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Führerbunker

The Führerbunker (German pronunciation: [ˈfyːʁɐˌbʊŋkɐ] ) was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters (Führerhauptquartiere) used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Führerbunker
Führer's bunker
July 1947 photo of the rear entrance to the Führerbunker in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. The corpses of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned in a shell hole in front of the emergency exit at left; the cone-shaped structure in the centre served for ventilation, and as a bomb shelter for the guards.[1]
General information
Town or cityBerlin
CountryNazi Germany
Coordinates52°30′45″N 13°22′53″E / 52.5125°N 13.3815°E / 52.5125; 13.3815
Construction started1943
Completed23 October 1944
Destroyed5 December 1947
Cost1.35 million ℛ︁ℳ︁ (equivalent to €5 million in 2021)
OwnerNazi Germany
Design and construction
Architect(s)Albert Speer, Karl Piepenburg
Architecture firmHochtief AG
3D model of the New Reich Chancellery with location of bunker complex in red
3D model of Führerbunker (left) and Vorbunker (right)

Hitler took up residence in the Führerbunker on 16 January 1945, and it became the centre of the Nazi regime until the last week of World War II in Europe. Hitler married Eva Braun there on 29 April 1945, less than 40 hours before they committed suicide.

After the war, both the old and new Chancellery buildings were levelled by the Soviets. The underground complex remained largely undisturbed until 1988–89, despite some attempts at demolition. The excavated sections of the old bunker complex were mostly destroyed during reconstruction of that area of Berlin. The site remained unmarked until 2006, when a small plaque was installed with a schematic diagram. Some corridors of the bunker still exist but are sealed off from the public.

Construction edit

The Reich Chancellery bunker was initially constructed as a temporary air-raid shelter for Hitler, who actually spent very little time in the capital during most of the war. Increased bombing of Berlin led to expansion of the complex as an improvised permanent shelter. The elaborate complex consisted of two separate shelters, the Vorbunker ("forward bunker"; the upper bunker), completed in 1936, and the Führerbunker, located 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) lower than the Vorbunker and to the west-southwest, completed in 1944.[2][3] They were connected by a stairway set at right angles and could be closed off from each other by a bulkhead and steel door.[4] The Vorbunker was located 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) beneath the cellar of a large reception hall behind the old Reich Chancellery at Wilhelmstrasse 77.[5] The Führerbunker was located about 8.5 m (28 ft) beneath the garden of the old Reich Chancellery, 120 m (390 ft) north of the new Reich Chancellery building at Voßstraße 6.[6] Besides being deeper under ground, the Führerbunker had significantly more reinforcement. Its roof was made of concrete almost 3 m (9 ft 10 in) thick.[7] About 30 small rooms were protected by approximately 4 m (13 ft 1 in) of concrete; exits led into the main buildings, as well as an emergency exit up to the garden. The Führerbunker development was built by the Hochtief company as part of an extensive programme of subterranean construction in Berlin begun in 1940.[8] The construction cost for the Führerbunker totaled 1,349,899.29 Reichsmarks.[9]

Hitler's accommodations were in this newer, lower section, and by February 1945 it had been decorated with high-quality furniture taken from the Chancellery, along with several framed oil paintings.[10] After descending the stairs into the lower section and passing through the steel door, there was a long corridor with a series of rooms on each side.[11] On the right side were a series of rooms which included generator/ventilation rooms and the telephone switchboard.[11] On the left side was Eva Braun's bedroom/sitting room (also known as Hitler's private guest room), an antechamber (also known as Hitler's sitting room), which led into Hitler's study/office.[12][13] On the wall hung a large portrait of Frederick the Great, one of Hitler's heroes.[14] A door led into Hitler's modestly furnished bedroom.[13] Next to it was the conference/map room (also known as the briefing/situation room) which had a door that led out into the waiting room/anteroom.[12][13]

The bunker complex was self-contained.[15] However, as the Führerbunker was below the water table, conditions were unpleasantly damp, with pumps running continuously to remove groundwater. A diesel generator provided electricity, and well water was pumped in as the water supply.[16] Communications systems included a telex, a telephone switchboard, and an army radio set with an outdoor antenna. As conditions deteriorated at the end of the war, Hitler received much of his war news from BBC radio broadcasts and via courier.[17]

End of World War II edit

 
Plan of the Führerbunker
 
Plan of the Vorbunker

Hitler moved into the Führerbunker on 16 January 1945, joined by his senior staff, including Martin Bormann. Eva Braun and Joseph Goebbels joined them in April, while Magda Goebbels and their six children took residence in the upper Vorbunker.[18] Two or three dozen support, medical, and administrative staff were also sheltered there. These included Hitler's secretaries (including Traudl Junge), a nurse named Erna Flegel, and Sergeant Rochus Misch, who was both bodyguard and telephone switchboard operator. Initially, Hitler continued to use the undamaged wing of the Reich Chancellery, where he held afternoon military conferences in his large study.[19] Afterwards, he would have tea with his secretaries before returning to the bunker complex for the night. After several weeks of this routine, Hitler seldom left the bunker except for short strolls in the chancellery garden with his dog Blondi.[19] The bunker was crowded, the atmosphere was oppressive, and air raids occurred daily.[20] Hitler mostly stayed on the lower level, where it was quieter and he could sleep.[21] Conferences took place for much of the night,[20] often until 05:00.[22]

On 16 April, the Red Army started the Battle of Berlin, and they started to encircle the city by 19 April.[23] Hitler made his last trip to the surface on 20 April, his 56th birthday, going to the ruined garden of the Reich Chancellery where he awarded the Iron Cross to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.[24] That afternoon, Berlin was bombarded by Soviet artillery for the first time.[25]

