''Anlage Süd'' (English: ''Installation South'') was a pair of railway headquarters built for
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
in the
Nazi-occupied part of southern Poland during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Two reinforced tunnels were built near the rail line between
Rzeszów
Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
and
Jasło. The first massive train bunker (with adjacent conference bunker) was located in the village of
Stępina (45 km southwest of Rzeszów), and the other was in the town of
Strzyżów (30 km southwest of Rzeszów).
[ Strzyżów location ] They were initially used for a two-day meeting between Hitler and Italian fascist leader
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
, on 27–28 August 1941.
Bunkers
Both 480-metre long railway tunnels at Stępina and Strzyżów were built by the
Todt Organization using Polish slave labor from nearby concentration camps. The shelters were constructed to be wide and high with reinforced concrete walls thick.
[
The tunnels were surrounded by barracks, personnel bunkers, and watchtowers. Other buildings were used for operations, administration, and maintenance. Inside each bomb-proof tunnel, there was a rail track and a platform.][ The tunnel portals were protected by two-wing armoured doors with firing embrasures for the guards.][ Purpose-built track connected the tunnels with the Rzeszów-Jasło railway.]
Usage
After the headquarters was completed in summer 1941, Hitler first visited on 27 August for a meeting with Mussolini. Both leaders arrived by train. Hitler’s train () stayed in the bunker at Strzyżów while Mussolini's engine and carriages were at Stępina. The actual meeting to discuss the war with Soviet Russia, which lasted several hours, was held aboard Hitler’s train, which he never left. The next day, his train was the first to depart.[
Hitler revisited the bunkers once more by train in October 1941. Other prominent visitors to use Anlage Süd included ]Reichsführer-SS
(, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schut ...
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
, Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal who held office as chief of the (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's armed forces, during World War II. He signed a number of criminal ...
and General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Erwin Rommel.[
By the summer of 1944 the facilities were abandoned because of the Soviet advance. When the Russians captured the tunnels in August 1944 they used them as field hospitals.][ After the war, the Stępina bunker was used for mushroom production. Today it is a state museum.][
]
See also
* Führer Headquarters
References
External links
A photo of the bunker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anlage Sud
World War II sites of Nazi Germany
Fuehrer Headquarters
World War II sites in Poland