The ''Vorbunker'' (upper bunker or forward bunker) was an underground concrete structure originally intended to be a temporary

air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

and his guards and servants. It was located behind the large reception hall that was added onto the old

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared ...

, 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 constitu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, in 1936. The bunker was officially called the "Reich Chancellery Air-Raid Shelter" until 1943, when the complex was expanded with the addition of the ''

Führerbunker The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ...

'', located one level below. On 16 January 1945, Hitler moved into the ''Führerbunker''. He was joined by his senior staff, including

Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...

. Later,

Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his ...

and

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...

moved into the ''Führerbunker'' while

Magda Goebbels Johanna Maria Magdalena "Magda" Goebbels (née Ritschel; 11 November 1901 – 1 May 1945) was the wife of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. A prominent member of the Nazi Party, she was a close ally, companion, and politic ...

and their six children took residence in the upper ''Vorbunker''. The Goebbels family lived in the ''Vorbunker'' until their deaths on 1 May 1945.

Construction

In 1933, Adolf Hitler decided to expand the

(''Reichskanzlei''), which he considered too small for his needs. On 21 July 1935, Leonhard Gall submitted plans for a large reception hall (that could also be used as a ballroom) to be built onto the old Chancellery. The drawings were unique because of the large cellar that led a further one-and-a-half meters down to a bunker, which later became known as the ''Vorbunker''. The ''Vorbunker''s roof was thick, twice as thick as that of the bunker underneath the nearby Air Ministry building. The thick walls of the ''Vorbunker'' supported the weight of the reception hall overhead. It had three entry points, to the north, west, and south. Construction was completed in 1936. It had 12 rooms branching out from a single corridor. The ''Führerbunker'' was built by the

Hochtief Hochtief AG is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Voßstraße 6. The ''Führerbunker'' was located 2.5 meters lower than the ''Vorbunker'' and to the west-southwest of it. The accommodations for Hitler were moved to the ''Führerbunker'', and by February 1945 it had been decorated with high-quality furniture taken from the Chancellery, along with several framed oil paintings.

Events

The first air-raid drills for the Berlin central government district, which included the Reich Chancellery, occurred in the autumn of 1937. The protocol for the drills stated, in part:

To carry out the air raid drills, a precise regulation is required for the three office buildings, Wilhelmstraße 77, Wilhelmstraße 78 and Voßstraße 1 ... The officials and residents of Wilhelmstraße 78 and Voßstraße 1 can go to the substitute shelters in Wilhelmstraße 78 and Voßstraße 1. The inhabitants of the Reich Chancellor House, Wilhelmstraße 77, will use the shelter under the ballroom.

The only residents of Wilhelmstraße 77 were Hitler and his bodyguards, adjutants, orderlies and servants. It is unknown if the ''Vorbunker'' was used before January 1945. Hitler transferred his headquarters to the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin on 16 January 1945, where he (along with his influential private secretary, ''

Reichsleiter ' (national leader or Reich leader) was the second-highest political rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), next only to the office of ''Führer''. ''Reichsleiter'' also served as a paramilitary rank within the NSDAP and was the highest position attai ...

'' Martin Bormann and others), remained until the end of April. Thereafter, the ''Vorbunker'' was used by various military officers and housed men from Hitler's personal bodyguard. In April 1945, as the Battle in Berlin raged on, Joseph Goebbels showed his strong support for Hitler by moving his family into the ''Vorbunker''. He occupied a room in the ''Führerbunker'' which had recently been vacated by Hitler's personal physician,

Theodor Morell Theodor Gilbert Morell (22 July 1886 – 26 May 1948) was a German medical doctor known for acting as Adolf Hitler's personal physician. Morell was well known in Germany for his unconventional treatments. He assisted Hitler daily in virtually ev ...

. Two rooms in the ''Vorbunker'' were used for food supply. Constanze Manziarly, Hitler's personal cook/dietitian, made meals in the kitchen, which was equipped with a refrigerator and a wine store. On the evening of 1 May 1945, Goebbels arranged for an SS dentist, Helmut Kunz, to inject his six children with

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

so that when they were unconscious, an ampule of

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

could be crushed in each of their mouths. According to Kunz's later testimony, he gave the children morphine injections but it was Magda Goebbels and SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

Ludwig Stumpfegger Ludwig Stumpfegger (11 July 1910 – 2 May 1945) was a German doctor who served in the SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was Adolf Hitler's personal surgeon from 1944 to 1945, and was present in the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin in lat ...