Hitler was in denial about the dire situation and placed his hopes on the units commanded by Waffen-SS General Felix Steiner, the Armeeabteilung Steiner ("Army Detachment Steiner"). On 21 April, Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the encircling Soviet salient and ordered the German Ninth Army, south-east of Berlin, to attack northward in a pincer attack.[26][27] That evening, Red Army tanks reached the outskirts of Berlin.[28] Hitler was told at his afternoon situation conference on 22 April that Steiner's forces had not moved, and he fell into a tearful rage when he realised that the attack was not going to be carried out. He openly declared for the first time the war was lost—and he blamed his generals. Hitler announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself.[29]

On 23 April,[a] Hitler appointed General of the Artillery Helmuth Weidling, commander of the LVI Panzer Corps, as the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, replacing Lieutenant-Colonel (Oberstleutnant) Ernst Kaether.[30] The Red Army had consolidated their investment of Berlin by 25 April, despite the commands being issued from the Führerbunker. There was no prospect that the German defence could do anything but delay the city's capture.[31] Hitler summoned Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim from Munich to Berlin to take over command of the Luftwaffe from Hermann Göring, and he arrived on 26 April along with his mistress, the test pilot Hanna Reitsch.[32]

On 28 April, Hitler learned that Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler was trying to discuss surrender terms with the Western Allies through Count Folke Bernadotte,[33] and Hitler considered this treason.[34] Himmler's SS representative in Berlin Hermann Fegelein was shot after being court-martialed for desertion, and Hitler ordered Himmler's arrest.[35][32] On the same day, General Hans Krebs made his last telephone call from the Führerbunker to Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of German Armed Forces High Command (OKW) in Fürstenberg. Krebs told him that all would be lost if relief did not arrive within 48 hours. Keitel promised to exert the utmost pressure on Generals Walther Wenck, commander of the Twelfth Army, and Theodor Busse, commander of the Ninth Army. Meanwhile, Bormann wired to German Admiral Karl Dönitz: "Reich Chancellery a heap of rubble."[32] He said that the foreign press was reporting fresh acts of treason and "that without exception Schörner, Wenck and the others must give evidence of their loyalty by the quickest relief of the Führer".[36]

That evening, von Greim and Reitsch flew out from Berlin in an Arado Ar 96 trainer. Field Marshal von Greim was ordered to get the Luftwaffe to attack the Soviet forces that had just reached Potsdamer Platz, only a city block from the Führerbunker.[b][37][38] During the night of 28 April, General Wenck reported to Keitel that his Twelfth Army had been forced back along the entire front and it was no longer possible for his army to relieve Berlin.[39] Keitel gave Wenck permission to break off the attempt.[36]

Hitler married Eva Braun after midnight on 28–29 April in a small civil ceremony within the Führerbunker. He then took secretary Traudl Junge to another room and dictated his last will and testament.[40][c] Hans Krebs, Wilhelm Burgdorf, Goebbels, and Bormann witnessed and signed the documents at approximately 04:00.[40] Hitler then retired to bed.[41]

Late in the evening of 29 April, Krebs contacted Jodl by radio: "Request immediate report. Firstly of the whereabouts of Wenck's spearheads. Secondly of time intended to attack. Thirdly of the location of the Ninth Army. Fourthly of the precise place in which the Ninth Army will break through. Fifthly of the whereabouts of General Rudolf Holste's spearhead."[39] In the early morning of 30 April, Jodl replied to Krebs: "Firstly, Wenck's spearhead bogged down south of Schwielow Lake. Secondly, Twelfth Army therefore unable to continue attack on Berlin. Thirdly, bulk of Ninth Army surrounded. Fourthly, Holste's Corps on the defensive."[39][42][43][d]

SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke, commander of the centre government district of Berlin, informed Hitler during the morning of 30 April that he would be able to hold for less than two days. Later that morning, Weidling informed Hitler that the defenders would probably exhaust their ammunition that night and again asked him for permission to break out. Weidling finally received permission at about 13:00.[44] Hitler shot himself later that afternoon, at around 15:30, while Eva took cyanide.[45][46] In accordance with Hitler's instructions, his and Eva's bodies were burned in the garden behind the Reich Chancellery.[47] Goebbels became the new Head of Government and Chancellor of Germany (Reichskanzler) in accordance with Hitler's last will and testament. Reichskanzler Goebbels and Bormann sent a radio message to Dönitz at 03:15, informing him of Hitler's death, and that he was the new Head of State and President of Germany (Reichspräsident), in accordance with Hitler's last will and testament.[48]

Krebs talked to General Vasily Chuikov, commander of the Soviet 8th Guards Army, at about 04:00 on 1 May,[e] and Chuikov demanded unconditional surrender of the remaining German forces. Krebs did not have the authority to surrender, so he returned to the bunker.[49] In the late afternoon, Goebbels had his children poisoned, and he and his wife left the bunker at around 20:30.[50] There are several different accounts on what followed. According to one account, Goebbels shot his wife and then himself. Another account was that they each bit on a cyanide ampule and were given a coup de grâce immediately afterwards.[51] Goebbels' SS adjutant Günther Schwägermann testified in 1948 that the couple walked ahead of him up the stairs and out to the Chancellery garden. He waited in the stairwell and heard the shots, then walked up the remaining stairs and saw the lifeless bodies of the couple outside. He then followed Joseph Goebbels' order and had an SS soldier fire several shots into Goebbels' body, which did not move.[50] The bodies were then doused with petrol and set alight, but the remains were only partially burned and not buried.[51]

Weidling had given the order for the survivors to break out to the northwest, and the plan got underway at around 23:00. The first group from the Reich Chancellery was led by Mohnke; they tried unsuccessfully to break through the Soviet rings and were captured the next day. Mohnke was interrogated by SMERSH, like others who were captured from the Führerbunker. The third breakout attempt from the Reich Chancellery was made around 01:00 on 2 May, and Bormann managed to cross the Spree. Artur Axmann followed the same route and reported seeing Bormann's body a short distance from the Weidendammer bridge.[52][f]

