The exact origins of the 140 larch trees that formed this symbol remain uncertain. Most accounts suggest these trees were planted about a year before World War II began. The larches were distinct for their unusual seasonal changes; unlike the surrounding evergreens, they changed color in both fall and spring, briefly revealing their hidden message for just a few weeks each year.
There continues to be speculation about the reason behind why these trees were planted. One theory is that they were planted to commemorate the Führer‘s birthday, but this idea lacks concrete evidence. Another possibility is that a local resident planted them as a tribute to someone who was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen for secretly listening to the BBC. And another version comes from a farmer who, as a child, claims that he was hired by a forester to plant the larches.
The forest-themed design, visible only from an aerial perspective, went mostly unnoticed after World War II. With the Soviet Union’s occupation of East Germany, private planes were banned, rendering aerial views of the region impossible. Furthermore, because of its northern location, commercial flights from Berlin rarely flew over it.
Despite this, it is believed that the Soviets knew about the symbol. They simply decided not to remove it.
After the reunification of Germany, the government conducted aerial surveys of public lands, including a forest in the northeast. These revealed a disturbing symbol from above. Concerned the site might become a pilgrimage destination, officials decided in 1995 to send forestry workers with chainsaws to cut down 43 of the more than 100 larch trees.
Despite these efforts, the World War II-era symbol remained visible from the air and attracted unwanted attention once more in 2000 after a Reuters report. Consequently, an additional 25 trees were cut down, finally erasing the image.
While this is arguably the most famous hidden symbol, similar ones have been found in forests across Germany. There’s also one in Kyrgyzstan, believed to have been planted around the same time as the one in Brandenburg.
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Theories abound as to its origins, with the most popular being that it was either planted by prisoners of war (POW) on forestry duty, it was erected as a tribute to the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany, or that it was planted by laborers.