Hitler’s bunker in Berlin was located beneath a ballroom that was built as an extension to his official residence in 1935. Today, it is a parking lot
Hitler’s bunker was actually two bunkers: the front bunker and the Führer bunker. They were built together in one complex in two stages, and it was here that Hitler ended his life and thereby World War II.
The front bunker was commisioned by Hitler in the summer of 1935. At that time, Hitler lived in the Old Reich Chancellery, an old city palace bought for the chancellor in the 1870s when Germany became a unified empire.
Hitler ordered an extension to the chancellery, adding a ballroom in the garden behind the palace. He also had the front bunker built partly under the ballroom.
The front bunker was finished in 1936. For its time, the bunker was bombproof with 1.6 meter thick reinforced concrete walls and ceilings.
But when World War II broke out, weapons became heavier. Hitler commissioned the construction of a new bunker as an extension of the existing one, and this is the bunker we know as the Führer’s bunker.
Illustration by Dennis Nilsson. CC BY 3.0.
The Führer bunker was bombproof. The ceiling was 4.5 meters thick reinforced concrete, and when the war was practically lost for Germany in January 1945, Hitler moved into the bunker.
At this point, the bombing of Berlin intensified, and from the east, Soviet troops crossed the border into German-occupied Poland.
When the Red Army reached Berlin on April 16, 1945, and started the two-week Battle of Berlin, Hitler left the bunker just once. He went outside to give medals to some boys from the Hitler Youth for their contribution in fighting the Soviets.
Finally, Hitler ended his life, and three days later, the battle ended.
As part of post-war demilitarization, the occupying powers were supposed to blow up the bunkers in Berlin, but Soviet troops had difficulty with Hitler’s massive bunker.
So they just blew up the garden entrance and covered the concrete remains with dirt.
Photo by Otto Donath@Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-M1204-319. CC BY-SA 3.0.
It actually took until 1988 before Hitler’s bunker was finally completely removed. The area was to be developed with new modern housing for the East Berliners.
However, some of the massive reinforced concrete from the bunker remained underground, which they were unable to remove. And the only thing left to build on top of the few remains of Hitler’s bunker was a parking lot.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA.
The parking lot is now a tourist attraction, even though nothing of Hitler’s bunker can be seen. There is a big sign with a map of Hitler’s bunker in Berlin and the story of the Führer bunker.
So you can’t buy tickets to Hitler’s bunker, and if anyone tries to sell you such a ticket, it is a scam.
Where:
The corner of Gertrud-Kolmar-Straße and In den Ministergärten
Berlin
Family friendly: Yes
Price: Free
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