At 01:00, the Soviet forces picked up a radio message from the LVI Panzer Corps requesting a cease-fire. Down in the Führerbunker, General Krebs and General Burgdorf committed suicide by gunshot to the head.[53] The last defenders in the area of the bunker complex were mainly made up of Frenchmen of the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne, others being Waffen-SS from the remnants of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, Latvian SS and Spanish SS units.[54][55] A group of French SS remained in the area of the bunker until the early morning of 2 May.[56] The Soviet forces then captured the Reich Chancellery.[57] General Weidling surrendered with his staff at 6:00, and his meeting with Chuikov ended at 8:23.[39] Johannes Hentschel, the master electro-mechanic for the bunker complex, stayed after everyone else had either left or committed suicide, as the field hospital in the Reich Chancellery above needed power and water. He surrendered to the Red Army as they entered the bunker complex at 09:00 on 2 May.[58] The bodies of Goebbels' six children were discovered on 3 May. They were found in their beds in the Vorbunker with the clear mark of cyanide shown on their faces.[59]

Post-war events edit

The first post-war photos of the interior of the Führerbunker were taken in July 1945. On 4 July, American writer James P. O'Donnell toured the bunker after giving the Soviet guard a pack of cigarettes.[60][61] Many soldiers, politicians, and diplomats visited the bunker complex in the following days and months. Winston Churchill visited the Reich Chancellery and bunker on 14 July 1945.[62] On 11 December 1945, the Soviets allowed a limited investigation of the bunker grounds by the other Allied powers. Two representatives from each nation watched several Germans dig up soil; this included the site where Hitler's remains had been exhumed that May. Found during the dig were two hats identified as Hitler's, an undergarment with Braun's initials, and some reports to Hitler from Goebbels. The representatives planned to continue the work, but when they arrived the next morning, an NKVD armed guard met them and accused them of removing documents from the Chancellery. This was denied, but no further outside investigation was allowed until years later.[63]

The outer ruins of both Chancellery buildings were levelled by the Soviets between 1945 and 1949 as part of an effort to destroy the landmarks of Nazi Germany. A detailed interior site investigation by the Soviets, including measurements, took place on 16 May 1946.[64] Thereafter, the bunker largely survived, although some areas were partially flooded. In December 1947, the Soviets tried to blow up the bunker, but only the separation walls were damaged. In 1959, the East German government began a series of demolitions of the Chancellery, including the bunker.[65] Because it was near the Berlin Wall, the site was undeveloped and neglected until 1988–89.[66] During extensive construction of residential housing and other buildings on the site, work crews uncovered several underground sections of the old bunker complex; for the most part these were destroyed. Other parts of the Chancellery underground complex were uncovered, but these were ignored, filled in, or resealed.[67]

Government authorities wanted to destroy the last vestiges of these Nazi landmarks.[68] The construction of the buildings in the area around the Führerbunker was a strategy for ensuring the surroundings remained anonymous and unremarkable.[69] The emergency exit point for the Führerbunker (which had been in the Chancellery gardens) was occupied by a car park.[70]

On 8 June 2006, during the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, an information board was installed to mark the location of the Führerbunker. The board, including a schematic diagram of the bunker, can be found at the corner of In den Ministergärten and Gertrud-Kolmar-Straße, two small streets about three minutes' walk from Potsdamer Platz. Rochus Misch, one of the last people living who was in the bunker at the time of Hitler's suicide, attended the ceremony.[71]

See also edit

References edit

Informational notes edit

  1. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 286 states the appointment was 23 April; Hamilton 2008, p. 160 states "officially" it was the morning of 24 April; Dollinger 1997, p. 228, gives 26 April for the appointment.
  2. ^ The Luftwaffe order differs in different sources. Beevor 2002, p. 342 states it was to attack Potsdamerplatz, but Ziemke states it was to support Wenck's Twelfth Army attack. Both agree that von Greim was also ordered to make sure Himmler was punished.
  3. ^ "MI5 staff 2005: Hitler's will and marriage" on the website of MI5, using the sources available to Hugh Trevor-Roper (a World War II MI5 agent and historian/author of The Last Days of Hitler), records the marriage as taking place after Hitler had dictated his last will and testament.
  4. ^ Dollinger 1997, p. 239, says Jodl replied, but Ziemke 1969, p. 120, and Beevor 2002, p. 537, say it was Keitel.
  5. ^ Dollinger 1997, p. 239, states 03:00, and Beevor 2002, p. 367, 04:00, for Krebs' meeting with Chuikov.
  6. ^ Ziemke 1969, p. 126 says that Weidling gave no orders for a break-out.

