Editing Siegfried Line (section)

==== Preservation and destruction ====
In [[North Rhine-Westphalia|North Rhine Westphalia]], about thirty bunkers still remain. Most of the rest were either destroyed with explosives or covered with earth. Tank traps still exist in many areas and, in the [[Eifel]], they run over several kilometres. [[Zweibrücken Air Base]] was built on top of the Siegfried Line. When the base was still open, the remnants of several old bunkers could be seen in the tree line near the main gate. Another bunker was outside the base perimeter fence near the base hospital. Once the base was closed, workers, digging up the base's fuel tanks, discovered lost bunkers buried below the tanks.{{cn|date=January 2024}} 

Since 1997, with the motto "The value of the unpleasant as a memorial" (''Der Denkmalswert des Unerfreulichen''), an effort has been made to preserve the remains of the Siegfried Line as a historical [[monument]]. It was intended to stop reactionary [[fascism|fascist]] groups from using the Siegfried Line for propaganda purposes.

At the same time, state funding was still being provided to destroy the remains of the Siegfried Line. Consequently, emergency [[archaeological]] digs took place whenever any part of the line was to be removed, for example for road building. Archaeological activity was not able to stop the destruction of those sections, but furthered scientific knowledge and revealed details of the line's construction.