In northeastern Germany, near Zernikow in Brandenburg, there’s a pine forest where visitors can easily lose their way if they aren’t vigilant. The forest’s homogenous look makes it difficult to navigate, but it wasn’t always like this. In the past, a 0.89-acre grove in the forest was marked by a symbol tied to a grim period in human history.
The origins of the 140 larch trees that formed the symbol remain a mystery. Most sources suggest the trees were planted roughly a year before World War II began. These trees stood out due to their distinctive seasonal change; unlike the surrounding evergreens, they changed color in the fall and spring, revealing their hidden message for only a few weeks each year.
Speculation remains regarding the motive behind the planting of these trees. Some suggest it was to commemorate the Führer‘s birthday, although this theory lacks concrete evidence. Others propose that a villager planted them as a tribute to someone who was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen for secretly listening to the BBC. Another account comes from a farmer who, as a child, claims he was paid by a forester to plant the larches.
Given the forest-based design could only be viewed from the sky, it went relatively unnoticed following World War II. When the Soviet Union took control of East Germany, private aircraft were banned from taking to the air, meaning they never flew over the area. As for commercial flights from Berlin – well, the location is too far north.
That being said, it’s believed the Soviets knew of the symbol’s existence. They just didn’t do anything 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 this effort, the World War II-era symbol remained visible from the air, drawing unwanted attention again in 2000 following a Reuters report. As a result, an additional 25 trees were felled, ultimately 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.