Citations edit

  1. ^ Arnold 2012.
  2. ^ Lehrer 2006, pp. 117, 119, 123.
  3. ^ Kellerhoff 2004, p. 56.
  4. ^ Mollo 1988, p. 28.
  5. ^ Lehrer 2006, p. 117.
  6. ^ Lehrer 2006, p. 123.
  7. ^ McNab 2014, pp. 21, 28.
  8. ^ Lehrer 2006, pp. 117, 119, 121–123.
  9. ^ Lehrer 2006, p. 124.
  10. ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 97.
  11. ^ a b McNab 2014, p. 28.
  12. ^ a b McNab 2011, p. 109.
  13. ^ a b c McNab 2014, p. 29.
  14. ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 97, 901–902.
  15. ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 901.
  16. ^ Lehrer 2006, pp. 124–125.
  17. ^ Taylor 2007, p. 184.
  18. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 278.
  19. ^ a b Kershaw 2008, p. 902.
  20. ^ a b Bullock 1999, p. 785.
  21. ^ Speer 1971, p. 597.
  22. ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 903.
  23. ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 217–233.
  24. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 251.
  25. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 255.
  26. ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 267–268.
  27. ^ Ziemke 1969, pp. 87–88.
  28. ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 255, 256.
  29. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 275.
  30. ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 934.
  31. ^ Ziemke 1969, p. 111.
  32. ^ a b c Dollinger 1997, p. 228.
  33. ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 923–925, 943.
  34. ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 943–946.
  35. ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 946.
  36. ^ a b Ziemke 1969, p. 119.
  37. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 342.
  38. ^ Ziemke 1969, p. 118.
  39. ^ a b c d Dollinger 1997, p. 239.
  40. ^ a b Beevor 2002, p. 343.
  41. ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 950.
  42. ^ Ziemke 1969, p. 120.
  43. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 357, last paragraph.
  44. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 358.
  45. ^ Joachimsthaler 1999, pp. 160–182.
  46. ^ Linge 2009, p. 199.
  47. ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 956–957.
  48. ^ Williams 2005, pp. 324, 325.
  49. ^ Shirer 1960, pp. 1135–1137.
  50. ^ a b Joachimsthaler 1999, p. 52.
  51. ^ a b Beevor 2002, p. 381.
  52. ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 383, 389.
  53. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 387.
  54. ^ Weale 2012, p. 407.
  55. ^ Hamilton 2020, pp. 349, 386.
  56. ^ Hamilton 2020, p. 408.
  57. ^ Beevor 2002, pp. 387, 388.
  58. ^ Joachimsthaler 1999, p. 287.
  59. ^ Beevor 2002, p. 398.
  60. ^ O'Donnell 2001, pp. 9–12.
  61. ^ Kellerhoff 2004, pp. 98–99.
  62. ^ Kellerhoff 2004, pp. 98–101.
  63. ^ Musmanno, Michael A. (1950). Ten Days to Die. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. pp. 233–34.
  64. ^ Kellerhoff 2004, pp. 101–102.
  65. ^ Mollo 1988, pp. 48, 49.
  66. ^ Mollo 1988, pp. 49, 50.
  67. ^ Mollo 1988, pp. 46, 48, 50–53.
  68. ^ McNab 2014, p. 21.
  69. ^ Kellerhoff 2004, pp. 27, 28.
  70. ^ Kellerhoff 2004, p. 27.
  71. ^ Der Spiegel 2006.

Bibliography edit

Further reading edit

  • Boldt, Gerhard (1973). Hitler: The Last Ten Days. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. ISBN 978-0-698-10531-7.
  • C.I.U. General Staff, Geographical Section (1990). Ramsey, Winston G. (ed.). Berlin: Allied Intelligence Map of Key Buildings. After the Battle – Battle of Britain International. ISBN 978-1-870067-33-1.
  • de Boer, Sjoerd (2021). Escaping Hitler's Bunker: The Fate of the Third Reich Leaders. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-52679-269-3.
  • Fest, Joachim (2005). Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich. New York: Picador. ISBN 978-0-374-13577-5.
  • Galante, Pierre; Silianoff, Eugene (1989). Voices from the Bunker. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 978-0-3991-3404-3.
  • Junge, Traudl (2004). Müller, Melissa (ed.). Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary. New York: Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55970-728-2.
  • Neubauer, Christoph (2010). (in German and English). Frankfurt on the Oder: Flashback Medienverlag. ISBN 978-3-9813977-0-3. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  • Petrova, Ada; Watson, Peter (1995). The Death of Hitler: The Full Story with New Evidence from Secret Russian Archives. New York: Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-03914-6.
  • Ryan, Cornelius (1966). The Last Battle. New York: Simon and Schuster.
  • Tissier, Tony Le (1999). Race for the Reichstag: The 1945 Battle for Berlin. London; Portland, OR: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-4929-0.
  • Trevor-Roper, Hugh (1992) [1947]. The Last Days of Hitler (paperback ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-81224-3.

External links edit

  • Cosgrove, Ben. "After the Fall: Photos of Hitler's Bunker and the Ruins of Berlin". Life Magazine. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  • Latson, Jennifer (16 January 2015). "The Brief Luxurious Life of Adolf Hitler, 50 Feet Below Berlin". Time Magazine. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  • Shuger, Scott; Berger, Donald (21 June 2006). "Hitler Slept Here: The too-secret history of the Third Reich's most famous place". Slate Magazine.
  • Hitler's Bunker, National Geographic UK.

