WIX Archives
Why ask Germany permission to recover aircraftwrecks????
Posted by Cees Broere on Wed Feb 19, 2003 09:15:53 AM
In reply top null posted by null on null
Hi all,
Every now and then the topic is discussed about the difficulty in recovering German aircraft wrecks because the ownership is supposedly still with the German gouvernment.
Why, may I ask is this? Are we talking rumours and myths here?
AFAIK (and speaking from experience in recovering German aircraft wrecks) Germany was (then of course) a conquered nation, and all its possessions were property of the allies.
This means that even today any German aicraft wreck found is actually the property of the landowner or the country involved. Usually the gouvernment doesn't want to have anything to do with this kind of thing and refer to the country of origin, in this case: Germany (the easiest way to solve a problem you don't want to have).
Isn't this just a smokescreen by the authorities to keep interested groups off their backs or frustrate any attemtps in recovering substantial (German) aircraft wrecks.
If you compare the Swedish and Norwegian activities then there is a great activity in Norway to recover German aircraft wrecks (without any apparent trouble raised by the Norwegian authorities, or referring them to the German Gouvernment) as opposed to the Swedish authorities.
Why not just recovering the wreck, my guess is that no official of the Swedish gourvernment will act against this.
Or our Swedish and/or Norwegian participants must have other information based on experience.
Recover it and don't let it rot away because of silly excuses by the civil servants.
Cees