Suche
Mein Konto
33 miners die in Salzgitter: a stroke of fate for Lower Saxony!
On July 19, 1960, 33 miners died in a mining accident in Salzgitter. The accident led to tightened security measures.
33 miners die in Salzgitter: a stroke of fate for Lower Saxony!
On July 19, 1960, one of the most tragic disasters in the history of German mining occurred in the “Hannoversche Treue” mine near Salzgitter. On that momentous day, 33 miners lost their lives after a fire was reported at around 7:17 a.m. and a major alarm was raised. The first mine rescue teams arrived around 9 a.m., but “impenetrable clouds of smoke” hampered the rescue efforts, which made the situation even more difficult.
Of the approximately 200 trapped miners, 160 were able to free themselves. The recovery of the missing people took six long days. The cause of the fire was a tragic mishap: a 17-year-old miner's apprentice accidentally set fire to cardboard with his carbide lamp. This led to the criminal police and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution being called in as initial suspicions of sabotage and a possibly communist-motivated attack arose. Ultimately, charges of negligent arson and murder were brought in March 1962, but there was no main trial because no sufficient suspicion of criminal behavior could be proven.
Grief and reactions
Three days after the accident, the victims' funeral took place, during which the coffins were decorated with burning miner's lamps. The significance of this catastrophe was also acknowledged by Prime Minister Hinrich-Wilhelm Kopf, who described it as the hardest blow of fate for ore mining in Lower Saxony. In the following years, measures were taken to improve safety underground, such as banning open fires and smoking and replacing the wooden lining with steel.
The “Hannoversche Treue” mine was shut down in 1967 and the shaft was then filled with concrete. Today a memorial stele on the site of the former shaft 1 in Salzgitter commemorates the victims.
The context of mine safety
Accidents like the Salzgitter tragedy repeatedly bring the safety risks in mining into public awareness. In 1955, for example, 14 miners died in a firedamp explosion at the Nordstern colliery in Gelsenkirchen. A mine fire at the neighboring Dahlbusch colliery also resulted in high losses. These mass accidents led to safety standards being significantly tightened in the following years. The training of special mine rescue teams to rescue accident victims and combat the causes of accidents has also been significantly improved, so that such disasters occur less frequently these days, as People in Mining explains.
The visitor mine “United Zwitterfeld zu Zinnwald” represents a positive example of today's mining culture. As part of an excursion in 2023, which is based on a lecture by Dr. Rainer Sennewald joined us, 22 participants were able to experience the diverse aspects of mining. This tour provided important information about ore deposit formation and the challenges of mining. Not only the historical mining of tin plays a role here, but also the modern uses of lithium from the region, which are used in technical and medical areas, as highlighted on the HFBHK.
The excursion showed how important it is to exchange information about mining history and safety. Such events keep memories of tragic events alive while promoting awareness of safety and innovation in mining.
Overall, mining remains a complex field in which the memory of the events of 1960 serves as a reminder to continue fighting for the safety and health of workers.