führerbunker, german, pronunciation, ˈfyːʁɐˌbʊŋkɐ, raid, shelter, located, near, reich, chancellery, berlin, germany, part, subterranean, bunker, complex, constructed, phases, 1936, 1944, last, führer, headquarters, führerhauptquartiere, used, adolf, hitler, d. The Fuhrerbunker German pronunciation ˈfyːʁɐˌbʊŋkɐ was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin Germany It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944 It was the last of the Fuhrer Headquarters Fuhrerhauptquartiere used by Adolf Hitler during World War II FuhrerbunkerFuhrer s bunkerJuly 1947 photo of the rear entrance to the Fuhrerbunker in the garden of the Reich Chancellery The corpses of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned in a shell hole in front of the emergency exit at left the cone shaped structure in the centre served for ventilation and as a bomb shelter for the guards 1 General informationTown or cityBerlinCountryNazi GermanyCoordinates52 30 45 N 13 22 53 E 52 5125 N 13 3815 E 52 5125 13 3815Construction started1943Completed23 October 1944Destroyed5 December 1947Cost1 35 million ℛ ℳ equivalent to 5 million in 2021 OwnerNazi GermanyDesign and constructionArchitect s Albert Speer Karl PiepenburgArchitecture firmHochtief AG3D model of the New Reich Chancellery with location of bunker complex in red3D model of Fuhrerbunker left and Vorbunker right Hitler took up residence in the Fuhrerbunker on 16 January 1945 and it became the centre of the Nazi regime until the last week of World War II in Europe Hitler married Eva Braun there on 29 April 1945 less than 40 hours before they committed suicide After the war both the old and new Chancellery buildings were levelled by the Soviets The underground complex remained largely undisturbed until 1988 89 despite some attempts at demolition The excavated sections of the old bunker complex were mostly destroyed during reconstruction of that area of Berlin The site remained unmarked until 2006 when a small plaque was installed with a schematic diagram Some corridors of the bunker still exist but are sealed off from the public Contents 1 Construction 2 End of World War II 3 Post war events 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Informational notes 5 2 Citations 6 Bibliography 7 Further reading 8 External linksConstruction editThe Reich Chancellery bunker was initially constructed as a temporary air raid shelter for Hitler who actually spent very little time in the capital during most of the war Increased bombing of Berlin led to expansion of the complex as an improvised permanent shelter The elaborate complex consisted of two separate shelters the Vorbunker forward bunker the upper bunker completed in 1936 and the Fuhrerbunker located 2 5 metres 8 ft 2 in lower than the Vorbunker and to the west southwest completed in 1944 2 3 They were connected by a stairway set at right angles and could be closed off from each other by a bulkhead and steel door 4 The Vorbunker was located 1 5 m 4 ft 11 in beneath the cellar of a large reception hall behind the old Reich Chancellery at Wilhelmstrasse 77 5 The Fuhrerbunker was located about 8 5 m 28 ft beneath the garden of the old Reich Chancellery 120 m 390 ft north of the new Reich Chancellery building at Vossstrasse 6 6 Besides being deeper under ground the Fuhrerbunker had significantly more reinforcement Its roof was made of concrete almost 3 m 9 ft 10 in thick 7 About 30 small rooms were protected by approximately 4 m 13 ft 1 in of concrete exits led into the main buildings as well as an emergency exit up to the garden The Fuhrerbunker development was built by the Hochtief company as part of an extensive programme of subterranean construction in Berlin begun in 1940 8 The construction cost for the Fuhrerbunker totaled 1 349 899 29 Reichsmarks 9 Hitler s accommodations were in this newer lower section and by February 1945 it had been decorated with high quality furniture taken from the Chancellery along with several framed oil paintings 10 After descending the stairs into the lower section and passing through the steel door there was a long corridor with a series of rooms on each side 11 On the right side were a series of rooms which included generator ventilation rooms and the telephone switchboard 11 On the left side was Eva Braun s bedroom sitting room also known as Hitler s private guest room an antechamber also known as Hitler s sitting room which led into Hitler s study office 12 13 On the wall hung a large portrait of Frederick the Great one of Hitler s heroes 14 A door led into Hitler s modestly furnished bedroom 13 Next to it was the conference map room also known as the briefing situation room which had a door that led out into the waiting room anteroom 12 13 The bunker complex was self contained 15 However as the Fuhrerbunker was below the water table conditions were unpleasantly damp with pumps running continuously to remove groundwater A diesel generator provided electricity and well water was pumped in as the water supply 16 Communications systems included a telex a telephone switchboard and an army radio set with an outdoor antenna As conditions deteriorated at the end of the war Hitler received much of his war news from BBC radio broadcasts and via courier 17 End of World War II editSee also Battle of Berlin and Death of Adolf Hitler nbsp Plan of the Fuhrerbunker nbsp Plan of the Vorbunker Hitler moved into the Fuhrerbunker on 16 January 1945 joined by his senior staff including Martin Bormann Eva Braun and Joseph Goebbels joined them in April while Magda Goebbels and their six children took residence in the upper Vorbunker 18 Two or three dozen support medical and administrative staff were also sheltered there These included Hitler s secretaries including Traudl Junge a nurse named Erna Flegel and Sergeant Rochus Misch who was both bodyguard and telephone switchboard operator Initially Hitler continued to use the undamaged wing of the Reich Chancellery where he held afternoon military conferences in his large study 19 Afterwards he would have tea with his secretaries before returning to the bunker complex for the night After several weeks of this routine Hitler seldom left the bunker except for short strolls in the chancellery garden with his dog Blondi 19 The bunker was crowded the atmosphere was oppressive and air raids occurred daily 20 Hitler mostly stayed on the lower level where it was quieter and