The Krupp decoy site (German: Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage) was a German decoy-site of the

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...

steel works in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was designed to divert Allied

airstrike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offic ...

s from the actual production site of the arms factory.

Description of the system

The decoy factory was from the real factory, situated on the Rottberg-Hills in

Velbert Velbert ( Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in the district of Mettmann, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings. Geography Velbert is located on the hills of 'Niede ...

. It occupied an area of 1.5 km × 2.5 km. The dummy factory was supposed to mimic a poorly darkened and operating Krupp steel works as the Royal Air Force only flew at night. The decoy system consisted of a large number of very rudimentary dummy installations of industrial building and structures. Shed roofs, a

gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

s, a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and elaborate light arrays and fires were among them, controlled from a nearby

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...

Efficiency

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

did not correctly identify the installation until 1943, by which time its bombers had dropped 64% of all high-explosive bombs and 75% of all incendiaries on it rather than the real site.

Today's condition

Today, only the control-bunker of the decoy-site is preserved. After systematic research and documentation by volunteers of the Landschaftsverband Rheinland (LVR) - Office for Archeologist Monument Protection, it was listed as a historical

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

in 2013.Dr. Helmut Grau, Jürgen Lohbeck, Sven Polkläser: Die Krupp'sche Nachtscheinanlage in Velbert. Scala Verlag Velbert 2017, page 145

Museum development

The bunker is located on private property. Visits are offered on the

European Heritage Days European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, ''Europe: a common heritage''. The annual programme offers o ...

, historical walks or the

Long Night of Museums The Long Night of Museums (german: Lange Nacht der Museen), or the Night of Museums, and, since 2005, the European Night of Museums, is a cultural event in which museums and cultural institutions to remain open late into the night to introduce ...

Bibliography

in English

* * *

in German

* Jürgen Lohbeck: ''Das vergessene Scheindorf in Velbert. Die Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage auf dem Rottberg im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1941–1945''. Scala Verlag, Velbert 2012,
(Summary in German)
* Elke Janßen-Schnabel: ''Das Scheindorf der Kruppwerke''. In: ''Denkmalpflege im Rheinland'' (), 30. Jahrgang 2013, Nr. 4, S. #. * Jürgen Lohbeck: ''Der Krieg vor unserer Haustür. Ereignisse, Erlebnisse, Schicksale im Zweiten Weltkrieg in Velbert, Langenberg und Umgebung''. Scala Verlag, Velbert 2013,
(Summary in German)
* Helmut Grau, Jürgen Lohbeck, Josef Johannes Niedworok, Sven Polkläser: ''Vergessene Täuschungsbauwerke des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Die Krupp'sche Nachtscheinanlage in Velbert''. In: ''Archäologie im Rheinland 2013.'' Theiss Verlag, Darmstadt 2014, , S. #. * Wiebke Hoppe: ''Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage, Kreis Mettmann.'' In: LVR-Amt für Bodendenkmalpflege im Rheinland, Rheinischer Verein für Denkmalpflege und Landschaftsschutz (Hrsg.): ''Archäologische Kriegsrelikte im Rheinland.'' Klartext Verlag, Essen 2014, , S. #. * Bau- und Betriebsgrundsätze für Scheinanlagen, herausgegeben vom Reichsminister der Luftfahrt und Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe (Az. 41 L 46 10 Nr. 9659/42 (L. In. 13/3 III C/a), Ausgabe November 1942 * Luftwaffen-Dienstvorschrift 2400 Betrieb von Scheinanlagen, L.Dv.g. 2400, herausgegeben vom Reichsminister der Luftfahrt und Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe, Ausgabe Mai 1941 * Dr. Helmut Grau, Jürgen Lohbeck, Sven Polkläser: ''Die Krupp’sche Nachtscheinanlage in Velbert''. Scala Verlag, Velbert 2017,
(Summary in German)

References

External links

Community of interest for the museum development of the monument control bunker Kruppsche Nachtscheinanlage (in German)

{{Coord, 51.365, 7.070, display=title World War II sites in Germany Military deception during World War II