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Fuhrerbunker
The Fuhrerbunker ("Leader's bunker") is the
name commonly given to the fortification complex of
subterranean rooms in Berlin, Germany where Adolf Hitler
committed suicide.
The complex was in the north-east grounds of the
Reichskanzlei (Reich Chancellory). 10 m below ground and
protected by approximately 3 m of concrete, the thirty
rooms were distributed over two levels with exits into
the main buildings and an emergency exit into the
gardens. The complex was built in two distinct phases,
one part in 1936 and the other in 1943. The 1943
development was built by the Hochtief company as part of
an extensive program of subterranean construction in
Berlin begun in 1940. The accommodation for Hitler was in
the newer section.
Hitler moved into the Führerbunker
on January 16, 1945. He was joined by his senior staff,
Martin Bormann, Eva Braun and Joseph Goebbels with all
his family. What happened next is uncertain; the accounts
of eye-witnesses differ and the popular chronology given
by Hugh Trevor-Roper is largely speculative. From the
well-known accounts: as the Red Army came closer Hitler's
mental state deteriorated; it is reported that after a
hysterical meeting on April 22 Hitler was resigned to
dying in Berlin and refused to flee. Much of the bunker
staff left over April 22-23. On April 23 following a
surprise telegram Hitler had Hermann Göring arrested in
Berchtesgaden for treason; General Ritter von Greim was
appointed his successor. Shells began striking the bunker
and surrounding government buildings from April 26. It is
said that on the 28thth, after hearing reports that
Heinrich Himmler was negotiating with the Allies, Hitler
had his representative in the bunker, Hermann Fegelein,
executed. Later on the 28th Hitler wrote out his
political testament and will and also married Eva Braun.
In the early afternoon of April 30, with the Red Army
only a mile away, Hitler committed suicide by gunshot;
Eva was found dead with him apparently from poison. Both
bodies were taken up to the surface and burned. On May 1
Goebbels and his wife Magda poisoned their six children
and then committed suicide; their bodies were also
burned.
The Reichskanzlei was destroyed by the Soviets in 1945
but the bunker largely survived. Near the Berlin Wall the
site was undeveloped until after reunification. During
the construction of residential housing and other
buildings on the site in 1988-89 the underground
structures were largely destroyed. The Reichskanzlei was
situated at the corner of Wilhelmstrasse and Vossstrasse.
Further parts of the Reichskanzlei underground complex
were often uncovered during the extensive construction
work of the 1990s, but they were ignored, filled in or
quickly resealed.
Currently the location of the bunker is not marked. The
area is instead occupied by a small Chinese restaurant
and mini mall while the emergency exit point for the
bunker in what was the Reichskanzlei gardens is now
occupied by a car park.
Text is available under
the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
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