The one-man flak-shelter in Lank-Latum

One relic of the second world war is an old flak-shelter which now stands by the Teloy windmill in Lank-Latum. It was designed for a single person. The rear is open. The idea was that anyone who was on duty during an air-raid, but was too far from a proper shelter, could duck inside one of these concrete devices and avoid being hit by shrapnel.

Flak shelter in Lank-Latum

Meerbusch-Büderich in WW2

In The Devil’s Missal there is mention of a hidden mural depicting Büderich as a Nazi-idyll in one of the town’s administrative buildings. The mural is said to be covered by plaster now and only an old photograph is known of it. In fact there is evidence that such a mural exists – or existed – as there is indeed a photograph of it in the town’s records.

Mural depicting Meerbusch-Büderich during the Third Reich

The building where the mural is said to be hidden is the former Hitler Youth building on the main square.

Former Hitler Youth HQ Meerbusch-Büderich

By the end of the war, most of the surrounding buildings had been destroyed during heavy bombardment. Since this picture was taken, many of those empty spaces have been built on.

View of the main square in Büderich from the St. Mauritius church tower, 1950 with the Rhine in the distance

The woods around Schloß Pesch

Part of the attraction for using the setting of Schloss Pesch for a ghost story lies in the surrounding woods. In The Devil’s Missal, the sinister atmosphere of the surrounding woods can be felt even on a bright sunny day. There are multiple paths leading off into the trees which disappear into dark undergrowth. It feels as though eyes are watching you from within the darkness.

The farm at Schloß Pesch seen from an upper window