A 14-year-old boy from Denmark just wanted to do something interesting and unique in his School Project. When this desire of his, eventually, led him to his farm, things took a drastic turn and what had started from a normal school project turned into something that garnered the attention of the media from all over the world. Experience thrill and excitement to its fullest on reading how this rare incident unfolded.

Homework Into Historical Discovery



It all started with a school project that a boy named Daniel Kristiansen got. In his project, he was assigned the task to do some research on World War II. In the end, the research the boy came up with along with the discoveries he made, shook the whole world. It had all started with a joke that his father, Klaus, made on him.

Checked the Fields?



Yeah, I know that you are a little confused with that “joke” thing? Let me clear that out for you. There was a family joke which revolved around the Kristiansen’s regarding the story of an abominable land that Dan’s grandfather used to tell everyone. It was this joke that Klaus recalled on hearing about his son’s history project which triggered it all.

This Very Farm



The farm you see in the image belongs to the Kristiansen family. You can just get an idea of the long period for which they have been the owner of the farm by the fact that Dan’s grandfather always used to say that something sinister had happened on their land 73 years ago. Well, certainly the farm had seen way many things apart from vegetables and herd of cattle. But, what?

Mysterious Crash



While giving an interview to a radio station named DR P4 Nordjylland of Denmark, Klaus explained that the story his father told him was set on the backdrop of World war II. He went on to say, “When Daniel was recently given a good homework about World War Two, I jokingly told him to go out and find the plane that is supposed to have crashed out in the field.” In reality, Klaus never believed the story that his father told him.

On The Hunt



But, what Klaus had not expected, was the fact that his son Dan would take the story seriously.In fact, Dan was so serious that he went on to investigate their family farm that his grandfather had described in his story. Luckily, Dan’s curiosity came in handy for the whole world eventually.

Casual Search



So, as a supportive father would do, Klaus accompanied his son on a trip to the field carrying a metal detector. Aat the back of his mind Klaus was confident enough not to find anything special apart from a few insignificant objects which his son could display in his project. He told a CNN reporter, “I hoped we might find some old plates or something for Daniel to go and show in school.” But, Klaus got goosebumps after seeing what they had discovered.

Hidden Treasure



An agricultural worker by profession, Klaus Kristiansen was in utter shock when against all odds he witnessed the metal detector beeping wildly when he along with his son reached the farm. He was truly convinced before coming to the field that they would not find anything.

Need To Go Deeper



Things got interesting when the father and son duo found some pieces from a plane on digging the field a bit. They soon realized that there were way many other things hidden deep inside the field. Therefore, they decided to get some help in order to dig deep into the field and unravel the mystery.

Continuing The Search



So they decided to lend a mini excavator from their neighbor. From then on things started to get more thrilling as they went on to discover the remains of a plane and bones while digging at a depth of 6 meters and 7 meters respectively. Now, this is enough to send chills down the spine of anyone.

In The Backyard For 75 Years



Klaus Kristiansen exclaimed in an interview, “The plane had crashed into thousands of pieces. Everything was so well preserved that you could hardly see it had been laying there for nearly 75 years.” So, gradually the story told by Dan’s grandfather was starting to make sense.

More Than A Plane



Well, if you are thrilled by the discovery of the plane. Then surely brace yourself as the duo went on to make an even more interesting discovery. The things they found buried in the farm included the motor of the plane, clothes, wallet, and money. Well, this is not the end yet of what they had discovered!

Unbelievable



Klaus described their findings to the BBC,“In the first moment it was not a plane. It was maybe 2,000 – 5,000 pieces of a plane. And we found a motor…then suddenly we found parts of bones and parts from [the pilot’s] clothes.” Till that moment Klaus had come to the realization that they were on to doing something extraordinary.

Extraordinary Find



Surely, Klaus was left perplexed after making this stunning discovery in a field that he knew was only used “for green grass or cattle”. So, he took the decision of consulting historians who had knowledge of WWII. Apart from that, he also contacted the Danish authorities.

Not A Clue



What’s most surprising is the fact that the Kristiansen family had been doing agricultural work on the field for many years. For more than 40 years, Klaus lived on the exact same field, but they never had a hint of the stunning things buried inside their land.

Day Off



Seeing that Daniel had gone far ahead on his project, he was allowed to take leaves from school in order to witness the discoveries that were being made on his farm. Klaus said, “He’s actually been given the day off school today so that he can watch the police and bomb disposal people working. It’s quite exciting for all of us.”

