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Demolition mission

The Stendal nuclear power plant was an ambitious project in former East Germany. With its 4,000 megawatt output it was meant to be the biggest nuclear power plant in central Europe. Construction work began in 1982 but it was never completed.

Up to 13,000 people were working on the site at one point under strict supervision. In 1991, work at Stendal was stopped and the site was taken over by a property company which wanted to build a settlement of pre-fab houses. After the company went bust only one test house remained. Nowadays a group of men live on the site, expertly demolishing the ruins of the nuclear power station, piece by piece. (Photos: Jonas Ludwig Walter)

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR