War traces near Koszarowa Street
This May marked the 80th anniversary of the capitulation of Festung Breslau and the end of the Second World War – and yet, the war still refuses to fade from memory.
Our archaeologists were recently reminded of this when they received a report of a deposit of helmets discovered during roadworks near the Institute of Archaeology building at ul. Koszarowa in Wrocław. The construction workers unearthed over 50 helmets lying just beneath the surface.
– The discovery is particularly interesting due to the number of helmets found in such a small area, as well as the broader historical context – the grounds of the former military barracks at ul. Koszarowa – explains dr Paweł Duma from the Department of Historical Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology of the Faculty of Historical and Pedagogical Sciences. – We have a probable date for when the helmets were deposited, likely as a result of the building’s destruction – 1945. It serves as a vivid reminder of the much-discussed events of this year – both the end of the Second World War and the fall of Festung Breslau.
Until 1945, the site of the discovery was occupied by a utility building that formed part of the barracks of the 8th Signal Battalion. The arrangement of the helmets suggests that at the time the building was destroyed, they had likely been stored on a shelf. The collection is quite diverse. It includes German helmets manufactured before and during the Second World War (models M35 and M42), as well as helmets from the First World War (model M16), one Polish helmet (model 31), one Soviet (SSSh-36), and two helmets designed for the German Air Defence (M38 Luftschutz).
Such variety among the helmet models may indicate that they were kept in the utility building for makeshift air raid or fire defence purposes within the military unit.
The findings will eventually be handed over via the District Authority Office to the Lower Silesian Provincial Heritage Conservator, who will determine their future.
(Source of axonometric plan: fotopolska.eu)
Photographs: M. Grześkowiak, P. Duma
Ed. Katarzyna Górowicz-Maćkiewicz
Date of publication: 17.06.2025
Added by: M.K.
