A swastika-shaped forest planting in Brandenburg, Germany, went unnoticed for decades and was discovered in the 21st century after being seen from an airplane.
NOT BSTOTAL BS
SOME BS — Verdict: Mixed
Verified by Lenz ·
The Short Version
The Brandenburg forest swastika was real and did go unnoticed for decades, but the rest of the claim gets the key facts wrong. Credible reports say it was first identified in 1992, not in the 21st century, and it was initially recognized on aerial photographs reviewed on the ground. A plane was used later to confirm the finding, not to make the original discovery.
Caveats
The claim shifts the discovery date from 1992 to the 21st century, which materially changes the timeline.
It misstates the discovery method: the first identification was from aerial photographs, while the airplane flight came afterward as verification.
The pattern was only visible under specific seasonal and aerial conditions, so 'unnoticed for decades' should not be read as meaning no one ever flew over the area.