Tall Tales Become Reality



They were left amazed while gathering information on the plane they had excavated out of their farm. You’ll be too when I’ll tell you that it was a real German World War II aircraft. While doing their research, the duo learned that the plane was one of the Luftwaffe’s fighter planes, which were deployed all over Europe and even North Africa during the war.

Dating The Crash



It seemed that the Kristiansen’s were way ahead of the experts when it came to researching about the things discovered. On being asked the time when the plane would have crashed, Klaus said,” “We think it was around November or December 1944”. The reason for Klaus being so confident about his answer was that he had heard his grandfather mention the crash while baking cookies on Christmas. Klaus had not forgotten the instance.

A Secret Skeleton



Now, let’s mention some of the scary and creepy discoveries being made. The things they had found were bones, a jacket, and trousers. They immediately deduced that these belonged to the pilot of the plane as they all were a constituent of a Nazi pilot uniform. Yes, the family were not able to sleep for a few days after seeing all this. But, this was the beginning of a seemingly never-ending series of discoveries.

Proving His Grandfather Right



Klaus now realized the fact that the story his grandfather used to tell him regarding the field was not at all a joke. Each and every word of the story had a real significance. Now, Klaus and his son were up to the task of finding out what all the farm was hiding inside it for so long.Consequently, they decided to help the professionals in unraveling the mystery.

Belongings of a Nazi Pilot



Continuing their streak of making shocking discoveries, they found a wallet which surprisingly had Nazi symbols on it and contained German currency along with rolling paper used for cigarettes. Klaus said, “And then we found some personal things – books, a wallet with money…either it was a little Bible or it was Mein Kampf – a book in his pocket. We didn’t touch it, we just put it in some bags.” They realized the fact that it was time to call the professionals.

Handing The Investigation



The duo had made a wise decision of calling the experts and bagging the objects they had found, as it made them immune to getting tampered and hence losing its significance in finding out the answers of many questions that were left gaping. Like, the identity of the Nazi pilot and the cause of the crash. This could have led to the initiation of a completely different theory on the World War.

Discovering the Story



The experts had some previous knowledge about the crash and the pilot which could have come in handy in finding the answers to some questions lingering in the family’s mind. Klaus along with his son were eagerly waiting for what the experts had to say after making the discoveries and investigating the findings of this historic event.

Help from Professionals



They stir that the findings created after being taken to The Historical Museum of Northern Jutland also known as the Nordjyllands Historiske Museum was something that the family had not expected. The reality was that a boy’s simple school project had now become the reason for sending a shockwave all around the world.

Worldwide Attention



The media attention that Daniel Rom Kristiansen and his father received after this event what something they had not expected in their wildest dreams. Now, the questions regarding the Nazi pilot was something that the whole world wanted the answer too. The family had to deal with regular visits from TV stations who came on their helicopters along with journalists.

Up Close with History



The extent to which the family was surprised is evident from this statement from Klaus,“At first we were digging up a lot of dirt with metal fragments in it. Then we suddenly came across bones and pieces of clothes. It was like opening a book from yesterday.” The same book was now going to disclose some deep secrets.

Hard to Believe



The reason for Klaus being so adamant on his thought of finding nothing special in the farm was that he had heard from his grandfather that the crashed plane had been taken away by the occupying forces. He said, “I mainly thought it was just a good story.” But, who knew that the reality was completely opposite to the perception of the farm in Klaus and his family’s mind.

Reflecting On His Grandfather



Klaus was a little sad for suspecting his grandfather’s credibility on the story of the farm. But, now he was in total agreement with it. In an interview, he said, ”Unfortunately, he died 15 years ago, but I should have listened more to him when he was alive.” He was fortunate enough to make the discovery against all odds and after so long.

Uncovering the Identity



The farm was now secluded and under extreme scrutiny of the experts.It was not safe for anyone to be on the field so the decision of closing down the area and calling a bomb disposal squad was taken by the North Jutland Police. The fragments of the plane and the bones were carefully transferred to the museum.

Reaching Out To The Germans



Who better than the German embassy in Copenhagen, Marko Naoki Lins would answer the questions regarding this discovery. Luckily, they had the records of German soldiers who had passed away in order to identify their body and maintain their graves. Now, the time had come for the world to find out the identity of the mysterious pilot.

