. Historical records indicate that roughly 30,000 German soldiers, over 17,000 Hungarian soldiers, and approximately 80,000 Soviet and Romanian soldiers died during the engagement before remaining German units surrendered on February 13, 1945.
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