Amazing Photos Of The Fuhrerbunker in Berlin – Have You Seen Them All?

The heavily damaged Reich Chancellery is in the background, the cone on the right is the Ventilation Air Turret, the garden exit is on the left.
The heavily damaged Reich Chancellery is in the background, the cone on the right is the Ventilation Air Turret, the garden exit is on the left.

Hitler’s Last Day
The heavily damaged Reich Chancellery is in the background, the cone on the right is the Ventilation Air Turret, the garden exit is on the left.

We will be taking a look at the bunkers used by Adolf Hitler and his entourage in Berlin. There were two bunkers connected to each other, Fuhrerbunker and the Reichskanzleibunker (Reich Chancellery bunker).

The Reich Chancellery bunker was initially constructed as a temporary air-raid shelter for Hitler (who spent very little time in the capital during most of the war). The increased bombing of Berlin led to an 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.  Number 14 on the drawing below.
  • The Führerbunker (number 10 on the drawing below), located 8.2 ft lower than the Vorbunker and to the west-southwest, completed in 1944.

Karte-reichskanzleiThis is the area in which the pictures were taken; the bunker can be seen in red. Map by Christoph Neubauer – Wikipedia

 

aa54277b-1f82-4142-9dc7-e623cf33e085A more detailed map of the bunker (click on it for a bigger version)

Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-V00538-3,_Karl_Dönitz,_Adolf_HitlerA rare picture of Hitler meeting Großadmiral Karl Dönitz taken inside the Fuhrerbunker, shortly before his suicide.

fuhrerbunker02Winston Churchill exits the Fuhrerbunker after an inspection, note the cans

Churchill_sits_on_bunker-chairDuring a visit in 1945, Churchill sits on one of the damaged chairs from Hitler’s bunker in Berlin.

The front of the new Reich Chancellery, after it was completed, the bunkers were located at the back of the building.The front of the new Reich Chancellery, after it was completed, the bunkers were located at the back of the building.

Hitlers Chancellery Berlin 1945Hitlers Chancellery Berlin 1945

uins of Garten Reichskanzlei Adolf Hitler Fuhrerbunker Berlin 1945
Ruins of garden of Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler & Fuhrerbunker Berlin 1945

hitler-bunkerSightseers walk amid the ruins of Hitler’s air raid shelter, sometimes referred to as Hitler’s “tombstone”.

4c6e744b82fdbe5a653891fc2bffb305The remains of the bunker in 1947, note the ventilation air turret as seen on the first picture

Berlin, zerstörte Reichskanzlei

The same ventilation air turret as seen on the picture above but a slightly different angle, 1947

Reopening the bunker

These pictures were taken in August 1980 when the Reich Chancellery bunker was reopened for a short while; all pictures are courtesy of the German Bundesarchiv.

Entrance to the Reichskanzleibunker.
(Emergency) Entrance to the Reichskanzleibunker at the Potsdammerplatz.
The entrance to the Reichskanzlei bunker at the Potsdammerplatz.
The entrance to the Reichskanzlei bunker at the Potsdammerplatz.

Inside the Reich Chancellery bunker

Inside the Reich Chancellery bunker

Demolition

It was decided by the Russians that no trace of the Fuhrerbunker should remain. In 1947 all the building above ground were demolished and the bunker sealed. In the 1980s the Fuhrerbunker was dug up and then destroyed completely. The roof and interior walls were removed and what was left was

So genannter FŸhrerbunker in Berlin Mitte

LuftschutzrŠume des ãKleinen BunkersÒ der Neuen Reichskanzlei, vom Grundwasser Ÿberschwemmt. Die Anlage befand sich ursprŸnglich sŸdlich des so genannten Ehrenhofs an der PrŠsidialkanzlei und wurde wŠhrend des Krieges durch Regierungsmitarbeiter und Hitlers Bedienstete genutzt. Die Neue Reichskanzlei war 1935 bis 1943 nach PlŠnen Albert Speers an der Wilhelm-, Vo§- und der damaligern Hermann-Gšring-Stra§e als umfangreiche und monumentale Erweiterung des ursprŸnglichen Reichskanzlerpalais von Carl Friedrich Richter und dem ReichskanzleigebŠude von Eduard Jobst Siedler und Robert Kisch errichtet worden. Die prunkvolle Anlage diente in erster Linie Hitlers ungezŸgelten ReprŠsentationsansprŸchen. Zur Ausstattung gehšrten auch mehrere Luftschutzanlagen im Kellergeschoss: der so genannte Gro§e Bunker, welcher in den letzten Wochen des Zweiten Weltkrieges vor allem durch militŠrische StŠbe genutzt wurde, der hier auf dem Foto zu erkennende so genannte Kleine Bunker u. a. Die Neue Reichskanzlei war unterirdisch mit dem so genannten FŸhrerbunker verbunden, der sich im nšrdlich angrenzenden Garten befand. Die kriegsbeschŠdigten oberirdischen Bauten der gesamten Reichskanzlei wurden auf sowjetische Veranlassung 1949/50 abgetragen und das planierte Areal wurde ab 1961 Sperrgebiet direkt an der Berliner Mauer. Die weiter westlich gelegenen Bunker der Neuen Reichskanzlei befanden sich nun unterhalb des Todesstreifens. Im Rahmen eines Wohnungsbauprojektes an der Otto-Grotewohl-Stra§e (Wilhelmstra§e) wurden die unterirdischen Anlagen šstlich der Berliner Mauer 1987/88 ausgegraben und bis auf die Bodenplatten beseitigt. Das vorliegende Foto entstand wŠhrend dieser Abrissarbeiten.

More pictures of the demolition can be seen on bunker-neue-reichskanzlei.lumabytes.com

2334578675_73a268f612_b
1960s wastelands where the bunker used to be.

Today

These two pictures show the location of the bunker as it is today.

IMG_3439The buildings on the right are in roughly the same location as the Reich Chancellery was

IMG_3438Same location but looking to the left of the previous picture

Video

Last Trip Inside the Führerbunker In the 1980s

Part 1:

Part 2:

Joris Nieuwint

Joris Nieuwint is a battlefield guide for the Operation Market Garden area. His primary focus is on the Allied operations from September 17th, 1944 onwards. Having lived in the Market Garden area for 25 years, he has been studying the events for nearly as long. He has a deep understanding of the history and a passion for sharing the stories of the men who are no longer with us.

@joris1944 facebook.com/joris.nieuwint