Tucked away in Volkspark Humboldthain, one of Hitler’s notorious flak towers remains concealed beneath trees and a hill. What is the history of this anti aircraft bunker?
Today, the flak tower in Humboldthain serves as a popular observation deck, offering stunning views to visitors. However, during World War II, this massive bunker played a crucial role in Berlin’s air defense strategy, protecting the city from air raids.
The flak tower is one of three built in Berlin between 1940 and 1942, inspired by an idea of Hitler himself.
The concept behind the towering flak structures, standing 40 meters tall at their corners, was to safeguard the heart of the city from Allied air raids. FLAK, an abbreviation of Flugabwehr-Kanone, translates to anti-aircraft gun.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA
The Architecture and Weaponry
The corners of the flak towers held the gun turrets, equipped with heavy artillery. Each turret had a 128mm dual flak cannon capable of firing up to 20 kilometers. Below, on the platform, lighter flak cannons were installed. These were 20mm quad guns meant for closer-range defense.
The flak towers had five floors, with the top two for military use and the bottom three for civilian shelter, holding up to 10,000 people. Their thick steel reinforced walls and ceilings, ranging from 2.5 to nearly 4 meters, made them the safest air raid shelters for the berliners.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA
The flak towers were constructed with such formidable defenses that even during the final weeks of the war, relentless tank shelling by Soviet forces failed to breach their heavily reinforced walls.
The flak tower in Humboldthain bears striking evidence of intense artillery fire, with some sections featuring deep wall craters measuring up to half a meter.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA
Photo by Robert Capa, 1945.
The Flak Tower in Humboldthain Today
The flak tower in Humboldthain is the last one left in Berlin, now a ruin, as the others were destroyed during Germany’s post-war demilitarization.
Click here to find the locations of the flak towers
The French army was in charge of the demolition of the flak tower in Humboldthain. However, due to its proximity to the railroad, which was partially adminisitered by the Soviet occupying forces, only half of the bunker was blown up.
The Cold War had heightened tensions between the opposing blocs, and any damage to the railroad from the blast could have plunged French troops into a diplomatic crisis with the Soviets.
The French army believed that destroying the south side of the flak tower would cause the entire bunker to collapse.
As the original plan didn’t work out, the northern side remains exposed towards the railroad, allowing visitors to ascend the numerous steps and use the gun tower as a scenic observation deck.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA
Berliner Unterwelten provides guided tours inside te ruins. For detailed information about the tours, visit the Berliner Unterwelten website.
Where:
Volkspark Humboldthain, just across the street from Gesundbrunnen S-Bahn and U-Bahn station.
Family friendly: Yes
Price: Yes
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