, Hitler's personal doctor, who administered the cyanide. Afterwards, Goebbels and his wife went up the stairs to ground level and through the ''Führerbunker's'' emergency exit to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery. There are several different accounts on what followed. According to one account, Goebbels shot his wife and then himself. Another account was that they each bit on a cyanide ampule and were given a ''

coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. ...

'' immediately afterwards by Goebbels' SS adjutant, Günther Schwägermann. Schwägermann testified in 1948 that the couple walked ahead of him up the stairs and out into the Chancellery garden. He waited in the stairwell and heard the "shots" sound. Schwägermann then walked up the remaining stairs and outside. There he saw the lifeless bodies of the couple. Following Joseph Goebbels' prior order, Schwägermann told an SS soldier to make sure Goebbels' was dead. The soldier fired into Goebbels' body, which did not move. The bodies were then doused with petrol, but the remains were only partially burned and not buried. At 01:00 on 2 May, the Soviets picked up a radio message from the LVI Panzer Corps requesting a cease-fire and stating that emissaries would come under a white flag to Potsdamer bridge. Early in the morning of 2 May, the Soviets captured the Reich Chancellery. General of the Artillery

Helmuth Weidling Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling (2 November 1891 – 17 November 1955) was a German general during World War II. He was the last commander of the Berlin Defence Area during the Battle of Berlin, and led the defence of the city against Soviet forc ...

, the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, surrendered with his staff at 06:00. Down in the ''Führerbunker'', Chief of the Army General Staff General Hans Krebs and Hitler's Chief Adjutant ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

Wilhelm Burgdorf Wilhelm Emanuel Burgdorf (15 February 1895 – 2 May 1945) was a German general during World War II, who served as a commander and staff officer in the German Army. In October 1944, Burgdorf assumed the role of the chief of the Army Personnel O ...

committed suicide by gunshot to the head.

Johannes Hentschel Johannes Hentschel (10 May 1908 – 27 April 1982) was a master electro-mechanic for German dictator Adolf Hitler's apartments in the Old Chancellery. He also served in the same capacity in Hitler's ''Führerbunker'' in 1945. He surrendered t ...

, the master electro-

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning an ...

for the bunker complex, stayed after everyone else had either committed suicide or left, as the

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile Ar ...

in the Reich Chancellery above needed power and water. He surrendered to the Red Army as they entered the bunker complex at 09:00 on 2 May. The bodies of Goebbels six children were discovered on 3 May. They were found in their beds in the ''Vorbunker''; the clear mark of cyanide appeared on their faces.

Post-war events

The ruins of both Chancellery buildings were levelled by the Soviets between 1945 and 1949 as part of an effort to destroy the landmarks of Nazi Germany. The bunker complex largely survived, although some areas were partially flooded. In December 1947 the Soviets tried to blow up the bunkers, but only the separation walls were damaged. In 1959 the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

government began a series of demolitions of the Chancellery, including the bunker complex. In 1974, of water was pumped from inside the bunkers, and the East Germany

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state autho ...

conducted a survey of the interior of the ''Vorbunker'' and took external measurements of the ''Führerbunker''. Since it was near the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...

, the site was undeveloped and neglected until after reunification. During the construction of residential housing and other buildings on the site in 1988–89, several underground sections of the bunker complex were uncovered by work crews. In April 1988, the East German government allowed several visits to the site by photo-journalists. Water was pumped out of the ''Vorbunker'' for four days before access could be made via the underground passageway which led from the Chancellery. The interior floor of the ''Vorbunker'' was covered with a muddy sludge from having been underwater for so many years. Old empty wine bottles were found on the floor of the kitchen and wine store room. Still present in the room next to the kitchen were the broken frames of the bunk beds used by the Goebbels children. At the end of the hallway were the stairs leading down to the ''Führerbunker''. However, the men could go no further than the mid-landing, as the ''Führerbunker'' was still underwater and the ceiling beyond the doorway had collapsed due to the demolitions performed in 1947. After these inspections, work crews for the most part removed and destroyed the bunker complex. The ''Vorbunker''s top and external walls were the first structures to be torn down. The construction of buildings in the area around the complex was a strategy for ensuring the surroundings remained anonymous and unremarkable. The emergency exit point for the ''Führerbunker'' (which had been in the Chancellery gardens) was occupied by a car park. Place Of Hitler Bunker 2007

On 8 June 2006, during the lead-up to the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

, an information board was installed to mark the location of the bunker complex. The board, including a schematic diagram of the bunker, can be found at the corner of In den Ministergärten and Gertrud-Kolmar-Straße, two small streets about three minutes' walk from

Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corn ...

. Hitler's bodyguard, Rochus Misch, one of the last people living who was in the bunker at the time of Hitler's suicide, was on hand for the ceremony.

References

Citations

Bibliography