he could sleep 21 Conferences took place for much of the night 20 often until 05 00 22 On 16 April the Red Army started the Battle of Berlin and they started to encircle the city by 19 April 23 Hitler made his last trip to the surface on 20 April his 56th birthday going to the ruined garden of the Reich Chancellery where he awarded the Iron Cross to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth 24 That afternoon Berlin was bombarded by Soviet artillery for the first time 25 Hitler was in denial about the dire situation and placed his hopes on the units commanded by Waffen SS General Felix Steiner the Armeeabteilung Steiner Army Detachment Steiner On 21 April Hitler ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the encircling Soviet salient and ordered the German Ninth Army south east of Berlin to attack northward in a pincer attack 26 27 That evening Red Army tanks reached the outskirts of Berlin 28 Hitler was told at his afternoon situation conference on 22 April that Steiner s forces had not moved and he fell into a tearful rage when he realised that the attack was not going to be carried out He openly declared for the first time the war was lost and he blamed his generals Hitler announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself 29 On 23 April a Hitler appointed General of the Artillery Helmuth Weidling commander of the LVI Panzer Corps as the commander of the Berlin Defense Area replacing Lieutenant Colonel Oberstleutnant Ernst Kaether 30 The Red Army had consolidated their investment of Berlin by 25 April despite the commands being issued from the Fuhrerbunker There was no prospect that the German defence could do anything but delay the city s capture 31 Hitler summoned Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim from Munich to Berlin to take over command of the Luftwaffe from Hermann Goring and he arrived on 26 April along with his mistress the test pilot Hanna Reitsch 32 On 28 April Hitler learned that Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler was trying to discuss surrender terms with the Western Allies through Count Folke Bernadotte 33 and Hitler considered this treason 34 Himmler s SS representative in Berlin Hermann Fegelein was shot after being court martialed for desertion and Hitler ordered Himmler s arrest 35 32 On the same day General Hans Krebs made his last telephone call from the Fuhrerbunker to Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel Chief of German Armed Forces High Command OKW in Furstenberg Krebs told him that all would be lost if relief did not arrive within 48 hours Keitel promised to exert the utmost pressure on Generals Walther Wenck commander of the Twelfth Army and Theodor Busse commander of the Ninth Army Meanwhile Bormann wired to German Admiral Karl Donitz Reich Chancellery a heap of rubble 32 He said that the foreign press was reporting fresh acts of treason and that without exception Schorner Wenck and the others must give evidence of their loyalty by the quickest relief of the Fuhrer 36 That evening von Greim and Reitsch flew out from Berlin in an Arado Ar 96 trainer Field Marshal von Greim was ordered to get the Luftwaffe to attack the Soviet forces that had just reached Potsdamer Platz only a city block from the Fuhrerbunker b 37 38 During the night of 28 April General Wenck reported to Keitel that his Twelfth Army had been forced back along the entire front and it was no longer possible for his army to relieve Berlin 39 Keitel gave Wenck permission to break off the attempt 36 Hitler married Eva Braun after midnight on 28 29 April in a small civil ceremony within the Fuhrerbunker He then took secretary Traudl Junge to another room and dictated his last will and testament 40 c Hans Krebs Wilhelm Burgdorf Goebbels and Bormann witnessed and signed the documents at approximately 04 00 40 Hitler then retired to bed 41 Late in the evening of 29 April Krebs contacted Jodl by radio Request immediate report Firstly of the whereabouts of Wenck s spearheads Secondly of time intended to attack Thirdly of the location of the Ninth Army Fourthly of the precise place in which the Ninth Army will break through Fifthly of the whereabouts of General Rudolf Holste s spearhead 39 In the early morning of 30 April Jodl replied to Krebs Firstly Wenck s spearhead bogged down south of Schwielow Lake Secondly Twelfth Army therefore unable to continue attack on Berlin Thirdly bulk of Ninth Army surrounded Fourthly Holste s Corps on the defensive 39 42 43 d SS Brigadefuhrer Wilhelm Mohnke commander of the centre government district of Berlin informed Hitler during the morning of 30 April that he would be able to hold for less than two days Later that morning Weidling informed Hitler that the defenders would probably exhaust their ammunition that night and again asked him for permission to break out Weidling finally received permission at about 13 00 44 Hitler shot himself later that afternoon at around 15 30 while Eva took cyanide 45 46 In accordance with Hitler s instructions his and Eva s bodies were burned in the garden behind the Reich Chancellery 47 Goebbels became the new Head of Government and Chancellor of Germany Reichskanzler in accordance with Hitler s last will and testament Reichskanzler Goebbels and Bormann sent a radio message to Donitz at 03 15 informing him of Hitler s death and that he was the new Head of State and President of Germany Reichsprasident in accordance with Hitler s last will and testament 48 Krebs talked to General Vasily Chuikov commander of the Soviet 8th Guards Army at about 04 00 on 1 May e and Chuikov demanded unconditional surrender of the remaining German forces Krebs did not have the authority to surrender so he returned to the bunker 49 In the late afternoon Goebbels had his children poisoned and he and his wife left the bunker at around 20 30 50 There are several different accounts on what followed According to one account Goebbels shot his wife and then himself Another account was that they each bit on a cyanide ampule and were given a coup de grace immediately afterwards 51 Goebbels SS adjutant Gunther Schwagermann testified in 1948 that the couple walked ahead of him up the stairs and out to the Chancellery garden He waited in the stairwell and heard the shots then walked up the remaining stairs and saw the lifeless bodies of the couple outside He then followed Joseph Goebbels order and had an