
Liverpool’s Crosby Beach Is a Mile of World War II Blitz Rubble - apollinaire
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/liverpool-beach-war-archaeology
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mcjiggerlog
I'm from the area and had always understood that it was put on that specific
stretch of beach as a concerted effort to shore up the coastline against
erosion, as opposed to indiscriminate tipping as the article makes it sound
like is the case. It's concentrated to quite a short stretch of the coastline,
and the rest of the surrounding beaches don't have any rubble at all.

It's very visible on google maps if you're interested in seeing the extent -
[https://maps.app.goo.gl/QutF47BFeoYpUC6YA](https://maps.app.goo.gl/QutF47BFeoYpUC6YA).
It extends from just above Crosby beach up to the mouth of the Alt River.

~~~
1_over_n
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place_(sculpture)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place_\(sculpture\))

Gormleys another place is pretty cool. Pro tip: take a friend who doesnt know
about it and ask why they think there are people standing motionless in the
water.

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qubex
I’m from Bristol (UK) which was also extensively bombed, and grew up in Milan
(Italy) — both of them have (rough) equivalents, most notably Milan, which is
landlocked, piled all the rubble up, covered it with earth, and made it into a
hill with a park across the top:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Stella_(Milan)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Stella_\(Milan\))

I wish people put more effort into commemorating these places, the pain and
suffering that humans have inflicted upon other humans, and celebrate the fact
that we’ve collectively come together with (imperfect) international
institutions that have so far succeeded in broadly avoiding the same fate
again... and that therefore should be protected and enhanced rather than
disparaged.

It’s quite... sobering that this is ‘surfaced’ on the vey day we commemorate
the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

~~~
randomsearch
I wonder how connected the rise of extremism is to the end of a “living
memory” of WWII.

~~~
qubex
That’s the basis of the “fourth turn” concept of generational cycles.

~~~
randomsearch
Thanks. For others:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theo...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss–Howe_generational_theory)

I'm sceptical of the idea that this is a deterministic phenomenon, but it's an
interesting take.

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cdibona
NYC's FDR Drive is built on Blitz rubble that was shipped back as ballast in
the liberty ships...

[https://jalopnik.com/how-the-ruins-of-europe-built-a-
major-r...](https://jalopnik.com/how-the-ruins-of-europe-built-a-major-road-
in-america-1487127149)

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sdhand
I have family in the area, and as has been said this is actually only a very
small stretch of beach. The surrounding area is comprised of normal sandy
beaches, and is arguably more famous for being home to the permanent art
installation "Another Place" by Antony Gormley -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place_(sculpture)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place_\(sculpture\))

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lttlrck
Reminds me of Birkenkopf [1] in Stuttgart.

“ During the war, 53 Allied bombing missions destroyed over 45% of Stuttgart,
and nearly the entire city center. Between 1953 and 1957, 1.5 million cubic
meters[1] of rubble were cleared and moved to the hill, which resulted in an
increase in height of around 40 meters”

[2] shows what 45% of destruction looks like.

It wasn’t as hard hit as other places... sadly much of it wasn’t rebuilt.

[1]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkenkopf](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkenkopf)
[2]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Stuttgart_in_Worl...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Stuttgart_in_World_War_II#/media/File%3AStuttgart%2C_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command%2C_1942-1945._CL3437.jpg)

~~~
flohofwoe
Also Berlin's Teufelsberg (the hill with the old NSA listening station on top)
consists entirely of WW2 rubble (75 million m^3):

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teufelsberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teufelsberg)

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weinzierl
In Munich it's the hill in the Luitpoldpark and it has a sign at the top that
which explains that no human remains were deposited there.

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refurb
As an American, we learned about the Battle of Britain during history classes.
However, we don’t spend much time on it. I knew Britain had won, but had zero
sense as to the intensity of the fighting until I saw a Google Map someone put
together showing where all the bombs fell (this was just London). My memory is
failing me, but I want to say there were more than 3,000 bombs dropped on
London alone.

Incredible! The intensity of the bombing is hard to comprehend unless you see
it for yourself.

~~~
mcjiggerlog
I assume you mean [http://bombsight.org](http://bombsight.org). I can't find
hard numbers but it's a lot more than 3000. Over 2000 v1 rockets and about 500
v2 rockets landed in London alone.

~~~
refurb
Yup! That’s the website.

For whatever reason I always figured the Battle of Britain was in the hundreds
of bombs, not thousands. Really puts it in perspective to see the map.

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tajd
There is a story that a significant amount of debris from London was dumped in
the Thames - some in the vicinity of Redsands Forts [1]. This rubble makes for
some fantastic fishing opportunities - the distribution of fishing boats on a
summers day might outline the extremes of the patch.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maunsell_Forts)

~~~
NeedMoreTea
A lot of London's rubble was used to build and repair airfield runways around
the south east. I have a vague memory of some vast amount (a million tons,
millions of tons??) being sent out by train. I'd guess there'd be a similar
amount that wouldn't be as suitable and need dumping somewhere...

Better rubble than what they threw in Beaufort's Dyke - the narrow but deep
trench mid way between Scotland and Northern Ireland. That's where much of the
surplus munitions, including chemical were dumped at the end of WW1 and WW2.
There's even nuclear waste barrels down there. It's _long_ overdue a cleanup
as they're disintegrating.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4032629.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4032629.stm)

~~~
tajd
Oh wow, I had never heard of that. I mean, the trench is deep but it isn't so
deep you wouldn't ever have to worry about it again.

I guess the perspective of the people at the time was that it would probably
all be alright - or not as bad as what had already happened (WW2). Still
though, it's not such a great idea from our perspective.

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NotSammyHagar
I was thinking to post that we are lucky we've avoided war and destruction
between ourselves and the soviet union in much of the world after ww2, but
then I remembered that there is a living hell in Syria right now and many
other places in the middle east, bombing, fighting, huge refugee camps. Let's
give a thought to our fellow human beings there too.

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lostlogin
I’m glad that the whole thread of tweets aren’t from the student. “I’m
beachcombing! Crosby beach is strewn with remnants of rubble from WW11.”

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lostlogin
I liked this tweet the most: “I’m beachcombing! Crosby beach is strewn with
remnants of rubble from WW11.”

I wonder what that beach will look like.

[https://mobile.twitter.com/ArchaeoBeach](https://mobile.twitter.com/ArchaeoBeach)

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DonaldFisk
Teufelsberg was made when rubble from bomb-damaged buildings was dumped on top
of a Nazi military college. It's the highest point in Berlin.

