Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J08486, Berlin, Feier der Zentrale Freies Indien

The Free India Centre (german: Zentrale Freies Indien) was the European branch of the

Azad Hind The Provisional Government of Free India (''Ārzī Hukūmat-e-Āzād Hind'') or, more simply, ''Azad Hind'', was an Indian provisional government established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II. It was created in October 1943 ...

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

led by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

. It was founded by Bose when he was in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1942, and headed by

A. C. N. Nambiar Arathil Candeth Narayanan Nambiar (1896 – 17 January 1986) was an Indian Nationalist and a friend and colleague of Subhas Chandra Bose. Originally from Kerala (he was born in Thalassery), Nambiar spent much of his life serving the Indian inde ...

. Its responsibilities included managing relations with the European

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

, supporting and recruiting volunteers for the

Indian Legion , image = Flag of the Indian Legion.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Flag of the Indian Legion , country = , allegiance = Adolf ...

of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

, running

Azad Hind Radio Azad Hind Radio () was a radio service that was started under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose and Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1942 to encourage Indians to fight for the Axis powers. Though initially based in Nazi Germany, its headquarte ...

, and preparing for the much larger provisional government that was formed in southeast Asia with Japanese support. While its main base was in Berlin, it also had branch offices in occupied

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and in Italy. On its establishment in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, the Free India Centre was essentially given the status of a diplomatic mission by Nazi Germany. It had an office at No. 2A Lichtensteiner Allee in Tiergarten, although its activities were for some time mostly conducted in hotels or Bose's eventual house on Sophienstrasse in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

References

Defunct diplomatic missions Azad Hind Subhas Chandra Bose 1942 establishments in Germany Diplomatic missions in Berlin {{WWII-stub