SS soldier fire several shots into Goebbels body which did not move 50 The bodies were then doused with petrol and set alight but the remains were only partially burned and not buried 51 Weidling had given the order for the survivors to break out to the northwest and the plan got underway at around 23 00 The first group from the Reich Chancellery was led by Mohnke they tried unsuccessfully to break through the Soviet rings and were captured the next day Mohnke was interrogated by SMERSH like others who were captured from the Fuhrerbunker The third breakout attempt from the Reich Chancellery was made around 01 00 on 2 May and Bormann managed to cross the Spree Artur Axmann followed the same route and reported seeing Bormann s body a short distance from the Weidendammer bridge 52 f At 01 00 the Soviet forces picked up a radio message from the LVI Panzer Corps requesting a cease fire Down in the Fuhrerbunker General Krebs and General Burgdorf committed suicide by gunshot to the head 53 The last defenders in the area of the bunker complex were mainly made up of Frenchmen of the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne others being Waffen SS from the remnants of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland Latvian SS and Spanish SS units 54 55 A group of French SS remained in the area of the bunker until the early morning of 2 May 56 The Soviet forces then captured the Reich Chancellery 57 General Weidling surrendered with his staff at 6 00 and his meeting with Chuikov ended at 8 23 39 Johannes Hentschel the master electro mechanic for the bunker complex stayed after everyone else had either left or committed suicide as the field hospital in the Reich Chancellery above needed power and water He surrendered to the Red Army as they entered the bunker complex at 09 00 on 2 May 58 The bodies of Goebbels six children were discovered on 3 May They were found in their beds in the Vorbunker with the clear mark of cyanide shown on their faces 59 Post war events editThe first post war photos of the interior of the Fuhrerbunker were taken in July 1945 On 4 July American writer James P O Donnell toured the bunker after giving the Soviet guard a pack of cigarettes 60 61 Many soldiers politicians and diplomats visited the bunker complex in the following days and months Winston Churchill visited the Reich Chancellery and bunker on 14 July 1945 62 On 11 December 1945 the Soviets allowed a limited investigation of the bunker grounds by the other Allied powers Two representatives from each nation watched several Germans dig up soil this included the site where Hitler s remains had been exhumed that May Found during the dig were two hats identified as Hitler s an undergarment with Braun s initials and some reports to Hitler from Goebbels The representatives planned to continue the work but when they arrived the next morning an NKVD armed guard met them and accused them of removing documents from the Chancellery This was denied but no further outside investigation was allowed until years later 63 The outer ruins of both Chancellery buildings were levelled by the Soviets between 1945 and 1949 as part of an effort to destroy the landmarks of Nazi Germany A detailed interior site investigation by the Soviets including measurements took place on 16 May 1946 64 Thereafter the bunker largely survived although some areas were partially flooded In December 1947 the Soviets tried to blow up the bunker but only the separation walls were damaged In 1959 the East German government began a series of demolitions of the Chancellery including the bunker 65 Because it was near the Berlin Wall the site was undeveloped and neglected until 1988 89 66 During extensive construction of residential housing and other buildings on the site work crews uncovered several underground sections of the old bunker complex for the most part these were destroyed Other parts of the Chancellery underground complex were uncovered but these were ignored filled in or resealed 67 Government authorities wanted to destroy the last vestiges of these Nazi landmarks 68 The construction of the buildings in the area around the Fuhrerbunker was a strategy for ensuring the surroundings remained anonymous and unremarkable 69 The emergency exit point for the Fuhrerbunker which had been in the Chancellery gardens was occupied by a car park 70 On 8 June 2006 during the lead up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup an information board was installed to mark the location of the Fuhrerbunker The board including a schematic diagram of the bunker can be found at the corner of In den Ministergarten and Gertrud Kolmar Strasse two small streets about three minutes walk from Potsdamer Platz Rochus Misch one of the last people living who was in the bunker at the time of Hitler s suicide attended the ceremony 71 nbsp Ruins of the bunker after demolition in 1947 nbsp Site of Fuhrerbunker and information board on Gertrud Kolmar Strasse in October 2023 nbsp A side angle view of the site in July 2007See also editBerghof The Bunker 1970 book The Bunker 1981 film Downfall 2004 film Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters Nazi architecture Presidential Emergency Operations Center Stalin s bunker Wolf s LairReferences editInformational notes edit Beevor 2002 p 286 states the appointment was 23 April Hamilton 2008 p 160 states officially it was the morning of 24 April Dollinger 1997 p 228 gives 26 April for the appointment The Luftwaffe order differs in different sources Beevor 2002 p 342 states it was to attack Potsdamerplatz but Ziemke states it was to support Wenck s Twelfth Army attack Both agree that von Greim was also ordered to make sure Himmler was punished MI5 staff 2005 Hitler s will and marriage on the website of MI5 using the sources available to Hugh Trevor Roper a World War II MI5 agent and historian author of The Last Days of Hitler records the marriage as taking place after Hitler had dictated his last will and testament Dollinger 1997 p 239 says Jodl replied but Ziemke 1969 p 120 and Beevor 2002 p 537 say it was Keitel Dollinger 1997 p 239 states 03 00 and Beevor 2002 p 367 04 00 for Krebs meeting with Chuikov Ziemke 1969 p 126 says that Weidling gave no orders for a break out Citations edit Arnold 2012 Lehrer 2006 pp 117 119 123 Kellerhoff 2004 p 56 Mollo 1988 p 28 Lehrer 2006 p 117 Lehrer 2006 p 123 McNab 2014 pp 21 28 Lehrer 2006 pp 