For a long time, bunkers of the Second World War were top-secret objects, the existence of which only a few knew. But they also signed non-disclosure documents. Today the veil of secrecy over the military bunkers has been lifted.
Wolf's Lair
Wolfsschanze (German Wolfsschanze, Russian. Wolf's Lair) was the main bunker and headquarters of Hitler, the main headquarters of the Fuhrer and the command complex of the High Command of the German Armed Forces were located here.
The German leader spent over 800 days here. From this place, the leadership of the attack on the Soviet Union and military operations on the Eastern Front was carried out.
The bunker "Wolf's Lair" was located in the Gierloz forest, 8 km from Kentshin. Its construction began in the spring of 1940 and proceeded in three stages until the winter of 1944. 2-3 thousand workers took part in the construction. The work was carried out by the "Todt Organization".
The Wolf's Lair was not a local bunker, but a whole system of hidden objects, in size more reminiscent of a small secret city with an area of 250 hectares. The territory had several levels of access, it was surrounded by towers with barbed wire, minefields, machine-gun and anti-aircraft positions. In order to get into the "Wolf's Lair" it was necessary to go through three security posts.
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Demining of the "Wolf's Lair" by the Polish People's Republic army continued almost until 1956, in total, sappers found about 54 thousand mines and 200 thousand ammunition.
To camouflage the object from the air, the Germans used camouflage nets and tree models, which were periodically updated in accordance with the changing landscape. To control the camouflage, the regime object was photographed from the air.
Wolf's Lair in 1944 served 2,000 people, from field marshals to stenographers and mechanics.
In The Fall of Berlin, British writer Anthony Beevor claims that the Fuehrer left Wolf's Lair on November 10, 1944. Hitler left for Berlin for a throat operation, and on December 10 moved to Adlerhorst (Eagle's Nest), another secret headquarters. In July of the same year, an unsuccessful attempt was made on Hitler in the Eagle's Nest.
The evacuation of the German command from the "Wolf's Lair" was carried out at the last moment, three days before the arrival of the Red Army. On January 24, 1945, Keitel ordered the headquarters to be destroyed. However, this is easier said than done. The ruins of the bunker still exist.
Interestingly, although the location of the "Wolf's Lair" was known to American intelligence back in October 1942, during the entire period of its existence, not a single attempt was made to attack Hitler's headquarters from the air.
Werewolf
"Werewolf" (another name "Eichenhain" ("oak grove")), a bunker located eight kilometers from Vinnitsa, was another headquarters of the High Command of the Third Reich. Hitler moved here the general staff and his headquarters from the "Wolf's Lair" on July 16, 1942.
Construction of the Werewolf began in the fall of 1941. The construction was supervised by the same "Todt Organization", but the bunker was built mainly by Soviet prisoners of war, who were subsequently shot. According to the local historian, researcher of the history of the headquarters Yaroslav Branko, the Germans involved 4086 prisoners in the construction. The memorial to those who died during the construction of the Werewolf, installed near the Vinnitsa-Zhitomir highway, lists 14,000 dead.
The bunker operated from the spring of 1942 until the spring of 1944, when the Germans blew up the entrances to the Werewolf during their retreat. The bunker was a complex of several floors, one of which was on the surface.
On its territory there were more than 80 ground objects and several deep concrete bunkers. The industry of Vinnitsa provided the vital activity of the rate. A vegetable garden was set up especially for Hitler in the Werewolf area.
There was a power plant, a water tower, and a small airfield was located nearby. The Werewolf was defended by many machine-gun and artillery crews, the air was covered by zeta guns and fighters based at the Kalinovskiy airfield.
Fuehrerbunker
The Führerbunker was a complex of underground structures located under the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. This was the last refuge of the German Fuhrer. Here he and several other Nazi leaders committed suicide. It was built in two stages, in 1936 and 1943.
The total area of the bunker was 250 square meters. It housed 30 rooms for various purposes, from a conference room to Hitler's personal toilet.
Hitler first visited this headquarters on November 25, 1944. After March 15, 1945, he did not leave the bunker, only once got out to the surface - on April 20 - to reward members of the Hitler Youth for the destroyed Soviet tanks. At the same time, his last lifetime filming was made.
Stalin's bunker in Izmailovo
In total, some historians count up to seven of the so-called "Stalin's bunkers". We will tell you about two that still exist today, which you can visit if you wish.
The first bunker is in Moscow. Its construction dates back to the 30s of the 20th century. It was part of the state program for ensuring the defense capability of the Soviet Union. The construction was supervised personally by Lavrenty Beria. Then he allegedly uttered the phrase that has become famous: "Everything that is underground is mine!" He was assisted in his work by the head of Joseph Stalin's personal guard, General Nikolai Vlasik.
In order to disguise the object, a cover building was needed. It was decided to build a stadium. The media announced: “To ensure the appropriate holding of the Olympics, build a central stadium of the USSR in Moscow. During the construction of the stadium, proceed from the construction of auditoriums for at least 120,000 numbered seats and a sufficient number of various kinds of physical culture facilities of auxiliary value for educational and public use."
In this way, the Stalinets stadium (today Lokomotiv) was born on the surface, and a bunker under the ground.
Its depth is 37 meters. In the event of an emergency, 600 people were accommodated here. Everything here was provided for life, from Stalin's office and the rooms of the generals to utility rooms and food warehouses. Stalin worked here in November-December 1941.
Today, on the territory of the once classified object, there is an exposition dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. The atmosphere of wartime has been recreated. Even the Order of Victory, which was awarded to the Generalissimo, is presented.
Interestingly, the bunker is connected by a 17-kilometer underground road with the center of Moscow, automobile and rail.
Stalin's bunker in Samara
Stalin's bunker in Samara was built in case Moscow was surrendered. The reserve headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was located here. On October 15, 1941, the State Defense Committee issued a secret resolution No. 801ss "On the evacuation of the capital of the USSR, Moscow, to the city of Kuibyshev." On October 21, 1941, the State Defense Committee issued another secret decree No. 826ss "On the construction of a shelter in Kuibyshev."
The bunker was built by Moscow and Kharkov metro builders, as well as miners from Donbass. From February to October 1942, 2,900 workers and about 1,000 engineers took part in the work. The construction was based on the construction of the Moscow metro station "Airport".
The chief engineer of the project was Yu. S. Ostrovsky, the chief architect was M. A. Zelenin, and the chief of geomark survey work was I. I. Drobinin.
They built, of course, secretly. The land was taken out at night, the builders lived right there or in secure hostels nearby. The work was carried out in three shifts, in less than a year 25,000 cubic meters of soil were removed, 5,000 cubic meters of concrete were poured.
The State Commission officially accepted the bunker into operation on January 6, 1943.
Today the bunker is located under the building of the modern Academy of Culture and Art. There used to be the Kuibyshev Regional Committee here.