Possible Identity



According to a historian named Soeren Flensted, having a good knowledge of the German planes from The World War II, the pilot which everybody had been talking about was a rookie on a training mission. He went on to say,“There are records that someone in northern Denmark crashed into a mire in November 1944, and it was impossible to get him up… So that could be him.” The mystery had started to unravel now.

Fighter Aircraft Unravels Mystery



Now, let’s come on to the plane after finding out who the pilot was. According to Flensted, the plane was one among the 3,000 Bf 109s being made for the Luftwaffe. In fact, this model holds the record of being the most produced fighter plane. Originally, it was meant to perform the task of intercepting.

Other Purposes



Later, the plane was used for performing other tasks of all-weather fighting, bomber escort, reconnaissance aircraft, fighter-bomber and even ground-attack. After knowing all about the plane and the pilot things were getting straight for the Danish authorities and most importantly the family. But, the story beheld many more twists and turns.

Dissecting the Parts



The fragments of the plane gave an insight of what went wrong in it, which led to the plane getting crashed. Now turning back to the most important finding, that of pilot’s body. The authorities consulted the head of archaeology Torben Sarauw to help them in gathering insight of the whole incident. Luckily, their decision proved to be a wise one.

Expert’s Comments



Torben made things more interesting when he exclaimed,”It’s quite a special find” after taking a look at all the things excavated from the field. He was particularly surprised to witness the sight of a Bf 109 being uncovered from a field in that specific area of Denmark. As he went on to claim that this was the only time that a German plane was discovered there.

Small Findings Big Impact



There were many small things which were discovered that had a huge impact on the whole hypothesis on the incident. While speaking to CNN’s Judith Vonber, Sarauw said that they had found 2 Danish coins, three unused condoms, and some food stamps. These things were capable enough to turn the course of this discovery on their head.

Aalborg Canteen



On further investigation, they found out that the food stamps belonged to a canteen in Aalborg, Denmark. Actually, the Germans pilots had a training base at Aalborg. Apart from this, there were many other facts that the authorities came to know about through the other things they found they found during the excavation.

Food Stamps Reveal Possible Path



The fact that there was only a single German plane ever found in that area and the food stamp helped in finding a lot of the events that occurred at that time. As the food stamp indicated the fact that the pilot had taken off from the training base and told a lot about the close of the war. But, the identity of the pilot was still left to be unraveled.

Crucial Artifacts



There were some pieces of evidence which hinted the pilot’s identity. Such as his service record found on the excavation. “It was not in one piece, but it was enough to read his name,” Sarauw explained. The most significant was a watch with the pilot’s initials on it. These things paved the way for discovering more about the pilot.

Story Behind Mystery Pilot



Finally, the authorities had the answer which they desperately sought for. The German information office Deutsche Dienststelle revealed that the crash took place on October 10, 1944, and the pilot’s name was Hans Wunderlich. The flight log, bones and, the food stamps had helped them a lot in finding out this fact.

Abandoned Search



According to the records, the pilot hailed from Neusorg a town in Bavaria and was born in the year 1925. They were unable to trace the cause of the fatal crash with the records only stating that it took place in a marshy field and no longer the recovery efforts were made.

Rare Case



It is a very strange case of the German’s not collecting the plane. According to Sarauw, the Germans knew that the mission was “in vain” and hence did not make any efforts in recovering the pilot or the carcass of the plane.So, Klaus’ grandfather was wrong when he told that the plane had been taken away.

Danish Records Reveal More



The authorities decided to publish the deceased pilot’s name in the Daily Nordjyske. The reason being their prediction of having the remains of the boy in a war cemetery in Denmark. But, after they gained more information about the pilot they dropped their plans. But, why?

The Remains?



Now the main problem was to find out the remains of the pilot. The fact that he was unmarried and his family which included his parents and a sister had all died, added to the problem of finding the remains. Where did they go?

Commission Makes Decision



The German War Graves Commission is a body which deals with the funeral of soldiers who fought the World War II. So, accordingly, Wunderlich’s body was sent back to his homeland, Germany. Eventually, they officially recorded the pilot’s death at City Hall of Holenbrunn on March 5, 1945. But, there was still many secrets attached to the body.

Delicate Investigation



As far as the field which led to the initiation of this historic event was closed with the permission of entering it given only to the police and other officials. The findings such as the remains of the plane and bones were kept in The Historical Museum.