117 119 121 123 Lehrer 2006 p 124 Kershaw 2008 p 97 a b McNab 2014 p 28 a b McNab 2011 p 109 a b c McNab 2014 p 29 Kershaw 2008 pp 97 901 902 Kershaw 2008 p 901 Lehrer 2006 pp 124 125 Taylor 2007 p 184 Beevor 2002 p 278 a b Kershaw 2008 p 902 a b Bullock 1999 p 785 Speer 1971 p 597 Kershaw 2008 p 903 Beevor 2002 pp 217 233 Beevor 2002 p 251 Beevor 2002 p 255 Beevor 2002 pp 267 268 Ziemke 1969 pp 87 88 Beevor 2002 pp 255 256 Beevor 2002 p 275 Kershaw 2008 p 934 Ziemke 1969 p 111 a b c Dollinger 1997 p 228 Kershaw 2008 pp 923 925 943 Kershaw 2008 pp 943 946 Kershaw 2008 p 946 a b Ziemke 1969 p 119 Beevor 2002 p 342 Ziemke 1969 p 118 a b c d Dollinger 1997 p 239 a b Beevor 2002 p 343 Kershaw 2008 p 950 Ziemke 1969 p 120 Beevor 2002 p 357 last paragraph Beevor 2002 p 358 Joachimsthaler 1999 pp 160 182 Linge 2009 p 199 Kershaw 2008 pp 956 957 Williams 2005 pp 324 325 Shirer 1960 pp 1135 1137 a b Joachimsthaler 1999 p 52 a b Beevor 2002 p 381 Beevor 2002 pp 383 389 Beevor 2002 p 387 Weale 2012 p 407 Hamilton 2020 pp 349 386 Hamilton 2020 p 408 Beevor 2002 pp 387 388 Joachimsthaler 1999 p 287 Beevor 2002 p 398 O Donnell 2001 pp 9 12 Kellerhoff 2004 pp 98 99 Kellerhoff 2004 pp 98 101 Musmanno Michael A 1950 Ten Days to Die Garden City NY Doubleday pp 233 34 Kellerhoff 2004 pp 101 102 Mollo 1988 pp 48 49 Mollo 1988 pp 49 50 Mollo 1988 pp 46 48 50 53 McNab 2014 p 21 Kellerhoff 2004 pp 27 28 Kellerhoff 2004 p 27 Der Spiegel 2006 Bibliography editArnold Dietmar 9 January 2012 8 June 2010 Berliner Unterwelten e V The Legend of Hitler s Bunker Berliner unterwelten de Archived from the original on 18 May 2011 Retrieved 11 June 2011 Beevor Antony 2002 Berlin The Downfall 1945 London Viking Penguin Books ISBN 978 0 670 03041 5 Bullock Alan 1999 1952 Hitler A Study in Tyranny New York Konecky amp Konecky ISBN 978 1 56852 036 0 Dollinger Hans 1997 Decline and the Fall of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan London Chancellor ISBN 978 0 7537 0009 9 Hamilton Stephan 2008 Bloody Streets The Soviet Assault on Berlin April 1945 Solihull Helion amp Co ISBN 978 1 906033 12 5 Hamilton A Stephan 2020 2008 Bloody Streets The Soviet Assault on Berlin April 1945 Helion amp Co ISBN 978 1912866137 Joachimsthaler Anton 1999 1995 The Last Days of Hitler The Legends The Evidence The Truth London Brockhampton Press ISBN 978 1 86019 902 8 Kellerhoff Sven 2004 The Fuhrer Bunker Berlin Berlin Story Verlag ISBN 978 3 929829 23 5 Kershaw Ian 2008 Hitler A Biography New York W W Norton amp Co ISBN 978 0 393 06757 6 Lehrer Steven 2006 The Reich Chancellery and Fuhrerbunker Complex An Illustrated History of the Seat of the Nazi Regime Jefferson NC McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 2393 4 Linge Heinz 2009 With Hitler to the End London New York Frontline Books Skyhorse Publishing ISBN 978 1 60239 804 7 McNab Chris 2011 Hitler s Masterplan The Essential Facts and Figures for Hitler s Third Reich Amber Books Ltd ISBN 978 1907446962 McNab Chris 2014 Hitler s Fortresses German Fortifications and Defences 1939 45 Oxford New York Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 1 78200 828 6 Mollo Andrew 1988 Ramsey Winston ed The Berlin Fuhrerbunker The Thirteenth Hole After the Battle 61 London Battle of Britain International MI5 staff 2005 Hitler s last days mi5 gov uk MI5 Retrieved 12 June 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link O Donnell James P 2001 1978 The Bunker New York Da Capo Press ISBN 978 0 306 80958 3 Shirer William L 1960 The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich New York Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 0 671 62420 0 Speer Albert 1971 1969 Inside the Third Reich New York Avon ISBN 978 0 380 00071 5 Staff 9 June 2006 Debunking Hitler Marking the Site of the Fuhrer s Bunker Spiegel Online Spiegel Verlag Retrieved 7 April 2014 Taylor Blaine 2007 Hitler s Headquarters From Beer Hall to Bunker 1920 1945 Dulles Virginia Potomac ISBN 978 1 57488 928 4 Weale Adrian 2012 Army of Evil A History of the SS New York Caliber Printing ISBN 978 0 451 23791 0 Williams Andrew 2005 D Day to Berlin Hodder ISBN 978 0 340 83397 1 Ziemke Earl F 1969 Battle For Berlin End Of The Third Reich London MacDonald OCLC 253711605 Further reading editBoldt Gerhard 1973 Hitler The Last Ten Days New York Coward McCann amp Geoghegan ISBN 978 0 698 10531 7 C I U General Staff Geographical Section 1990 Ramsey Winston G ed Berlin Allied Intelligence Map of Key Buildings After the Battle Battle of Britain International ISBN 978 1 870067 33 1 de Boer Sjoerd 2021 Escaping Hitler s Bunker The Fate of the Third Reich Leaders Frontline Books ISBN 978 1 52679 269 3 Fest Joachim 2005 Inside Hitler s Bunker The Last Days of the Third Reich New York Picador ISBN 978 0 374 13577 5 Galante Pierre Silianoff Eugene 1989 Voices from the Bunker New York G P Putnam s Sons ISBN 978 0 3991 3404 3 Junge Traudl 2004 Muller Melissa ed Until the Final Hour Hitler s Last Secretary New York Arcade Publishing ISBN 978 1 55970 728 2 Neubauer Christoph 2010 Stadtfuhrer durch Hitlers Berlin in German and English Frankfurt on the Oder Flashback Medienverlag ISBN 978 3 9813977 0 3 Archived from the original on 20 March 2011 Retrieved 8 October 2010 Petrova Ada Watson Peter 1995 The Death of Hitler The Full Story with New Evidence from Secret Russian Archives New York Norton ISBN 978 0 393 03914 6 Ryan Cornelius 1966 The Last Battle New York Simon and Schuster Tissier Tony Le 1999 Race for the Reichstag The 1945 Battle for Berlin London Portland OR Routledge ISBN 978 0 7146 4929 0 Trevor Roper Hugh 1992 1947 The Last Days of Hitler paperback ed University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0 226 81224 3 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fuhrerbunker Cosgrove Ben After the Fall Photos of Hitler s Bunker and the Ruins of Berlin Life Magazine Retrieved 3 August 2022 Latson Jennifer 16 January 2015 The Brief Luxurious Life of Adolf Hitler 50 Feet Below Berlin Time Magazine Retrieved 3 August 2022 Shuger Scott Berger Donald 21 June 2006 Hitler Slept Here The too secret history of the Third Reich s most famous place Slate Magazine 3D stereoscopic images of Chancellery Hitler s Bunker National Geographic UK Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fuhrerbunker amp oldid 1217185703, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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