Keeping Findings Together



The event has sparked the interest of children in Denmark to the events of World War II. It was decided that the remains of the pilot will be the only thing sent back to Germany with the rest of the findings being in Denmark and used for further investigation. Sarauw explained, “We think it’s important to keep the findings together.”

Checking Records



I have already told you that there were still some intriguing questions left being answered. A spokesperson named Lins from the German embassy in Denmark said that the records of the soldier helped in finding more about him. It also helped them in finding answers to the questions like why was he flying over that area and what role did he play in the Army?

History of Occupation



It had happened that The German army had done the shortest military operation of about 6 hours when they attacked Denmark in 1940 from all the means land, water, and air in order to acquire shipping from the city of Narvik. It was a part of the German operation named Weserübung Süd.

Attacking Denmark



It is believed that the Germans wanted to acquire Scandinavia and hence attacked Denmark along with Norway. The attack had initiated on April 4, 1940. This helped the Danish authorities in deducing the reason behind finding the plane in that area.

The Occupation



The real fact was that in order to not incite the Germans Denmark did not do anything to stop the attack from Germany of which they already knew about. Eventually, the Germans were able to rule over Denmark until 1944.

More Than Just Stories



Apart from the fact that the remains of the plane had not been taken away, everything that Klaus’s grandfather told him was actually true. His grandfather had even told him that the crash had happened in November 1944 and it was before Denmark’s liberation after five years of being controlled by the Germans. So, actually, the “joke” turned into a very famous one.

That Assignment?



If you are worried about Dan’s project, then you should hear what Klaus said to the journalists. He said,“Luckily my son has something to write about in his assignment now…It’s quite exciting for all of us.” He added on by saying that now he assured of his son getting an “A” in his project.

Special Find



Archaeologist Sarauw’s statement, “It’s quite a special find,” seems totally valid after realizing the fact that the pilot’s body was hidden in a farm of Birkelse village, which is 155 miles away from the capital, Copenhagen since October 1944!

Witness



After the discovery became famous, many more interesting events happened. As a man named Sigaard Jenson aged 94 and living in Northern Jutland claimed that he was an eyewitness to the crash. According to him, he decided to never tell anybody about the crash which happened when he was looking for peat in order to fuel his stove.

Family Farm’s New Role



The family on realizing the fact that people from all over the world were eager to see the findings, decided to do an open exhibition for the public to see the objects in the year 2017. The famous Aalborg museum also helped them in their task by providing them images and plans,

Local History



Klaus along with his wife Britt Rom Kristiansen decided to put a lot of things in their plan for the exhibition. They decided to put the artificial city made by the Germans and the local Resistance Movement which took place a 100 meters away from the family’s farm into it.

Family Project



It ended up being an event which saw the whole family participating in it with vigor. Klaus described it by saying,“Daniel has done a lot of work to make things happen, his 17-year-old Marie is responsible for Facebook and posters, and the 11-year-old twins, Kamilla and Laura, have to sell tickets in the door. There is summer vacation job for the whole family.”

Common Occurrence



Well, this is not the only instance when something significant related to the World War II has been excavated. There have been many cases like these, such as mines being found on a beach in England and a German mine being discovered by 2 kids in England all across Europe.

German Mine



The people present on the beach were in a bit of peril when they came to know about the German mine being discovered. Luckily, the Newhaven Coastguard arrived and told that it was not dangerous as it had lost its potential to explode and cause damage.

War Artifacts



Discovery of things dating back to the World War II has been a common phenomenon in the beaches of England. As, apart from the 2 kids who discovered the mine, a man had also found something which looked like a bomb from the Birling Gap Beach.

The Bf 109



Still, no one can deter from the fact that the discovery of the plane from the farm completely stands out from the rest of the findings. As, nobody had ever found a Messerschmitt Bf 109, which was a highly advanced plane in terms of technology at that time.

What Was This?



The plane which was named after the man who created it, aviation technician Wilhelm “Willy” Messerschmitt, was also called as Me 109 by the Germans and Allied forces. The plane was a prominent figure in the Nazi’s air force.

Common Crashes?



With a long history of these planes crashing all over Europe, it is a surprise that it was discovered from the floor of iced-over Russian lake in the year 2003 by the archaeologists. So it is not the Danish people who first discovered it.

Listen to your Elders, Folks!



After the whole incident, Klaus recalls the time when he took everything that his grandfather told as a joke and said, “He was telling a lot of stories, my grandfather. Some of them were not true, and some of them were true – but this one was true. Maybe I should have listened to him a bit more when he was alive!”